Leo has just moved from Montreal to Toronto and hates his new school. Elsa lives in Boston, navigating her parents' divorce and her dad's relationship with a new girlfriend. The two become "pen pals" via email for a school assignment, and their lives are documented here in a funny and poignant exchange that takes place across their grade five year.
A book about friendship, haiku, and finding one's gifts.
The back of the book provides a guide to writing haiku that was given to Leo, as well as an interview with the author.
Marco Fraticelli is from Montreal and is one of the foremost haikuists in Canada with several collections dating back decades, and is a regular presenter at national haiku conferences. Marco has spent almost 50 years teaching Grade 5. This is his first children's book.
"Dear Elsa is told entirely through the emails the two children send to each other, with the emails generally not being more than a page in length. With this framing device, Fraticelli keeps the pace of the story moving at a steady clip as readers feel like they're witnessing a constant conversation where more and more of each character?s personality is revealed over time. Young readers will also be able to relate to both Leo and Elsa's struggles with school, living up to the expectations of parents and teachers and the difficulty of making new friends. Following the story, Fraticelli also includes an instruction sheet on writing haiku.
Recommended"
— CM Magazine
"Although the book is for young adults, I enjoyed it myself, as an adult. At 240 pages it was a couple days of enjoyable, interesting reading. I could see it used in classrooms or as general kids' summer read."
— Miramachi Reader
Nominated for the 2024 Diamond Willow Award!
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