CM Magazine: Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VIII Number 12 . . . . February 15, 2002

Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago.

Gilles Tibo. Translated by Susan Ouriou. Illustrated by Louise-Andree Laliberte.
Toronto, ON: Tundra Books, 2001.
86 pp., pbk., $8.99.
ISBN 0-88776-551-3.

Subject Headings:
Treasure-trove-Juvenile fiction.
Children and death-Juvenile fiction.
Intergenerational relations-Juvenile fiction.

Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10.

Review by Gillian Noonan.

**** /4

excerpt:

All things considered, my family is ... Mrs. Lumbago. Since I don't have a grandmother, I call her grandma. Since she never had any children, she often calls me her little grandchild or her little treasure while tickling me and laughing twice as hard as me.

She never scolds me. I'm allowed to do anything except run down the hall. She says I run like an elephant. The floor shakes and the pictures on the wall go clink.. clink. I have to watch out because of all the shelves lined with knickknacks, too. So I'm careful, I walk instead of run, and everyone's happy.

Mrs. Lumbago and I make a great pair, especially when she gives me maple fudge to eat.

Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago, the English translation of Giles Tibo's first novel, Le Secret de Madame Lumbago, which won the Prix litteraire du Gouvernor general in 1996, is a real reading treat. Naomi lives downstairs from Mr. and Mrs. Lumbago, an elderly couple who look after her since Naomi's parents are "... up to their eyeballs in work." Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago have an exuberant relationship. Every day is filled with fun and adventure, adventure that is heightened by the frequent comment of Mr. Lumbago, a war veteran, that there is treasure hidden in their apartment. Naomi is determined to find this treasure and spends much time looking and dreaming and even researching treasure hunters at the local library. In the middle of Naomi's search, Mr. Lumbago, who has not been well since he returned from the war, dies. The hunt is put on hold while Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago mourn their loss, but, as life goes on, the treasure hunt game soon resumes. As before, it involves Naomi's helping Mrs. Lumbago with her reading and writing, but the hunt and Naomi have a new ferocity. Naomi is more determined than ever to find the treasure, a situation which leads her to more than one discovery in her search.

From the opening pages, the reader is actively engaged in this story which is told in the first person. The characters are fresh, energetic and realistic, traits similar to those found in Tibo's beloved Simon from Tibo's award winning picture book series. The relationship between young and old is treated with wonderful sensitivity but is never patronizing or stereotypical. The loss of Mr. Lumbago is poignantly treated. Young readers will also feel the slowing down of the story for this mourning period and will be able to understand Naomi's simple but heartfelt feelings over this loss. Readers will also be captivated by Naomi's compulsive attention to finding the hidden treasure. The ending is more than the readers will have anticipated. Naomi and Mrs. Lumbago is not a story to read if you do not have the time to finish it immediately.

Highly Recommended.

Gillian Martin Noonan is a teacher living in Old Perlican, NF.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

NEXT REVIEW | TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE -February 15, 2002.