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Children of My Heart
Set in the prairies in the 1930s, and rich with the author’s own memories of her time there as a young woman, this is a powerful story of an impressionable and passionate young teacher and the pupils, from impoverished immigrant families, whose lives she touches. Children of My Heart bears unforgettable testimony to the healing power love exerts on the wounds of loneliness and poverty.
171 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
About the author
Gabrielle Roy
56 books108 followersGabrielle Roy was born in March 1909 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, the youngest of eleven children. Her mother and father, then, were relatively old at the time of her birth -- 42 and 59 respectively. Like Christine's father in Rue Deschambault (Street of Riches), Léon Roy worked as a colonisation officer for the Department of Immigration, a position he held between 1897 and 1915. His politically motivated dismissal occurred six months before his retirement, thus leaving Roy with no pension to support his family. The family's financial predicament during Gabrielle's youth precluded any chance of her attending university, despite having earned stellar marks throughout high school which put her as one of the top students in the entire province. In 1927, after graduating from grade twelve, she enrolled at the Winnipeg Normal Institute where she completed her teacher training.
After teaching in the rural communities of Marchand and Cardinal, where she taught for a year, Roy returned to Saint-Boniface. There she accepted a teaching job at the Académie Provencher boy's school, a position she held from 1930-37. During this period, Roy began actively pursuing her interest in acting and joined the Cercle Molière theatre troupe. Her experiences as an actor inspired her to leave her teaching position and travel to Europe to study drama. Spending between 1937 and 1939 in Britain and France, the fluently bilingual Roy studied acting for six months before concluding that she did not desire to pursue a career in the theatre. In the meantime, she had also begun to write articles about Canada for newspapers in Paris and pieces on Europe for newspapers in Manitoba and came to realize that writing could be her vocation.
Over the course of her lengthy and prolific career, Gabrielle Roy received many honours, including three Governor General's Awards (1947, 1957, 1978), the Prix Fémina (1947), the Companion of the Order of Canada (1967), the Medal of the Canada Council (1968), the Prix David (1971), and the Prix Molson (1978).
After teaching in the rural communities of Marchand and Cardinal, where she taught for a year, Roy returned to Saint-Boniface. There she accepted a teaching job at the Académie Provencher boy's school, a position she held from 1930-37. During this period, Roy began actively pursuing her interest in acting and joined the Cercle Molière theatre troupe. Her experiences as an actor inspired her to leave her teaching position and travel to Europe to study drama. Spending between 1937 and 1939 in Britain and France, the fluently bilingual Roy studied acting for six months before concluding that she did not desire to pursue a career in the theatre. In the meantime, she had also begun to write articles about Canada for newspapers in Paris and pieces on Europe for newspapers in Manitoba and came to realize that writing could be her vocation.
Over the course of her lengthy and prolific career, Gabrielle Roy received many honours, including three Governor General's Awards (1947, 1957, 1978), the Prix Fémina (1947), the Companion of the Order of Canada (1967), the Medal of the Canada Council (1968), the Prix David (1971), and the Prix Molson (1978).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
July 14, 2021
Translated from French into English, author Gabrielle Roy reminisces about her brief teaching career as a teenager straight out of Normal School during the 1930s in Manitoba, Canada. From one-room village schools to a city school for boys, her memories focus on six specific children. My particular favorite was about Nil, who loved to sing the songs his Ukrainian-immigrant mother taught him, bringing joy and wonder to whoever heard him. I can just picture him!
Many of her children came from impoverished immigrant families that may or may not have spoken French. I appreciate Roy's musings that reveal her empathy towards her students as she visits their families or provides much-needed clothing her mother would sew or alter.
As a retired teacher myself, I can fully understand her joy when a child finally understood a concept, her satisfaction watching a parent's heart fill with pride, her frustration when a parent was hostile, her regret for making a blunder, to her sorrow when leaving her students. Overall, I can relate to her fond (sometimes head-shaking, sometimes heartbreaking) memories of the "children of her heart".
Note: Published in 1977 and translated in 1979, some thoughts may be lost in translation and contain an odd politically-incorrect term.
Many of her children came from impoverished immigrant families that may or may not have spoken French. I appreciate Roy's musings that reveal her empathy towards her students as she visits their families or provides much-needed clothing her mother would sew or alter.
As a retired teacher myself, I can fully understand her joy when a child finally understood a concept, her satisfaction watching a parent's heart fill with pride, her frustration when a parent was hostile, her regret for making a blunder, to her sorrow when leaving her students. Overall, I can relate to her fond (sometimes head-shaking, sometimes heartbreaking) memories of the "children of her heart".
Note: Published in 1977 and translated in 1979, some thoughts may be lost in translation and contain an odd politically-incorrect term.
June 6, 2023
I loved this book! This brought back memories of my first year as a teacher.
The book contains 6 short stories which are inspired by the period when Gabrielle Roy taught in a small village in Manitoba. She has chosen five children, all boys, perhaps because she has taught mainly in boys' schools. Their names are Vincento, Clair Bright, Nile Demetrioff, André Pasquier and Mederic Eymard. Vincento is a small Italian frightened by the arrival, Clair is a smart child who is dying to please his mistress at Christmas; Nile is a small Ukrainian boy with a voice of a lark; Demetrioff is subjugated by calligraphy; André Pasquier is a little man of 10 who keeps house for his bedridden mother and finally, Mederic is a young teenager who falls in love with his teacher.
These portraits are both full of freshness and humanity and it's impossible not to fall in love with Gabrielle Roy's teaching experiences.
The book contains 6 short stories which are inspired by the period when Gabrielle Roy taught in a small village in Manitoba. She has chosen five children, all boys, perhaps because she has taught mainly in boys' schools. Their names are Vincento, Clair Bright, Nile Demetrioff, André Pasquier and Mederic Eymard. Vincento is a small Italian frightened by the arrival, Clair is a smart child who is dying to please his mistress at Christmas; Nile is a small Ukrainian boy with a voice of a lark; Demetrioff is subjugated by calligraphy; André Pasquier is a little man of 10 who keeps house for his bedridden mother and finally, Mederic is a young teenager who falls in love with his teacher.
These portraits are both full of freshness and humanity and it's impossible not to fall in love with Gabrielle Roy's teaching experiences.
January 13, 2018
I enjoyed my time with this teacher on the Canadian prairie in the 1930s. But can one complain a book is too short? Perhaps it was the lack of individual characterization that made it seem so. I did appreciate the characterization of the prairie itself, and of the people in general.
This teacher is presented in three schools of two types: a boys school where she teaches the youngest students, and two different one-room schools. I liked the Part at the boys school the best, although there was something to appreciate in each of the Parts. The Canadian prairie was settled by immigrants, most often poor, but proud. Our unnamed first person narrator displayed insight and compassion.
The prose is good enough. This is an easy read, and was what I needed at this time. Still, I wanted more - a few more students, another day with them at least. For enjoyment, it is probably at the bottom of my 4-star pile, and with that I feel I am being generous.
This teacher is presented in three schools of two types: a boys school where she teaches the youngest students, and two different one-room schools. I liked the Part at the boys school the best, although there was something to appreciate in each of the Parts. The Canadian prairie was settled by immigrants, most often poor, but proud. Our unnamed first person narrator displayed insight and compassion.
The prose is good enough. This is an easy read, and was what I needed at this time. Still, I wanted more - a few more students, another day with them at least. For enjoyment, it is probably at the bottom of my 4-star pile, and with that I feel I am being generous.
October 22, 2019
A delicate and tender tale of a young woman's first, unforgettable year of teaching in a rural school on the Canadian prairies (most likely Manitoba). The stories of her pupils are authentic and deeply moving, and the author's love of place and persons associated therewith resonates throughout. This is considered a classic of Canadian literature, and small wonder. It is brief but vibrates with the passion and pain of youth--the pathos and paltriness of human longing and aspiration set against the beauty and terror of the northern prairies borne along by Roy's cinematic prose, always staying just this side of sentimentality--all this makes it a most remarkable novel.
September 16, 2024
This is perhaps a rarity: a book best commented on after having read it and then left it aside for a day. The immediacy of the story and the compelling presence of the narrator are bound to leave one, for the moment, unable to sort out what to say about it.
After some reflection, what I’m left with is astonishment that Gabrielle Roy was able to recount such deeply personal and emotional experiences without ever becoming sentimental or maudlin. And I doubt if any other Canadian writer was her equal in capturing that special place, the subtle wonders of the northern prairie and the surrounding hills — and especially the tremendous impact of the change of seasons.
Truly written “from the heart”. What more can be said? Gabrielle Roy, you’ve done it again!
A classic of time and place and humanity.
Just read it!
After some reflection, what I’m left with is astonishment that Gabrielle Roy was able to recount such deeply personal and emotional experiences without ever becoming sentimental or maudlin. And I doubt if any other Canadian writer was her equal in capturing that special place, the subtle wonders of the northern prairie and the surrounding hills — and especially the tremendous impact of the change of seasons.
Truly written “from the heart”. What more can be said? Gabrielle Roy, you’ve done it again!
A classic of time and place and humanity.
Just read it!
March 17, 2024
Recueil de 6 nouvelles dont la prose de Gabrielle Roy constitue un petit trésor de la littérature franco-canadienne.
December 4, 2021
"Ces enfants de ma vie" est au programme de littérature française à toutes les universités anglophones du Canada pour plusieurs bonnes raison. Étant court et est clair, il n'est pas trop difficile pour quelqu'un en train d'apprendre le francais. En plus ce roman représente très bien l'œuvre de Gabrielle Roy qui est la plus grande écrivaine de l'histoire de la littérature canadienne-française. Parce qu'il raconte des événements dans la vie d'une jeune institutrice au début de sa carrière, il est de grand intérêt pour les étudiants qui pour plupart veulent devenir des enseignants dans les écoles d'immersion française qui existent partout au Canada.
Je recommande aussi la lecture de ce roman aux francais de l'Europe qui veulent mieux connaitre le Canada car Roy était une observatrice hors de commun et décrivait la société et les gens de son époque avec une authenticité remarquable.
Finalement , il faut ajouter que les contes dans ce recueil plaisent beaucoup. Roy croyait fermement dans la bonté fondamentale des gens. Ses personnages font face courageusement a leurs problèmes et à leurs défauts. Roy ne promet pas d'avenirs brillantes pour les élèves de son protagoniste, mais elle nous assure qu'ils font tous mener le bon combat dans leurs vies.
Je recommande aussi la lecture de ce roman aux francais de l'Europe qui veulent mieux connaitre le Canada car Roy était une observatrice hors de commun et décrivait la société et les gens de son époque avec une authenticité remarquable.
Finalement , il faut ajouter que les contes dans ce recueil plaisent beaucoup. Roy croyait fermement dans la bonté fondamentale des gens. Ses personnages font face courageusement a leurs problèmes et à leurs défauts. Roy ne promet pas d'avenirs brillantes pour les élèves de son protagoniste, mais elle nous assure qu'ils font tous mener le bon combat dans leurs vies.
February 6, 2019
Quelle perte de temps! Les livres obligatoires à lire dans les institutions scolaires ne font pas justice à l’abondance de livres captivants écrits en français. Malheureusement, cela décourage tant de jeunes personnes à continuer à lire en français. Très dommage!
September 7, 2021
4.5 - Vraiment touchant, si bien écrit. Chaque est histoire est mise en scène avec doigté, Gabrielle Roy a tout un talent pour la narration et la description. Un bel hommage à la résilience des enfants.
September 15, 2021
Grand coup de cœur pour cette série d’histoires toutes douces. Chaque enfant est dépeint avec une empathie infinie et une justesse qui surprend, et on se laisse aller au rythme lent des saisons dans les prairies. J’ai tout aimé, et je veux tout lire d’elle.
September 22, 2021
Touchant recueil de nouvelles. J'adore la prose de Gabrielle Roy et surtout sa transparence. On la sent vraie, pas de fausse humilité ou modestie, elle connait ses limites, ne ''glamourise'' rien. Avec mon travail, ça m'a beaucoup parlé, cette idée que les gens\enfants qu'on rencontre et avec lesquel.les on tisse des liens malgré tout nous marquent durant une carrière. Très hâte de lire le reste de son oeuvre!
June 22, 2022
This translation from the original French novel captures a slice of the life of a teacher living in the Canadian prairies in the 1930s. The stories are based on the author's own experiences. Life was not easy been seemed to be ever interesting. The final story centred around a student named Médéric and was particularly poignant.
February 17, 2012
What beautiful language and powerful writing! Roy has used words to create a vision of her life in a prarie schhol - a life that is full of meaning and emotion. She presents herself and her students in a delightful manner, even when describing less than delightful situations. Roy was able to draw me to the place and time that her story took place with ease.
I would have liked to hear more of some of the characters. There weere a few that I felt we were introduced to, and then they were not mentioned again. What what happened with Arthur or George? If they were important enough to introduce, I feel that they should have been explained as well.
I would have liked to hear more of some of the characters. There weere a few that I felt we were introduced to, and then they were not mentioned again. What what happened with Arthur or George? If they were important enough to introduce, I feel that they should have been explained as well.
May 27, 2024
C'était le meilleur livre du monde jusqu'à la dernière histoire, qui est censée être "sensuelle" mais qui est juste péd0ph1le? J'ai pas compris lmao
August 23, 2024
Roy explica con entusiasmo, ternura y humildad las historias que vivió como maestra en escuelas sencillas del Canadá. Pequeñas grandes vidas que nos parecen tan remotas como curiosas y llenas de valentía. Cerca de la realidad y lejos de la cursilería, esta autora demuestra la importancia de la educación, de explicar las hazañas que habitualmente caen en el olvido y que escribe maravillosamente: "Evocaba el joven verano que, apenas nacido, comienza a morir de su fragilidad."
July 10, 2024
4,5 ⭐️
Vraiment une belle découverte! Ça fait un moment que j’avais envie de le lire, et je suis contente de l’avoir fait. La narratrice, une jeune institutrice de campagne, nous présente les élèves qui ont marqué sa vie: Neil, Demetrioff, André et le fameux Médéric. J’ai trouvé ça beau à lire, étant moi-même une future enseignante. J’ai eu un petit malaise avec l’histoire de Médéric, mais en même temps c’est une autre époque. C’était différent.
Je ressors de cette lecture en étant émue. Je vais certainement relire Gabrielle Roy!
Vraiment une belle découverte! Ça fait un moment que j’avais envie de le lire, et je suis contente de l’avoir fait. La narratrice, une jeune institutrice de campagne, nous présente les élèves qui ont marqué sa vie: Neil, Demetrioff, André et le fameux Médéric. J’ai trouvé ça beau à lire, étant moi-même une future enseignante. J’ai eu un petit malaise avec l’histoire de Médéric, mais en même temps c’est une autre époque. C’était différent.
Je ressors de cette lecture en étant émue. Je vais certainement relire Gabrielle Roy!
July 14, 2014
This was a beautiful book. I'm sad that I finished reading it. It won the Govenor General's award.
The story is of a young teacher in the remote Prairies during the 1930's. It tells of her influence on her pupils and how they affected her. Beautifully written with deep insightns that are often poignant in their innocence.
I would recommend this slim book to anyone with a passion for the way things once were and to the lessons life can teach us.
The story is of a young teacher in the remote Prairies during the 1930's. It tells of her influence on her pupils and how they affected her. Beautifully written with deep insightns that are often poignant in their innocence.
I would recommend this slim book to anyone with a passion for the way things once were and to the lessons life can teach us.
July 24, 2019
C'était ma première lecture de Gabrielle Roy et certainement pas la dernière.
Un magnifique roman, qui se lit en douceur, avec des personnages et des mises en scène touchantes. Les thèmes du rêve et de la nostalgie du temps qui passe, de même que l'éprouvant passage à l'âge adulte sont exploités avec finesse. J'ai trouvé qu'elle savait raconter la pauvreté sans tomber dans aucun cliché. J'ai dévoré toute la dernière partie avec Médéric. Un petit bijou et une parfaite lecture d'été!
Un magnifique roman, qui se lit en douceur, avec des personnages et des mises en scène touchantes. Les thèmes du rêve et de la nostalgie du temps qui passe, de même que l'éprouvant passage à l'âge adulte sont exploités avec finesse. J'ai trouvé qu'elle savait raconter la pauvreté sans tomber dans aucun cliché. J'ai dévoré toute la dernière partie avec Médéric. Un petit bijou et une parfaite lecture d'été!
September 1, 2014
Gabrielle Roy est très sensible aux petits détails qui aident à former des images plus grandioses. Vraiment un plaisir de lire. "Si j'avais encore énormément à découvrir, à prendre devant moi, je n'étais pas sans comprendre qu'il y avait déjà derrière moi de l'irrémédiablement perdu, et que si la vie donne d'une main, elle reprend de l'autre."
February 15, 2016
5/5 pour les 2 dernières nouvelles ! Magnifique ! J'ai bien aimé le style d'écriture tout au long de ma lecture. C'est certain que je vais lire d'autres oeuvres de Gabrielle Roy !
March 26, 2021
Je crois que c’est le premier roman écrit du point de vue d’un enseignant que j’aie lu. En tant qu’enseignante, j’ai été très touchée par le portrait que brosse Roy des dynamiques de classe, du lien entre l’enseignant, ses élèves et la communauté autour d’eux, surtout de l’amour et du dévouement qu’un prof peut ressentir pour ceux et celles sous sa tutelle. Roy décrit avec beaucoup de tendresse et d’intelligence les petits rituels comme celui des cadeaux de Noël que les enfants rêvent d’offrir à leur maîtresse ou les visites très convoitées de « mamzelle » chez les familles des petits. Il est aussi fascinant d’entrapercevoir le monde du Manitoba dans les années 20-30 avec ses plaines, ses tempêtes de neige, sa vie rurale.
Les premiers récits sont plus légers et se « lisent bien ». Les derniers sont plus longs et plus poignants. C’est
dans le récit tournant autour de Médéric, de la relation trouble entre une jeune institutrice et son élève adolescent, que ses déploient les qualités profondément humaines de l’écrivaine. J’ai trouvé cet ultime récit particulièrement ambiguë et empreint d’une grande vulnérabilité, tant de la part de la narratrice que du personnage de Médéric.
Un classique que j’ai été heureuse de découvrir !
Les premiers récits sont plus légers et se « lisent bien ». Les derniers sont plus longs et plus poignants. C’est
dans le récit tournant autour de Médéric, de la relation trouble entre une jeune institutrice et son élève adolescent, que ses déploient les qualités profondément humaines de l’écrivaine. J’ai trouvé cet ultime récit particulièrement ambiguë et empreint d’une grande vulnérabilité, tant de la part de la narratrice que du personnage de Médéric.
Un classique que j’ai été heureuse de découvrir !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2025
Oh mais quelle émotion ai-je sentie!!!! J’ai lu ce livre pour la première fois quand j’avais 14 ans, et c’est le seul livre que j’ai gardé de mon secondaire. Maintenant que j’ai 33 ans et que j’ai été une professeure moi-même, je l’aime encore plus!!! Gabrielle Roy réussit de façon magique à nous faire vivre les émotions les plus pures, la tendresse la plus vraie et la poésie la plus délicate. Un de mes livrés préférés. 🤍✨
December 23, 2023
J'ai retrouvé son style d'écriture fluide, poétique, les longues phrases poétiques que j'aime tant. Pas son meilleur par contre
October 25, 2024
bad and borderline pedophilia 😍
November 21, 2017
Nice story, interesting
February 23, 2018
This was a pretty good book. I had actually read it because I was hoping to improve my French, and I was happy overall with the stories of different school kids in the prairies.
The stories were very touching, and they always left me feeling happy after reading them. You could say it’s a feel-good novel.
Anything I found confusing in the stories most likely had nothing to do with Gabriel Roy’s writing, and more to do with the fact that this is the first full French novel I’ve read on my own!
The stories were very touching, and they always left me feeling happy after reading them. You could say it’s a feel-good novel.
Anything I found confusing in the stories most likely had nothing to do with Gabriel Roy’s writing, and more to do with the fact that this is the first full French novel I’ve read on my own!
January 9, 2008
A delightfully enjoyable read about a young teacher on the Canadian prairies in the 1930s. Finely drawn characters that I’ll remember for a long time to come – Mederic, Demetrioff, Andre. This book reminded me of my own childhood….perhaps because the environment hadn’t changed all that much by the ‘60s (I went to a two-room school in rural Ontario), perhaps because these were the kind of books I read back then. A wonderful way to spend a wintertime afternoon. Storytelling at its best.
May 27, 2018
3.5 stars, but I’m rounding up.
“The time came to separate for good from these children whom I had held as close to my heart as if they had been my own... They were mine, and would be mine even when I had forgotten their names and faces, remaining a part of me as I a part of them.” 😭😭😭 I shouldn’t read books like this at the end of the school year.
This was well written and very relatable, even though she and I have very different teaching experiences.
“The time came to separate for good from these children whom I had held as close to my heart as if they had been my own... They were mine, and would be mine even when I had forgotten their names and faces, remaining a part of me as I a part of them.” 😭😭😭 I shouldn’t read books like this at the end of the school year.
This was well written and very relatable, even though she and I have very different teaching experiences.
July 1, 2019
Délicat et émouvant, surtout la dernière partie. Bien que le contexte ait beaucoup changé, une enseignante d'aujourd'hui s'y retrouve... Les enfants sont décrits avec beaucoup d'affection mais sans mièvrerie, et le contexte apparaît dense. Chaque personnage se dessine comme un personnage de roman (on se demande d'ailleurs dans quelle mesure l'auteur a romancé certaines de ces histoires, ou si elle possède juste un très grand talent pour les raconter).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews