The ‘rentrée’ in the field of Children’s and Young People’s Literature is marked this year by the return to the stage of a great protagonist: the Colored Monster, who in this new installment has become a doctor and comes with a book halfway to the self-help with the one who continues to investigate emotions. The Emili Teixidor prize has also been awarded coinciding with the celebration of the Setmana del Libre in Català to the Catalan musician and writer Oriol Garcia Molsosa, who has opted not to ask permission and bravely enter the homes of the first readers who are willing. to adopt a penguin at home. But there are more protagonists that we want to talk to you about. We present them to you.
Geometric figures return to the fore thanks to an illustration expert that we love: Canadian Jon Klassen, author of the bestseller I Want My Hat. He now gives life to Circle, on the one hand, and Square, on the other, in a series starring friendly geometric figures that we understand will soon be joined by Triangle. We stayed with Círculo because it is the story in which the three friends are playing hide and seek, when one of them breaks the rules (fortunately there is always someone who breaks the rules) giving rise to a mysterious discovery. Klassen’s characteristic illustrations with his usual color palette give this story a very earthy atmosphere. Also in Catalan.
If there is one thing that must be recognized by the Catalan illustrator Anna Llenas and her publisher, Flamboyant, it is the attractive presentation and packaging that they have always managed to make of their most beloved monster, and also the best-selling. Since El Monstruo de Colores appeared on the scene in 2012, it has become the best-selling and most translated children’s book in all of Catalan literature. In this new installment, the Monster, already an expert in emotions, becomes the Emotions Doctor who helps Nuna identify and cope with something serious that is happening to her. A kind of pseudo-psychological therapeutic practice halfway between meditation and mindfulness that, put in the Monster’s mouth, is even more funny. The emotional regulation briefcase, the glasses and the bottle of remedies that it includes are the best (also in Catalan, French and English).
Matching yourself with any of The Five Disasters is not difficult. One is full of large holes in the middle of the belly: the other with many folds like a half-made origami; a third is tired and lazy all day; the four is always upside down and a fifth is an accumulation of strange things. But they live together and are happy, although they are never able to finish anything. Until an extraordinary, perfect, orderly character arrives out of nowhere. And what happens? Well, something as exceptional as appreciating that imperfections can become perfect. You just have to know how to appreciate them. Something that the Italian Beatrice Alemagna is very good at, much to our delight. Also in Catalan.
In the era of political correctness, trying to make a story without clichés can have somewhat catastrophic results. Or so believes the little girl who questions the creator of A Story Without Clichés (we sense the Swiss author Davide Calí himself), who sitting at the work table tries to satisfy the little future reader. But the topic is not easy: there can be no knights who save princesses, no princesses who need to be saved, no evil dragons, no bad witches, no girls in pink… The list is long and the task is arduous, but the writer does not realize give up and create a story without clichés, violence, or anything… Evaluate the result yourselves and start crying, even if it is also a cliché. And then join in on this fun critique of political correctness.
These 101 ways to read at all times, illustrated by French creator Benjamin Chaud, are nothing less than a tribute to all the possible and impossible positions that children adopt when reading. Unimaginable postures, some, funny the most, that denote the extent to which the little one is immersed in the imagined world that the story provides. A “unique of its kind” catalogue, its creators tell us, who warn adults not to emulate it unless it is with the expert advice of a child. And believe me, it is better to listen to them. Also in Catalan.
Based on an original idea by the Uruguayan communicator Mariale Ariceta, Alfredo Soderguit, whom we met in Tales they tell through Los Carpinchos, addresses social differences in a subtle and beautiful way in The fence. A hedge serves as a separation for the author and illustrator to focus his gaze on both sides, where the lives of two girls run parallel. One is the daughter of a wealthy family; the other, from a humble family. Their lives intersect and separate. They grow up, get older and start their own families. And this is how two girls return to play again in the same yard where their mothers did. A beautiful narrative that focuses on two very different worlds where the weight of the narrative falls on the bucolic images.
If a penguin knocks at your door, what do you do? My recommendation after reading Gat i Pingüí is that you open it without hesitation for a minute. But Cat doesn’t like unforeseen events, unexpected things or visits. He likes order, doing the same things every day at the same time. Maybe his life is monotonous and boring? Depends. He thinks not. But until then he had not met Pingüí and he has entered his life like a cyclone, destroying everything. Sometimes friends are like that, like a gale. And cat must decide if he likes it or not. A delicious story of friendship between two very different animals that make the impossible, as well as possible, fun. In addition, Lucía Serrano’s illustrations give the ideal touch to the story. The book has received the Emili Teixidor Award dedicated to early readers. Also in Spanish.
How to be your dog’s best friend is an excellent compendium between a book of knowledge and a true story that shows us how important it is to reflect on what it means to have a pet at home, in this case, a dog. That is what the artist and illustrator Elena Bulay does with How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend, a book where she tells how she found Jo and how she adapted to life living with her dog, as well as practical aspects of care. of dogs, typology, diseases, care, etc. The most informative aspects are illustrated in black and white, while the story of Jo and Elena is drawn in full color, so we could say that we are faced with a two for one. In short, a book full of knowledge and very practical advice from a person who, before deciding to adopt what would be her best dog friend, bravely began to investigate it. And this book is the result.
Cat and book lovers have an unmissable date with Max’s World, a 10-year-old girl with an overflowing imagination and a fan of Matilda, Roald Dahl’s brilliant and ingenious character. The story is told in a comic style but with longer texts than is usual in this type of genre, a compendium that makes it extremely attractive, as does the story, which starts with all the tedium that Max drags at home and at school. Boredom is a bad friend and Max becomes extremely bored if she is not immersed in reading or taking care of her cat Turmeric. Until an old woman appears on the scene who has filled the neighborhood with cat feeders. Together they form a strange couple, but sometimes the best opportunities appear from the most unexpected things. An excellent story captured with the always attractive illustrations and drawings of Jacques Goldstyn. Also in Catalan.
This story in graphic novel style is as much or more recommended for parents than for children. Because the illustrator from Tuscany Elenea Triolo, in Electra, touches on a topic that most parents have dealt with, extracurricular activities, linked to the current almost obsessive boom in everything related to sports. The plot is simple. A family of separated parents moves to another city and the mother advises her daughter, Electra, to play sports as a means of socialization. The young woman is a little clumsy and she is not interested in any sport that she approaches or is good at. Except ballet, which she dreams of and she gets excited about, but for reasons that we do not know (and that we will continue to do not know) her mother denies it, even belittling it. A book that has personally raised many questions and a reaction in me: really asking my children what they wanted to do after school.
