SOURCE: "Psychological, Sensual, and Religious Initiation in Tournier's Pierrot ou les secrets de la nuit," in Children's Literature, Vol. 18, 1990, pp. 87-100.

In the following essay, Petit surveys the themes and techniques used by Tournier in his literature for children.

Michel Tournier frequently writes for children, although he is best known for his adult works, which have received some of the most prestigious French literary prizes, including the Grand Prix du Roman of the French Academy in 1967 for Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique (Friday) and the Prix Goncourt in 1970 for Le Roi des aulnes (The Ogre). The French public has accepted enthusiastically both his adult and his children's fiction: his novels always make the best-seller lists, and Vendredi ou la vie sauvage (Friday and Robinson: Life on Speranza Island), a short version of Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique, seems to have become a staple in French elementary...