Grandpa's Workshop

Read an excerpt of this book here.

Description

In Grandpa's workshop, the tools tell stories.  Some have sailed the Seven Seas, some have passed from hand to hand through the centuries.  This is the story of a family of woodworkers stretching back through the centuries.  This is the story of Sylvain and his time in Pepere's shop; the stories, history, and imagination.

Noted illustrator and author, Maurice Pomier has here created his most personal work.  Like the fine artisans who come to life in Grandpa's Workshop, he has carved a masterpiece.  With sensitivity, generosity, fantasy, modesty and sincerity, Pommier has created a book for all ages; a book for those who value history, family, and craftsmanship.

Pommier paints an unbroken line of craftsmen from a French family, and he traces the history of their lives and their work through their tools and how they were handed from one craftsman to the other – against the backdrop of colonization, the gold rush, World War I, and the time when Dragomir the dragon wreaked havoc in the Black Forest.

Maurice Pommier's book was translated from French by Brian Anderson, an American-born writer and woodworker who lives and works in France.  Lost Art Press took pains to build the English version of this book so it matches the experience of reading it in the original French.  It is even printed in an oversized European size with a special thick paper stock to closely match the original’s print run.

“Grandpa’s Workshop” is a magnificent tale filled with hundreds of beautiful illustrations that you and your children will find intoxicating. It is a story that is untouched by the modern tendency to sugar coat stories for our children, and it is a little bit scary in parts – there is a vicious dragon, a tragic jobsite accident, a war and even a family murder.  It is a tale that will fascinate and spark something in the reader – perhaps a love for wood, the mysteries of the forest or even working with one’s hands. It is the perfect gift for a child who might just have woodworking in his or her blood.

Details

• Sewn and casebound for durability.
• Printed and bound in the United States.