L’homme qui plantait des cactus, by Rémi Courgeon and illustrated by Vanessa Hié

Old Bacoco defends his precious mango tree against formidable predators: all the birds on the island, the lemurs and, even worse, the children! So Bacoco surrounds himself with cacti! Real ones that are very prickly and deter even the boldest . . . except little Asna! She always finds a way through the maze of thorns. But as punishment, she has to read a book to the old man, one of the countless books piled up in his hut at the foot of the mango tree. She eventually realises that Bacoco can’t read! So she decides to teach him to read in exchange for access to the mango tree. And learning to read will make him so much friendlier!

To soften a prickly character, there’s nothing like learning to read!

Hardcover picture book, 23 x 28 cm, 40 pages