Ferdinand Cheval: The Postman Who Delivered a Palace

by Anne Renaud (Author)

Ferdinand Cheval: The Postman Who Delivered a Palace
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

In a sleepy town in Southern France stands a mysterious structure. Is it a fortress? A giant labyrinth? The castle of a long-forgotten king?

It is, in fact, the work of one man, Ferdinand Cheval, who shaped a palace over the course of 33 years with nothing but his bare hands, his will, and a few tools. This is the story of how and why his palace came to be.

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$17.95

Kirkus

Readers will come away stirred—and wondering how they, too, can leave their marks on the world.

Publishers Weekly

Self-taught French architect Ferdinand Cheval (1836-1924) stars in this quirky chronicle of the postman's 33-year-long effort to build a stone palace by hand in Hauterives, France. Cheval "spent his days delivering mail and daydreaming" until a rock inspires him to begin collecting more on his route. Stone by stone, he constructs a water fountain, a grotto, and a passageway, all working up to "His Dream Palace./ His Ideal Palace"--a labyrinthine, sculpture-adorned edifice featuring staircases, balconies, and alcoves. "Learning as he went./ Inventing his own building techniques./ Failing until he succeeded./ Monsieur Cheval did not believe in/ the word impossible." Whimsical drawings washed in vibrant hues gesture toward the fanciful nature of Le Palais Idéal, shown in photographs alongside a concluding author's note. With hard work and imagination, anyone can achieve wondrous results, suggest Renaud and Salopek in this beatific ode. Ages 8-up. (Jan.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Anne Renaud
Anne Renaud is an award-winning children's author who writes in both French and English. Her readers often ask her why she writes books. She tells them it is because she likes to do creative things and she finds writing to be a very creative exercise. It is also because she cannot dance well, sing well, juggle well, or do magic tricks, so she tries her best to write well. Anne stumbled upon the story of Ferdinand Cheval quite by chance while she was researching another one of her books. This often happens with writers. She found Ferdinand Cheval to be particularly inspiring because it told the story of how one man never gave up on his dream. Anne hopes this story will inspire children to pursue their dreams too.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781478875932
Lexile Measure
780
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Reycraft Books
Publication date
September 15, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF038060 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | Europe
JNF006060 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Art | Sculpture
JNF032000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Lifestyles | Country Life
Library of Congress categories
France
Picture books
Letter carriers
Biographical fiction
Buildings
Cheval, Ferdinand

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