Off the beaten track by Maylis De Kerangal and Tom Haugomat

This quite unusual middle grade picture book tells the story of a young boy named Paul, and his journey with a family friend to mountainous ski fields. The story is narrated by Paul who has been living with his uncle when Bruce, a friend of Paul’s absent parents, arrives to take him on a long-promised journey. There is little dialogue between Paul and Bruce, and it is up to the reader to interpret the story. As the absence of Paul’s parents is never quite explained, my interpretation was that they were deceased, and Paul had been placed in boarding school and seemed very troubled. Bruce himself appeared to have his own crosses to bare yet I felt he had taken Paul on the skiing trip to help ease his troubled mind. It is while they are traversing the glaciers that there is a terrible accident and Paul is forced to call upon his inner strength and survival skills to seek help for Bruce.

This book is unique in the fact that the illustrator did the graphic drawings, done in a palette of blues, browns and reds, first and then the author used the images to construct a story. Older middle primary aged students may enjoy the challenge of interpreting and explaining this narrative. And perhaps creating their own drawings for classmates to interpret and construct a story around. An interesting but at times, a confusing read.

Themes: Mountains, Skiing, Glaciers, Danger, Emotions, Survival.

Kathryn Beilby