Dear Elsa
Marco Fraticelli
Dear Elsa is the first children’s book (ages 9-12) by the award-winning haiku poet Marco Fraticelli, who spent close to 50 years teaching Grade 5 in Montreal. Young readers will find this book engaging, and teachers will find it helpful.
The story is about Leo and Elsa who become “pen pals” via email for a school assignment. Their exchange takes place across their Grade 5 year, and is by turns funny and poignant. Leo writes haiku: first because it’s one of his school lessons, and then as he comes to enjoy it. His poems become better as he keeps writing, and also with the help of a mentor who provides him with a guide of 8 simple rules about how to write haiku.
Fraticelli is dedicated to reshaping how haiku is taught in elementary schools. Most teachers employ a strict 3-line structure of 5/7/5 syllables. However, contemporary haiku depends more on the importance of the “haiku moment” of an experience, rather than relying on syllable count alone. Haiku is a poetry of mindfulness where anything can become the topic of a poem.
For more information, or to arrange a reading or workshop, please contact the author here.
“Leo and Elsa are wise beyond their years. Their letters both hide and reveal the complexity of being human. Funny, heart-aching, poetic, brilliant! A stunning debut!” ~ Sheree Fitch, award-winning author, bookshoppe owner, and literacy advocate.
“Great story and a wonderful way to teach kids about haiku & writing and how it can connect people together. This will be such a valuable resource for teachers and parents.” ~ Angela Leuck, President of Haiku Canada
“I read Dear Elsa today and I must tell you that I really enjoyed the story. I guess dyeing hair has been a part of Canadian literary history since “Anne of Green Gables!” Deep Bow.” ~ Emiko Miyashita, Director of the JAL Foundation in charge of the World Children’s Haiku Contest.
Featured on the Summer Reading 2023 list by 49th Shelf. The list may be viewed here.
Featured on Daily Haiku (Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog) on May 13, 2023, and may be viewed here. “Adult readers believe that young readers, teachers, and other adults will find this book engaging and educational.” ~Charlotte Digregorio
Brief review by Emiko Miyashita on the website for the Haiku International Association (haiku Tsuredure - Vol. 27, July 2023), and may be viewed here.
Promoted on the CanLit for Little Canadians website (August 7, 2023), and is available here. “[Fraticelli’s] decades of experience as a Grade 5 teacher as well as an award-winning poet have given him a strong foundation for an irresistible story.”
Starred Selection in the Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books Fall 2023 issue.
A book review by Tessie Riggs appears in the January 2024 issue of Canadian Review of Materials, and is available here. “Fraticelli keeps the pace of the story moving at a steady clip as readers feel like they’re witnessing a constant conversation.”
Finalist, 2024 Diamond Willow Award (Grade 4 to Grade 6). Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards promote reading and celebrate Canadian literature.
Honourable Mention – in the Marianne Bluger Book Award (Haiku Canada, 2024).
A review by Pearl Pirie appears in The Miramichi Reader (May 24, 2024), and may be viewed here. “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.”
Red Deer Press | 2023 | 9780889956865 | $14.95
Available through Red Deer Press or your favourite bookseller.
