Sarah and the Stone Man by Françoise Joos, Frédéric Joos

For a hundred years a great stone man has been holding up the ceiling of an ancient castle and he feels that his life is drab worrying that this is all there will be to his life, until one day, a little girl called Sarah befriends him and shows that he can leave the castle. So off they go out into the streets, down to the docks and onto a ship. It is written by talented French artist Frédéric Joos in collaboration with his wife. The colourful cartoon-like characters are very appealing offering a bright contrast to the castle and the township. There are interesting scenarios in the pictures not referred to in the text, like the birds nesting in a shirt on a washing line, and the shadowy business men in the streets. This would be a great book to share with a book buddy.