Marcel was born with webbed toes and an extra chromosome in this tender exploration of a child’s life with Down syndrome.

When Marcel is born, the first thing the midwife notices is his webbed toes. Otherwise, he eats, he sleeps, he eats again, just like any baby. And then the doctors start to notice Marcel’s almond-shaped eyes, weak muscle tone and unusually shaped ears. They come to a conclusion: Marcel has Down syndrome. Marcel’s parents don’t know what to do with this medical terminology, so they bury it in the bottom of the garden, where it can grow in its own time and they can keep an eye on it.

But Marcel doesn’t care about words yet. He grows and learns, taking to life like a fish in water. In many ways, Marcel is just like any child. He loves to laugh, be silly with his friends and go swimming during summer vacation.

Marcel with a Splash goes beyond medical terms and the accompanying prejudices to discover Marcel himself. Inspired in part by her experiences as the mother of a child with Down syndrome, artist and author Julia Sørensen takes us on a poetic stroll between naps, chromosomes and tall grass, through Marcel’s beautiful, ordinary life.

Key Text Features

illustrations

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4

Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

JULIA SØRENSON is a Swiss author and artist. She has a degree from the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Geneva. She has published the book FA-FU and is also an editor of other artists’ books with the publisher art&fiction. Marcel with a Splash is her first book for children. She lives and works in Marchissy, Switzerland.

Julia Sørensen's profile page

SHELLEY TANAKA is an award-winning author, translator and editor. She has written more than twenty books for children and young adults, winning the Orbis Pictus Award, the Mr. Christie’s Book Award, the Science in Society Book Award and the Information Book Award, and she has twice been nominated for the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis. Other honors include Texas Blue Bonnet runner-up, School Library Journal Best Books, ALA Notables and IRA Young Adults’ Choice. Her translation of Michel Noel’s Good for Nothing won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and was on the IBBY Honor List (Commended). Shelley teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts, in the MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Shelley Tanaka's profile page

This heartfelt picture book addresses the difficulties and celebrates the joys of raising a child with [Down syndrome]. STARRED REVIEW

Foreword