I received a copy of this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is a newly translated from French book that did not translate very well in my opinion. The book moves really slow and is super choppy and I found it to be a frustrating read.

I was not taken with this book - which is why I didn't leave feedback. The story was not appealing and the text uninspired.

This is a wonderful short story, filled with love, hopes, dreams, true friendship, and all about going out there and making positives from everything. 

A great book for a small child, one that I can imagine would be read over and over at bedtime. The pictures are beautiful as well.

Such a lovely, and somewhat sad story.  Seraphin is just a man, who has no idea what he wants to be as an adult. He is constantly looking to fill his life with joy.  The illustrations are old school, but they are the perfect charming match to the story inside the pages.  The story is quite long for a picture book, and it ends abruptly.  Overall, it’s an enjoyable reads.  Reminds me of some of the stories that used to be profiled on Reading Rainbow.

I loved this beautiful book!! Seraphin is a gentle older man who is trying hard to live a purposeful life. He has dreams of finding the perfect job where he can bring joy and beauty to the world. When he finds himself in a rut working as a ticket puncher in the Paris metro, Seraphin does his best to beautify his booth to bring some color to the repetitive, monotone setting. Unfortunately, his boss, the station master is not amused and chastizes him, threatening to fire him. Seraphin, downcast, continues to go through the motions, looking forward to coming home to his cozy little attic apartment where he and his friend Plume love to invent intricate structures for their pet hamster. His job remains joyless until a stray butterfly leads him up and out into the world.

One day, while exploring a flea market, Seraphin finds his dream bed, a gorgeous antique four poster bed, which he purchases immediately. But he's devastated when he finds that the huge bed doesn't fit in his tiny appartment! He dismantles it, convinced he will find a place to set it up. Soon after this, Seraphin is notified that he has inherited a quirky old house! Seraphin and Plume get to work to renovate, and after hours of hard work, the house is finished, a spectacular whimsical structure, completely unique and one hundred percent Seraphin! Finally he can set up the beautiful bed of his dreams! 

Full of unexpected twists and turns, this beautiful idealistic story left me feeling hopeful and starry-eyed. I loved Seraphin's stubborn optimism and determination, despite so many obstacles. I loved Seraphin's sweet friendship with Plume. I loved the gorgeous, whimsical illustrations!!

Weird and slow, with slightly predator vibes through today's lens, despite its 1967 original publication, that's something to keep in mind. It's whimsical, innovative, but just not for me.

Love the illustrations! Superb colour and detail that draw you in for closer examination with wonderfully artful use of negative space and perspective. I especially like the balance between the whimsical story and the whimsical architecture and the architectural ‘frames’ used to set a scene while drawing the eye to a focal point where the story takes place. As for the story, the warm central character and realistic setting (Paris) make it quite believable while being perfectly wonderfully absurd, especially the ending! I think it will be irresistible to children 4+ And adults would likely happily read and reread to their little ones.

GENTLY INTRODUCE WAYS TO JUST BE YOURSELF
3 Amazing Picture Books That Delight and Educate 3
Seraphin is the story of a young man who does not know what he wants to be when he grows up.

Unlike many similar stories, Seraphin still has no idea when he finally becomes an adult and so he chooses a profession that will allow him to express creativity – a ticket taker at a train station.

Now you might think this is strange, but Seraphin has a plan. Just as disaster strikes, he inherits an old house that he and his young friend rebuild to fully express himself.

This is a picture book that will help you explain to your child that being yourself is the best thing you can do and being creative will always, always find a path towards helping you achieve something great.

This would be the movie Up if it was written in French, and was written almost 40 years ago, and kind of wandered off.

This begins with a man who doesn't like his job. And gets fired, and hangs out with a small boy who helps me renovate a house.  So far, so good.

But then, magical things start happening, that never go anywhere, such as when all the carved animals come to life one night, and then it is never mentioned again.  And the normal thing of wanting a four poster bed that won't fit through his apartment door, but fits in his new house, works, as far as it goes.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Screen-Shot-2019-04-21-at-11.52.51-PM.png" alt=""class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5096" />

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Screen-Shot-2019-04-21-at-11.53.37-PM.png" alt=""class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5095" />

It is almost as though it is a book about hating your job. Then a book about a magical house, and then a book about government and capitalism.  It resembles a picture book, but is very wordy.

It may have lost something in the translation.  It might have been better as a early chapter book, or even a middle grade book, if it was fleshed out, but as a picture book it is all over the map.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Seraphin is a beautiful book written and illustrated by Philippe Fix.  The original book was written in French and this edition is translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith.  I loved the illustrations.  Philippe Fix captures the audience with the whimsicalness of his drawings.  However, the storyline was lacking and difficult to follow.  I'm not sure how much for this is because of the English translation.  It was just choppy and the ending seemed not to make sense and left me with more questions than answers.

Seraphin is a book about a very inventive man that gets a job that doesn't utilize his best skills.  He does manage to use his creative talents to their fullest as the story unfolds.  Phillipe Fix is a superb illustrator, and his drawings are fantastic.  They are colorful and detailed  and very whimsical. The story itself, however, is vewry disjointed and difficult to follow.  I'm not sure what age group could follow this story, as I was having difficulty following it, myself.  But, if you have an appreciation for great artwork, then, at least, give it a whirl.,  You won't be disappointed.  #netgalley, #Steerforth, #seraphin

I'm unsure if there was a point to this book but still a good book. Pictures were wonderful and extremely detailed. Story was a bit long and ended quickly but was a nice fantasy tale.

Seraphin is a cute, quirky, philosophical tale about Seraphin and his friend Plume. Seraphin was happy just being his own self but that soon ran afoul of his boss, his landlord, and others in the community. Rather than changing who they are, Seraphin and Plume decided to change the town and built a staircase that would lead them away to new adventures. While the book is long by today's standards, it was originally published in French in the 1960s and expects adults to read to younger children. I enjoyed the illustrations and the story. It reminded me of Dahl and Suess rolled into one.

Thank you NetGalley and Archipelago Elsewhere Editions for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

Seraphin authored by 
Philippe Fix makes its debut with a fresh translation in English after being out of print for decades. 
Now, the parents who treasured Seraphin as one of their childhood favorites can introduce him to their children and classroom students.
I must confess, author, gifted storyteller and fascinating illustrator, Philippe Fix is new in my repertoire of favorites. 
He appeals to his readers with his whimsical characters, and his illustrations delight & thrill the imagination.
Children can learn some valuable lessons from this storybook as Seraphin and his friend, Plume take their disappointments and turn them into amazing, fun-loving, quirky, over-the-top successes! Paris has never looked so grand and the skyline, what? Are those stairs in the clouds I’m seeing!

Anna Niles-Martin
Experienced Children’s Curriculum Developer

Detailed, imaginative French 1967 book in translation. I read many historical children's books, so the higher reading level of the text didn't bother me. But, it is different than the text of contemporary children's books (more words, written for all ages). The story of the inventor is told with text, yes, but also amazing illustrations. Each page deserves loving scrutiny. And, the hero's final creation is stupendous. Wonderful, wonderful book. Particularly good for that younger tinkerer or maker in your life. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the illustrations for this children's book, bright colors and lots to look at! I liked the story in the beginning but it seemed to get weirder and weirder, with animated story characters, then the eviction proceedings, animated dragons, and lastly that stairway to nowhere, then the story just ended. It was a really strange ending!

A Hans Christian Anderson tale, the illustrations are the highlight of this strange little book; particularly the full page art. As it is a translation, I can believe the story either lost a bit in the process; or it represents a foreign example of unfamiliar childhood entertainment. Either way, I cannot help but wonder just how satisfying a read it will be for today's readers. Ending on a positive note, it reminded me a great deal of the 70's works of Maurice Sendak.

The Cover Is the Best Part; The Rest is Unsatisfyingly Random

This is a new, and newly released, translation of a picture book originally published in French in 1967. It's whimsical and it occasionally hits a charming note, but, being text heavy, brief, and random in terms of narrative and tone, it never seems to take off.

The cover is gorgeous and there are a number of engaging splash pages, but the colorful and often cleverly composed art mostly just serves to emphasize the absence of a compelling story. Our hero, Seraphin, is dreamy and impractical and his experiences become increasingly fantastical and magical as the story progresses.  I guess that's fine for a picture book, but this book is crammed with text, and that text is disjointed and never takes us anywhere. 

So, for all its charming drawings I was left with the impression that this book held the reader away at arm's length, and that's a tough sell. I liked looking at this book but I can't imagine how I'd read it to a kid.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

This is a brand-new English translation of a 1967 French picture book that maybe should've stayed untranslated. What starts out looking like a charming story about a funny little man rather abruptly devolves into a head-scratcher with a deux ex machina ending.

We're introduced to Seraphin, an old man who--for some reason--has never decided what he wants to be when he grows up. He has a short career as a ticket puncher before fate intervenes and somebody leaves him a ramshackle house in their will. With the help of his friend, a little boy named Plume, he fixes up the house. Then he builds a great music-making machine. The friends live happily in the house, which may or may not be possessed; there's a weird incident that seems to have nothing to do with anything, where Plume's sitting by the fire and the sound of squealing sap makes all the carvings and pictures in the house come to life.

Eventually, the government comes and tries to evict Seraphin to build condos on the land. He and Plume hole up in the house until the authorities come banging on the door. Then they build a wooden tower up from the top of the house to escape. Just when it looks like they're about to be caught... they step off into the sky on a set of movable stairs.

Unfortunately, I'm not kidding. The book doesn't seem like it's going to be fantasy, and then all of a sudden it throws in stuff like the moving statues and the walking on air. It's really disjointed. On top of that, it's a bit of a chore to read. This is very heavy on the text for so short a book.

I've seen some other reviewers mention the inappropriate relationship between Seraphin and Plume. I didn't really get that, although I was looking at it through a more innocent lens and trying to remember when it was originally written. There's nothing overtly creepy about the relationship, but viewed in light of our current understanding of sexual predators, it might give some readers pause. (Where are Plume's parents? How much time does he actually spend with Seraphin alone at his house? Why doesn't this old guy have any friends his own age?)

In any case, this isn't really a book I'd recommend. It's too wordy, and the plot goes from intriguing to downright silly in the final act.

First published in 1967 in France this book has now enchanted children around the world, and although it has been published before in English I believe, we have here a lovely new translation.  Intended for five to eight year olds this does make for an enchanting read, and will delight younger children if it is read to them as well.

Here then we find Monsieur Seraphin, who finds work on the Paris Métro as a ticket puncher.  As we see he is creative and optimistic, but some of his ways cause him to get into trouble, and ultimately sacked.  But with a surprise coming to him so we see Seraphin with his friend Plume creating a new life as they have a house to do up.  But what will happen then?

With inventiveness shown by Seraphin, and a bit of magic this makes for one of those stories that will keep children entertained long after they have finished reading the book and with the author’s fantastic illustrations means that we can all gaze admiringly on them.  In all this is certainly fun and as an adult I must admit that I was hugely entertained by this simple tale.  Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC.