Peas of mind

Every day, a mother accumulates strange little peas on her shoulders.

They spring from work, phone calls, errands… clinging not only to her, but also to other members of the family. They multiply, pile up, and eventually crush her.

One morning, she can no longer get out of bed. So the whole family steps in: the child (the narrator), the dad, and even Uncle. Everyone pitches in—some organisation, a bit of humour, a lot of cooperation—and at last, the little weights begin to lift.

An essential and universal book about mental load, a topic still surprisingly rare in children’s literature despite affecting almost every family.

Publication date: March 5th, 2026

Key points:

– A powerful and immediately understandable visual metaphor (“peas of mind” = mental load)

– A major and still largely unexplored social issue in children’s publishing

– Illustrated by Lili la Baleine (over 140 titles)

Author & Illustrator

Olivier Dupin (author)
A former primary school teacher, Olivier Dupin has devoted himself to children’s literature for more than ten years. A prolific author, he has published nearly 140 books (picture books, early readers, and novels) in which he explores a wide range of themes with sensitivity and insight: adventure, humour, difference, as well as bullying, solidarity, and collective memory.
His accessible, rhythmic writing appeals equally to young readers, teachers, and book mediators. Olivier Dupin knows how to combine the pleasure of reading with reflection, paying constant attention to emotion and the sincerity of his characters.
He is notably a winner of the Littér’alouest Prize (2019–2020 and 2022–2023), the Tatoulu Prize 2024, and was shortlisted for the UNICEF Children’s Literature Prize 2023.

Lili la Baleine (illustrator)
As a very young child, Lili drew… not very much.
Growing up, she started drawing… not at all.
Then she became a primary school teacher and could finally draw… absolutely nowhere!
Today, she draws everywhere, all the time—and even a little more—creating colouring pages, games, and picture books using her graphic tablet… and “occasionally” her chocolate bar!
She has illustrated over one hundred books, including: Les lettres de Biscottes Mulotte (Flammarion – Père Castor), Où est bébé ? (Flammarion – Père Castor), Soirs de fête (Maison Eliza – Glénat), Quel temps de chien! (Glénat), Le meilleur méchant loup du monde (Glénat), Mes comptines natures (Gallimard), Vivement ce soir (Casterman), Les baleines allaitent aussi (Leduc).