Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1 customer rating

$24.95 – $34.95

A new book by the creators of the CBCA shortlisted title, The Good Son, Pierre-Jacques Ober and Jules Ober.

An only child, Jacqueline always dreamt of having a sister. Amid the turmoil of a world at war when the adults have seemingly gone mad, she embarks on a perilous journey and ultimately finds a sister in a most unexpected way.

Featuring a new narrative form at once deeply evocative and visually poetic, the story is illustrated with miniatures. Magnificently printed, it is a book at the intersection of art book, photographic novel and children’s picture book.

Publication date:1 October 2021
Extent:104
Format:Hardcover, Paperback
Age guide: Middle Readers, Upper primary, Lower secondary

1 review for Jacqueline: a soldier’s daughter

Rated 5 out of 5
Katrina Burge – 17 November 2021
When a young French girl’s world turns upside down amidst war, she finds many things in the darkness. Some of those things are scary—there’s nightmares and heartbreak. But there’s also love, family and friendship. These are the beacons of light that drive this story—and Jacqueline—through the dark.
“Jacqueline – a soldier’s daughter” is a new book by Pierre-Jacques Ober and Jules Ober. Their first book, CBCA shortlisted title and winner of the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize “The Good Son”, has been hailed as ‘having the power of a timeless fable’ by The New York Times. The French version of “Jacqueline – a soldier’s daughter” has won Jules Ober the 2021 HiP prize, and the book will be part of a travelling art exhibition in French-speaking countries in 2022.
As Jacqueline navigates her way through loss in a town ravaged by war, and faces loneliness and isolation in a new city, she ultimately discovers happiness in an unexpected place. Her journey, woven together with the use of short text and miniature photography, becomes a testimony to resilience of the human mind and the love of family.
This unique pairing of text and photography creates a new brand of immersive storytelling. The short text gives the miniatures room to breathe and come to life in a place where they can tell their own story. Each page turn becomes like watching a “paper movie”.
Jules Ober mentioned in previous interviews that her main challenge was how to bring emotion to the “very stiff and expressionless little plastic men”. Ober’s decision to use natural lighting for her photography speaks in volumes. Bleak lighting becomes the framework for the gloomy, freezing climate Jacqueline and her mother navigate through to find her father. Vibrant colours pierce through the landscape in sunnier sections of the book—a stark contrast to orange bombs glowing in the dark nights of others.
Ober delicately captures the raw human emotion that was a sign of these times. Each figurine gives the impression of something very small being controlled from above, giving a first-hand view into what it’s like being small in a big world—just like Jacqueline.