The Canada Council for the Arts has nominated Rajka Kupesic for the Governor General’s 2005 Literary Award in the Children’s Literature – Illustration category for her paintings in Maria Chapdelaine.

“Rajka Kupesic’s exquisite paintings are a perfect fit for this classic legend. The illustrator brings a new sophistication to folk art to capture the mood of old-time rural Quebec, with flowing lines, rich detail and warm and cool colours. This book will appeal to children of all ages.”
- The Canada Council for the Arts

“The lovely writing is filled with interesting dialogue. Oil paintings on linen perfectly complement the details and the mood of the story. The rugged landscape, the seasons, the costumes of the times, and interior details are all intricately portrayed. The characters are painted in exaggerated and sometimes unnatural angles, which add a primitive look to the story, which could not be more appropriate. Kupesic demonstrates a connection to these almost 100-year old characters that the author surely would have appreciated.”
- School Library Journal

Louis Hemon’s famous novel, Maria Chapdelaine, has been translated into more than twenty languages and is as closely associated with Canada as Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.
Hemon did not witness the international success of his book – he was killed by a train in 1913, a few months before the book’s first publication.