On February 5, children’s book illustrator and author Marie LeTourneau visited students at Scotchtown Avenue Elementary School, where she put on a dynamic presentation of her book, The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres.

Before LeTourneau read her story, she involved students in an activity comparing New York, where they live, to Paris, France, where the story takes place. The students helped LeTourneau compare the two major cities and found that New York is famous for the Statue of Liberty, apples and taxi cabs, whereas Paris is famous for the Eiffel Tower, artists and beautiful paintings.

LeTourneau then engaged students with The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres. She introduced Chef Marcel, the owner of a fancy bistro in Paris, Bistrot Des Sept Freres (bistro of seven brothers). Working along side him are his seven clumsy sons and one very special daughter, Petite Michelle. As the story unfolds, we learn that Chef Marcel is famous for his soupe au fromage, or cheese soup, and wins the soup competition every year. But only minutes before this year's competition, Chef Marcel discovers he is out of his secret ingredient. Who will save the day and the soup?

After the reading, students were then introduced to “Mission Nutrition – Healthy Food Choices,” and participated in different activities where they discussed and identified healthy food choices.

The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres is the Foreward Magazine Book of the Year 2006 Bronze Medal Winner. For more information, visit www.marieletourneau.com.