Nanna Bijou

The Sleeping Giant

Jocelyn Villeneuve

Illustrations by Luc Robert

4 X 7 inches, 48 pages

NOWADAYS, IN A PANORAMIC VIEW NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN, one can see the gigantic figure of Nanna Bijou, a great land formation outlined in the bay of Lake Superior. An enormous giant asleep opposite the city of Thunder Bay in Ontario, he is named The Sleeping Giant. Situated at the south western tip of the vast Sibley peninsula, its rocky peaks, the highest of which boasts fourteen hundred feet elevation above sea level, inherited the names of his head, his chest and his Adam's Apple. The abrupt sides of the long promontory, the Nanna Steps, are likewise named in his honour.

So popular it has been reprinted several times, Nanna Bijou: the Legend of the Sleeping Giant prompted the reviewer for the Toronto Globe and Mail to write that it was a "delightful book and illustrations by Luc Robert capture the magic of the legend perfectly. The clearness of the prose and simplicity of the story make the book ideal material for reading out loud to children."

Jocelyne Villeneuve

(1941-1998)

Author

Perhaps better known for her writing of French-language stories, poetry and journalism, Jocelyne Villeneuve was nonetheless no stranger to publishing in English. She lived in Sudbury, where she was a champion of Franco-Ontarian culture. Wheel-chair confined as a result of illness and a car accident in 1967, the former librarian worked for many years as a freelance writer.

Luc Robert

Illustrator