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Reading List: Parenting

reading list

November 15, 2019

Dad

Being a single dad is a full-time job, as Dad knows only too well! Especially with four headstrong daughters to whom obedience doesn’t exactly come naturally… With bookish Pandora, emotional Ondine, mischievous Roxanne and, the latest addition, baby Bella, this unemployed actor has landed himself the role of a lifetime: looking after his family!

Mamma Mia

Single mom Aurélie’s moving back in with her grandmother, her young daughter Emma in tow. And to everyone’s surprise, so is Sophie—Aurélie’s perennially absent mother, back from yet another adventure abroad. With four generations of women living under the same roof, life is never simple—and bound to get messy!

Glorious Summers

In this nostalgic account, the Faldérault family sets out for a final summer vacation together before an impending marital separation disrupts the family dynamics for good. Along the way, heading south to France from Brussels, Pierre, Maddie, and their children revel in impromptu skinny-dips, family sing-alongs, and camping in the wild, ultimately finding a renewed zest for life—and vacation!

Elma – A Bear’s Life

Elma is a joyful, free-spirited child who is being raised by a bear she thinks of as her father. But Papa Bear is hiding a secret, and the close-knit duo must make a long and perilous journey to begin a mysterious new life beyond the forest. Adventure and danger are in store as they discover the linked secrets of Elma’s past and future.

Seeking: Dad 2.0

Caroline is a 33-year-old single mom. To help her cope with the difficulties she faces as such in her personal and professional life, she’s a regular at the M.A (mothers anonymous) association, a conversation group for women who are a little overwhelmed by their motherhood. Caroline shares her tragi-comic attempts to find love and companionship, while Philippe, a slightly out-of-place new arrival at M.A., reflects on his status as a ‘dad 2.0’. A funny, intelligent, and moving graphic novel, a touch of chick lit with a feminist twist that comments on one of the big social subjects of our time: the new family model.

While the King of Prussia…

Mrs. Hubeau looks after her 40-year-old handicapped son, Michel. Despite many happy moments, her daily life is far from easy, but she faces it with unparalleled courage and generosity. This is a beautiful homage to all the admirable people fighting in the shadows.

Anastasia

1926. A mother and her young daughter come to Los Angeles. The mother is chasing her dream: she wants to conquer Hollywood, no matter the cost. Her little girl, Anastasia, is the perfect candidate to be cinema’s next big star. But can she stand the pressure? The clash of dreams and the dirty reality of show business is a heavy burden to bear, as Anastasia comes face to face with the crime, abuse, and murky secrets of an all-powerful industry. A story that calls into question the so-called golden era of Hollywood, when the “dream factory” resembled a Byzantine empire, above the law and fed by vanity and greed.

The Two Lives of Penelope

Penelope is a Belgian physician who works with Doctors Without Borders in war-torn Syria. She returns to Belgium when she can in order to see her husband and daughter, but the transition is hard. Her latest trip home for the holidays proves even tougher than usual, as the coexistence of the two excruciatingly different worlds she inhabits becomes increasingly fraught.

Amalia

Amalia is on the verge of burnout. Her family life—with her husband, Karim; her 4-year-old daughter, Lili; and her 17-year-old stepdaughter, Nora—is nothing but rushing around, screaming, and doors slamming. At work, they talk about agility, flexibility, and adaptation, but her workload is slipping away from her. As she drives through the countryside, she sees diseased wheat fields and polluted rivers. She can’t even listen to the radio without some new story about deadly attacks and a dying climate. Amalia struggles, tries, fails… and eventually, she cracks.

Header image: Seeking: Dad 2.0 ©  Gwendoline Raisson, Magali Le Huche / Dargaud