Little Zizi

This funny picture book deals with a subject that many little boys think about, but that is rarely written about in children’s books. One day, while Martin is changing his clothes after swimming, another boy, Adrian, makes fun of Martin, saying that his “zizi” is too small, and that he will never be able to make babies with a little zizi. Martin is worried because the girl he likes, Anais, wants to have 10 babies! How will he possibly make all those babies?

To make matters worse, Adrian decides that the boys should have a peeing contest to decide who will be Anais’s boyfriend. Despite hours of practice, Martin loses the contest, Adrian wins, and Adrian declares himself the boyfriend of Anais.

But Anais has other plans. She rejects Adrian and writes a love note to Martin. The book ends with a reassurance: “love isn’t a question of a zizi — large or small.”

This book was originally written in French and published in Canada. The author says he wrote the book because he believes that “much of the world’s misfortune comes from men thinking they have to assert their manliness,” according to the jacket copy.

My two boys found this book a bit shocking, but fascinating. The illustrations are very tasteful (the story takes place in an old-fashioned city), and the book makes its point without preaching.

(post original ici)

Litte zizi, sur Children's Bookwatch, Publishers Weekly et Kirkus Reviews

Children's Bookwatch :

Little Zizi is a unique children's picturebook that dares to address a part of growing up that virtually no other children's literature will touch. "Zizi" is a euphemism for "penis" in this simple and charming tale about an ordinary boy, named Martin. Martin wonders whether one day his little zizi will become the size of his dad's zizi; it's normal for young boys to wonder that. But then a locker room bully named Adrian makes fun of Martin's little zizi in front of all the other boys. To make matters worse, both Martin and Adrian are sweet on Anais, the prettiest girl in school. Adrian challenges Martin to the contest--whoever can pee the farthest wins! When Martin can't perform in the contest despite his practice, Adrian is victorious; yet the next day, Anais repudiates Adrian's affections. She prefers the kindly Martin, "Because love isn't a question of a zizi--large or small." Enthusiastically recommended, especially for mothers and fathers to share with their sons when teaching them about the facts of life. -

Kirkus Reviews :
Poking its way across the border more than ten years  :after its first exposure in Canada, this wry twist on the Penile Code provides direct reassurance to worried readers (of the male persuasion, at least) that Size Doesn't Matter. Catching sight of nerdy Martin standing naked in a swimming-pool dressing room, swaggering Adrian sneeringly dubs him "Little Zizi"; when Adrian goes on to announce that the lads will all decide who's to be pretty Anais's boyfriend with a peeing contest, Martin determines to fight back-but despite hard practice, come the contest he can't perform.
No matter: Anais proceeds to hook up with Martin for a smooch. After a while, everything in Poulin's finely-modeled illustrations, from a string of sausages to a peaked cowboy hat, begins to look like a phallic symbol. Perspective renders the anatomy in question only barely visible; more obvious is the contrast between Adrian's piggy countenance and Martin's hunched shoulders and opaque eyeglasses.
Not a comfortable topic, at least in this country, but the frankness and humor with which author and illustrator address it will draw a (wait for it) swelling audience. (Picture book. 6-9)


Publishers Weekly :
Playground politics meets penis anxiety in this unlikely comedy. “Like all boys, Martin had a zizi, and this zizi didn't cause him any problems,” writes the French author. But the school bully singles out Martin's zizi: “With such a little zizi, you can't make babies!” Later he adds insult to injury by asserting, “With your little zizi, you can't pee very far at all!” Can Martin vanquish the bully, reassert his manhood and win the beautiful, popular Anais?
Poulin, a Canadian illustrator, chronicles Martin's torment and triumph with cinematic perspectives and a Brueghel-esque feel for character and place; his burnished paintings convey both the gritty reality of school life and the fretful ruminations of the endearingly geeky hero. Wry but always empathic, Lenain brings a novelistic depth to a story that could easily have been little more than an adult's cheap joke—especially given that the pivotal event is a peeing contest.
Whether or not little boys care so much about the size and procreative powers of their zizis is debatable, but for sheer storytelling talent, there's no doubt: Lenain and Poulin are definitely well endowed. Ages 6–up.

Little Zizi...

uhm....
"Like all boys, Martin had a peepee, and this peepee didn't cause him any problems. Of course, from time to time, Martin worried a little. He wondered if one day his peepee would look like his dad's peepee. But that's normal, all boys wonder about that. So, everything was going quite well.

That is, everything was going well until one day in the locker room the big bully Adrian started making fun of Martin's peepee in front of everybody! Poor Martin. And to make matters worse, Martin and the bully both wanted to be the boyfriend of Anis, the prettiest girl in school. Push came to shove, and the boys decided to have a pissing contest. So how does our story end? Is it true that in the littlest of packages come the greatest gifts? Thierry Lenain's jolly text is joined happily with Stphane Poulin's exquisite but hilarious illustrations to make this a wonderful book for parents and children to share and enjoy together"  (ici)

Little zizi, but in french

Une fidèle lectrice de ce blog a traduit le texte de l'éditeur américain de Petit Zizi. Merci à elle… :-)

« En mars 2008, la maison d’éditions “Cinco Puntos » publie Petit zizi, un album illustré  pour enfants. « Zizi » est un mot français, un diminutif pour pénis, comme chez nous « peepee ». Petit Zizi raconte l’histoire de Martin, un petit garçon pensif qui s’inquiète de la taille de son pénis. Ce livre  a été écrit par un auteur jeunesse renommé, Thierry Lenain et illustré par Stéphane Poulin. Il a d’abord été publié au Canada par « les 400 Coups.»

C’est ainsi que nos amis nous demandèrent  : «  le petit garçon est préoccupé par la taille de quoi ? »

Nous aimons montrer notre plus récente publication, Petit Zizi, à nos amis, Spécialement les amis qui ont des enfants. Chaque fois qu’ils commencent à le lire ils commencent à glousser (à rire nerveusement). La même chose se produit avec nos amis professionnels, éditeurs, libraires, éducateurs, critiques. Ils ne peuvent cacher leur plaisir.  Ils savourent totalement le livre, la fantaisie du conte de Thierry Lenain, si parfaitement marié aux illustrations de Stéphane Poulin, mais, en arrière-pensée (au moins dans la partie adulte de leurs cerveaux) la question tenace subsiste : pourquoi Cinco Puntos publie-t-il cela ?

Petit Zizi : son éditeur américain explique pourquoi il a décidé de publier cet album

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Little Boy is Worried about the Size of his What?

In March 2008, Cinco Puntos Press is publishing Little Zizi (978-1-933693-05-7), a picture book for children. Zizi is French, a diminutive for penis—as in peepee. Little Zizitells the story of Martin, a thoughtful little boy who worries about the size of his penis. The book was written by renowned French children’s writer Thierry Lenain and illustrated by Stéphane Poulin. It was originally published in Canada by Les 400 Coups.

So our friend asked us, “The little boy is worried about the size of his what?”

We like showing our newest book Little Zizi to our friends, especially friends with kids. Every time they begin to read it, they start giggling. The same thing happens with our professional friends—publishers, librarians, educators, reviewers. They can’t suppress their delight. They thoroughly enjoy the book, the whimsy of Thierry Lenain’s tale so perfectly married with Stéphane Poulin’s illustrations, but in the back of their minds (at least, the adult area of their mindss) is the nagging questions, Why is Cinco Puntos publishing this book ? [Lire la suite sur le blog de l'éditeur]

Special dedicace to Georges Bush

En février, paraît mon premier livre traduit en américain :

Like all boys, Martin had a zizi, and this zizi didn't cause him any problems. Of course, from time to time, Martin worried a little. He wondered if one day his zizi would look like his dad's zizi. But that's normal, all boys wonder about that. So, everything was going quite well �

That is, everything was going well until one day in the locker room the big bully Adrian started making fun of Martin's zizi in front of everybody ! Poor Martin. And to make matters worse, Martin and the bully wanted to be the boyfriend of Anais, the prettiest girl in school. Push came to shove, and the boys decided to have a pissing contest. So how does our story end ? Is it true that in the littlest of packages come the greatest gifts?  Lenain's jolly text is joined happily with Poulin's exquisite but hilarious illustrations to make this a wonderful book for parents and children to share and enjoy together.

Les droits de ce texte qu'on m'avait refusé en France (ha ! ha!) et que j'ai publié au Québec ont été achetés par l'éditeur texan Cinco Punto Press. Hasard : c'est cet éditeur qui a publié l'album pour enfants du sous-commandant Marcos, The Story of colors, et que j'avais contacté pour lui dire que j'allais tout faire pour que l'ouvrage paraisse aussi ici. Depuis, Syros l'a édité : La Grande histoire des couleurs.

Petit Zizi, lu par Patricia Belzil (Amazon.ca)

“Le petit zizi !” Le jugement sans appel des copains est tombé sur Martin dans le vestiaire de la piscine. Pour ajouter à sa honte, il échoue lamentablement au concours de celui qui pisse le plus loin. Aussi bien, dans ces conditions, abandonner l’espoir de séduire la belle Anaïs…
Il fallait une évidente délicatesse, une touche d’humour aussi, pour traiter d’un sujet aussi… gonflé d’orgueil viril ! Les illustrations de Stéphane Poulin accompagnent drôlement bien l’histoire racontée par Thierry Lenain avec un naturel désarmant : “Jusqu’à ce matin, tout allait très bien. Comme tous les garçons, Martin avait un zizi, et ce zizi ne lui posait aucun problème. Bien sûr, de temps en temps, Martin s’inquiétait. Il se demandait si un jour son zizi ressemblerait à celui de son papa. Mais c’est normal, tous les garçons se demandent ça. Donc, tout allait très bien.” Grâce à ses illustrations tantôt drôles, tantôt attendrissantes, à son texte simple et sensible, cet album accrochera tous les petits garçons… et leurs amies. Prix Illustration Jeunesse GL&V au Salon du livre de Trois-Rivières. (4 à 8 ans) --Patricia Belzil (Amazon.ca)

Petit Zizi lu par un des rats de biblio.net

Petit zizi
(4 à 8 ans)
Auteur: Thierry Lenain
Illustrateur: Stéphane Poulin
Éditions: Les 400 coups

Un album coup de coeur! Une histoire chouette, amusante et des illustrations signés de la main même du génial Stéphane Poulin. Martin, un petit garçon, est la cible de ses camarades d'école qui le traitent constamment de "petit zizi". Et même qu'un garçon lui a dit qu'il ne pourrait pas faire de bébés avec un zizi aussi petit. Le hic..Martin est amoureux d'Anaïs et cette dernière veut avoir 10 bébés...
Un album qu'on aime lire avec son fiston pour ensuite discuter de l'importance ou pas de la longueur du zizi et du harcèlement dans la cour d'école.

note: 5/5
(Mousseline) Club des rats de biblio-net

Petit Zizi au Vénézuela

Petit zizi vient de recevoir le prix Meilleur Livre de l'Année (catégorie livres traduits), remis au Vénézuela par Banco del Libro (section vénézuelienne d'IBBY)