You initially studied biology, before continuing to art school. What led you to devote yourself to writing and creating books for children? 

I did a lot of crafts as a child and I always had a taste for the plastic arts. But it's not easy to go to art school at the age of eighteen. It's a good thing I didn't, because such studies require a lot of maturity and you risk floundering if you're not ready for it. So I am very happy to have done a university course in a scientific field, which gave me a useful rigour later on. But when the time came to write a thesis, I realised it was a huge investment. So I thought I would try to go to art school, because it was now or never. I have never regretted my decision. I joined the Beaux-Arts d'Épinal (now the École Supérieure d'Art de Lorraine), which specialised in illustration. So there was a link with children's books, and that's where I discovered art books for children, particularly those by Bruno Munari and Katsumi Komagata, whom I often reference. 

You regularly highlight the influence that visual artists such as Matisse and Bruno Munari have had on you. How has their work affected you? 

Matisse stirred my first artistic feelings when I was a child. I had a very stern teacher at the time, but she had a real interest in the plastic arts. She was extremely strict, so any time spent on art was a moment of relief for me. She introduced me to a lot of Matisse's work, and I have a very clear and happy memory of that time. Later, in art school, I found the environment very serious: you had to talk about your work, find penetrating things to say about it. That's where I found Bruno Munari's books, which were the exact opposite: fun and facetious, without ever being silly. They are pieces that are thought out from A to Z, very demanding in terms of content and form, that invite curiosity. 

Your books are presented above all as objects, as things that can be handled. Why is this materiality so important to you? 

Children's books often have a manipulative aspect, which is nothing new, when you look at the Père Castor books. The "new" pedagogies of the early 20th century, like Montessori or Freinet, were already talking about involving children and making them responsible for their own learning. While conducting my first workshops with kindergarten classes, I also realised that capturing their attention, offering them something that was both stimulating and not frustrating, were real challenges. This led to a very personal approach, empirically trying things out and improving them little by little. I then noticed that manipulating objects allows children to concentrate and to realise that they can have an effect on things, that they can transform one thing into another. 

How do you choose the stories you want to tell and the form you want to give them? Is it through consultations with children? 

Yes, absolutely, workshops allow me to experiment with different manipulations of the book format with children. For example, in my book Prendre et donner, where you move an object from one page to another. I had observed that this was something they would enjoy. Alongside these workshops, I also read scientific literature, even though I am not a specialist in child development or neuroscience. But I read these studies to inform myself. It helps me to put my finger on specific subjects, for example on the question of eye movement, which the researcher Michael Tomasello talks about, and I follow him a lot. These studies help us to better understand how the child functions and what can enable us to create a web of communication with them. I also draw a lot of inspiration from my own childhood. I was lucky as a child to have been able to play a lot. I played outside with my friends, in great freedom. 

Does writing for children come with any special responsibilities? 

Yes, it does. A child is vulnerable to an adult in every way. When I find myself in front of classes, I seriously ask myself what I am going to say to these children. Often, they prepare for my visit by saying that someone who writes books is coming. So for them it's someone important: at school, they are taught that books are precious and important objects. For my part, I try to create books that are not just to be respected, but questioned. For me, an author must always earn our trust. 

What does the Grande Ourse 2021, which you have just received at the Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse de Montreuil, mean to you? 

For me, it's very gratifying. The team that works for this fair is involved all year round on the Les livres à soi (books at home) scheme, aimed at families who do not usually have access to this type of book for their children. This is an approach I have been following for a long time, because for these books to reach children, their parents must have access to a bookstore, they must be able to afford them, etc. Since books are often linked to school in the minds of children, it can help them a lot in their school career if their parents have a positive relationship with books. So we spoke the same language when we came together for this prize. 

You are going to develop projects abroad in 2022, notably with the support of the Institut français. What are your expectations? 

Being able to take part in projects abroad is very important for me. I have been lucky enough to spend periods of my life abroad, in Hong Kong when I was a student, in Spain, and more recently in England. I think it is essential to get to know as many cultures as possible, and to look at my own with a different perspective. I am very attached to cultural combinations and cosmopolitanism. I am happy that my children love Les Shadoks as much as they love Christmas pantomimes, a great English tradition, pétanque as much as cricket, the green English countryside and the Jura mountains. I am happy to be back in France, with the vision of a European country, open, which strengthens its humanistic values thanks to its interactions with other cultures. I really hope to have the chance to learn, discover and share through my work. French children's publishing is very interesting I think, with many influences from all over the world! I'm always looking for new discoveries, to be amazed, to be challenged, to take a new angle, to think differently.