Book cover of The Child and the River

Book description

A new translation of an evocative, Huckleberry Finn–esque French bestseller about a young farmboy, the river where he is forbidden to play, and the adventures that ensue when he disobeys his family's wishes.

The Child and the River tells a simple but haunting tale. Pascalet, a boy growing up…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Child and the River as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I know I love a book if I’ve read it twice and actually consider reading it a third time.

The Child and the River, which has been described as a French Huckleberry Finn, appeals to me because it echoes, in a sense, how I was as a child. The protagonist dreams of racing outside and making his way to a river—when his father has explicitly asked him not to go there. But of course, the child gets to the river, and more, when his parents are out of town!

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