French-Canadian Tales

French-Canadian Tales

Natalie Savage Carlson, of French-Canadian descent, was an American writer of children's books. Most well-known for her Family Under the Bridge, she also wrote lovely books that reached back into the folktales of New France. These are her Sashes Red and Blue and Alphonse: That Bearded One.

In a like manner, she was the authoress of the delightful Orpheline books (Happy Orpheline, Brother for the Orphelines, Grandmother for the Orphelines, among others) which are set in France and convey much of the customs and holidays of that country.

Many of her books were beautifully illustrated by Garth Williams who also breathed picture life into the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

Sadly, most of her books are out of print and are not being circulated by public libraries any more.