Modified on June, 28, 2010
Fondo de Cultura Económica and the Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas are publishing Los espejos de Anaclara (The Mirrors of Anaclara), a poetry collection by the Uruguayan writer Mercedes Calvo, winner of the prestigious Premio Hispanoamericano de Poesía para Niños, 2008.
From the perspective of early childhood, this book narrates the imaginings of a little girl who looks in the mirror and imagines that her eyes are two doors through which she can enter to discover what is trapped within her: dreams, fears, pains, joys, and yearnings. It is a book which unfolds at the limit between reality and fantasy and the channels through which these two communicate…
The Brazilian artist Fernando Vilela has chosen to work in three colors to illustrate these poems, creating transitions, paradoxes, shiftings, reflections, and games between reality and fiction and thereby creating a book that is suggestive, deeply intelligent, and full of life.
Hardback – 52 pages – 18,5 x 24,5
On the edge of the well / I leaned / and a word to the bottom / I let fall.
The mirror of the water / which shattered / stole my word, / took it away.
Down a dark path / my voice went / I remained thinking / had I lost it?
But the echo of the water / answered me: / poetry always / is made between two.
Review by Pedro Villar in Revista Educación y Biblioteca (Spanish)
Interview of Mercedes Calvo by Pedro Villar (poet and Member of the Prize Jury) (Spanish)
Review in El Universal (México) (Spanish)
Interview of Mercedes Calvo by Agencia Noticias 22 (Spanish)
Review in María García Esperón’s blog (Spanish)
Letter to Mercedes Calvo by Pedro Villar Querida Mercedes: A través de nuestra amiga María García Esperón, ser alado y generoso, vuela este mensaje desde España hacia ti. Quiero dejarte mi testimonio de gratitud, como gran poeta y maestra que eres, y a las personas que como tú tienen el oído y el corazón atento a la escritura y saben entregar la poesía para niños y otros seres sensibles como una ofrenda, como el mayor de los tesoros.El destino me trajo a México como jurado para encontrarme con los espejos de Anaclara, un descubrimiento de versos gigantes, de palabras sencillas y profundas, que llevan la luz de la poesía a flor de labio, al borde del corazón. Versos para recitar serenamente o para ser jugados y cantados ( Ya lo dijo Cortázar, toda poesía que se precie es juego), versos arrebatadores, profundamente hermosos, con una hondura que no suele ser habitual.Vino tu voz como un sueño de nubes y de pájaros, de olor a tierra mojada, de infancia y de tradición en su estado de pureza. Vino cantando por los caminos, en un espacio sin tiempo, para reflejarse en la mirada y el misterio de cada uno de nuestros espejos. Gracias. Este abrazo de palabras es para ti. Pedro Villar, desde España y con México en el corazón.
Letter to Mercedes Calvo by Pedro Villar
Querida Mercedes:
A través de nuestra amiga María García Esperón, ser alado y generoso, vuela este mensaje desde España hacia ti. Quiero dejarte mi testimonio de gratitud, como gran poeta y maestra que eres, y a las personas que como tú tienen el oído y el corazón atento a la escritura y saben entregar la poesía para niños y otros seres sensibles como una ofrenda, como el mayor de los tesoros.El destino me trajo a México como jurado para encontrarme con los espejos de Anaclara, un descubrimiento de versos gigantes, de palabras sencillas y profundas, que llevan la luz de la poesía a flor de labio, al borde del corazón. Versos para recitar serenamente o para ser jugados y cantados ( Ya lo dijo Cortázar, toda poesía que se precie es juego), versos arrebatadores, profundamente hermosos, con una hondura que no suele ser habitual.Vino tu voz como un sueño de nubes y de pájaros, de olor a tierra mojada, de infancia y de tradición en su estado de pureza. Vino cantando por los caminos, en un espacio sin tiempo, para reflejarse en la mirada y el misterio de cada uno de nuestros espejos. Gracias. Este abrazo de palabras es para ti.
Pedro Villar, desde España y con México en el corazón.
Message from Mexican children to Spanish children
Video by María García Esperón (by courtesy of Pedro Villar)
“Poetry is a transgression” Conference by Mercedes Calvo
Text by Gabriela Keselman
Illustrations by Noemí Villamuza
Published by Kókinos
Marc wanted to go to sleep. He really did. But he just couldn’t sleep. He really couldn’t. So he called his mom. “I’m afraid a giant mosquito will fly in and bite me,” he said. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” his mom answered. “I’ll take care of that in no time and you’ll be asleep before you know it.”
She made him a special pair of mosquito-proof pajamas, complete with a helmet, a sword for defending himself against insects, and a buzz-repellent teddy bear. Then she left the room.
When fear invades a child before going to sleep, everything is possible: imaginary monsters, strong winds and mysterious events. Only his mother seems to be able to keep him out of danger. However, in the end, both of them understand that a warm touch is the only thing needed to calm down and fall asleep.
De verdad que no podía was created using both digital and freehand techniques. The greasy pencil line stamps the character’s expressions and introduces the narrative, while soft digital colour stains define the story’s atmosphere.
Finalist National Prize of Illustration 2002
Selection La Joie par les Livres 2002
IBBY Honour List 2004
Issued in Spanish, English (USA) and Japanese languages
Review in Curled Up with a good book (English)
Review by Cheryl Rainfield (English)
Review in Babar (Spanish)
Text & illustrations by Fernando Vilela
Published by Cosac Naify
Paperback – 240 x 195 – 52 pages
What do you suppose might happen if the famous outlawn “Lampião” from the backlands of northeastern Brazil were to meet up with one of the medieval knights of King Arthur’s Round Table? Such an extremely unusual meeting led illustrator – and now author – Fernando Vilela to compose an extraordinarily original work, mixing various styles: in verse, using the sextain (six line stanzas) typical of the string literature of the backlands; in prose, in the style typical of the epic narratives of medieval culture, and in stamping and wood engraving. The confrontation between Lampião and Lancelot extends to the special colors that come to fill the pages: silver and copper, in contrast to the black, making up pictures of spectacular beauty. The book also includes a glossary of terms and an explanatory text about the references Vilela used to compose this work, wich is outstanding in terms of size and talent. The result, as Braulio Tavares points out in the text on the blurb, “is a visual and poetic adventure worthy of the two cultures that inspired it”.
Mention – New Horizons – Bologna Ragazzi Award – Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2007
White Raven List 2006 – International Jugend Bibliothek de Munich
2 Jabuti’s Awards 2007 (Brazil Academy of Letters)
Issued in Portuguese language
In words of the Bologna Ragazzi Award Jury The book by Fernando Vilela, Lampião & Lancelote, published by Cosac & Naify Edições, resonates with a multitude of elements. First and foremost it brings together many techniques and cultures in a manner true to the splendid definition of Lewis Mumford. The combined techniques of woodcuts, bronze coloured overlays and silver finishing allude to the Galaxy of Gutenberg whose artist-typographers were wont to combine a vast array of techniques. The fury of battle, landscapes where trees and bushes seem to come alive, the appearance here and there of human faces reminiscent of Lampião, scattered weapons and uniforms all speak of history, the human story – and fiction through reference to Borges. This is a book of dreams to encourage dreaming; a book where hills are bronze and the cavalry of the ancient epic poems are redolent of Italian frescoes.
In words of the Bologna Ragazzi Award Jury
The book by Fernando Vilela, Lampião & Lancelote, published by Cosac & Naify Edições, resonates with a multitude of elements. First and foremost it brings together many techniques and cultures in a manner true to the splendid definition of Lewis Mumford. The combined techniques of woodcuts, bronze coloured overlays and silver finishing allude to the Galaxy of Gutenberg whose artist-typographers were wont to combine a vast array of techniques. The fury of battle, landscapes where trees and bushes seem to come alive, the appearance here and there of human faces reminiscent of Lampião, scattered weapons and uniforms all speak of history, the human story – and fiction through reference to Borges. This is a book of dreams to encourage dreaming; a book where hills are bronze and the cavalry of the ancient epic poems are redolent of Italian frescoes.
In words of the White Raven Selection Commitee Popular culture – Middle Ages – Poetry – Fight This book is written in the form of a “cordel” text, a verse narrative that constitutes an important genre of popular Brazilian culture. In it, the author crafts an unusual encounter between the medieval knight Lancelot and the legendary “cangaceiro” (bandit) Lampião. They compete in a verbal combat that evokes their different times, their habits, the imaginary of medieval literature, and the typical language and setting of northern Brazil. The result is a truly original story in each passage and every brushstroke. The very expressive illustrations in extra-large landscape format contain numerous allusions to the two different epochs and cultures: Whereas Lancelot’s universe is depicted in silver, a colour that was also used in medieval book art, the woodcut-like illustrations in copper, reminiscent of the printing technique of “cordel” literature, represent Lampião’s world. Both in the text and the pictures, the two different worlds are merged into a fascinating whole. (8+)
In words of the White Raven Selection Commitee
Popular culture – Middle Ages – Poetry – Fight This book is written in the form of a “cordel” text, a verse narrative that constitutes an important genre of popular Brazilian culture. In it, the author crafts an unusual encounter between the medieval knight Lancelot and the legendary “cangaceiro” (bandit) Lampião. They compete in a verbal combat that evokes their different times, their habits, the imaginary of medieval literature, and the typical language and setting of northern Brazil. The result is a truly original story in each passage and every brushstroke. The very expressive illustrations in extra-large landscape format contain numerous allusions to the two different epochs and cultures: Whereas Lancelot’s universe is depicted in silver, a colour that was also used in medieval book art, the woodcut-like illustrations in copper, reminiscent of the printing technique of “cordel” literature, represent Lampião’s world. Both in the text and the pictures, the two different worlds are merged into a fascinating whole. (8+)
Vilela’s interview by Gustavo Puerta in Educación y Biblioteca (Spanish)
Review in Ràdio Cultura Brasil (audio in Portuguese)
Text by Stela Barbieri Illustrations by Fernando Vilela
Published by Girafinha
Paperback – 260 x 230 – 48 pages
The story of a princess with a shining string on her head.
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was born with a different string on top of her head. It was not hair, it was stronger than steel, shining and very long. It would tangle everywhere giving the girl a heck of a headache. Nothing nor no one could pull the string out of the girl’s head. As the girl grew up she became a beautiful lady but very cranky and sad. Gentlemens’ gifts were of no use for the princess who would always refuse these and make fun of them. But one of them realized she was not doing it out of sheer evilness, she was doing it because the thread kept pulling her head back bothering her tremendously. Decided to help her, he followed the thread untangling knot by knot. When he untangled the last knot the princess felt happy for the first time in her life.
And then they were wed. But the string kept on growing. So the princess decided she would weave and knit beautiful fabrics and clothes out of this thread. Clothes so beautiful people would come from far away just to see the wonderful clothes she was making.
Highly Recommended Award by FNLIJ (Brazilian branch of IBBY)
Finalist Jabuti Prize 2007 (Category Children’s books)
Illustrations by Claudia Ranucci
Published by Destino Infantil
Kif Kif’s mother has already told him many, many times, in fact a hundred to be precise. But just like every other small, lazy bear, he cannot remember everything his mother tells him. During the course of the story, he tries hard to recall what she has said. Along the way, he gets some things confused and other things right, remembering some of what his mother has told him but not that particular something that she’s already repeated a hundred times.
The author takes an affectionate, humorous approach to the stream of demands, orders, restrictions and instructions that children hear from their parents every day and which sometimes leave them feeling a bit dizzy and overwhelmed. This story shows that love is the one essential fact that must remain recorded in children’s memories.
In order to present Kif Kif graphically, the illustrator has chosen a lazy, two-toed sloth, a kind of bear that has a friendly face and spends a long time hanging from trees.
Destino Infantil Award to the Best Children’s Picture Book 2006
Issued in Spanish, Catalan & Japanese languages
Illustrations by Pep Montserrat
Published by Ediciones SM
Tatín has wakened up with a crooked snout. His eyebrows have come together too much during the night. He couldn’t find his smile anywhere. He closed his fists and crossed his arms. Really tight. Like this!
Tatín has wakened up today really grumpy… So he starts silly fights with the rabbit, the duck and the mole. Afterwards, he blamed them of having started the quarrel. Finally, he meets up with the cat. The big battle is going to start. However, peace comes in unexpectedly and it tastes as chocolate.
In ¡Él empezó!, Gabriela Keselman and Pep Montserrat have been able to talk about the aggressiveness that we all may experience in some moments, and also of how conflicts can be solved through dialogue.
Issued in Spanish and Korean languages
Text by Sergio Lairla Illustrations by Ana Lartitegui
Published by Fondo de Cultura Económica
Hardback – 215 x 315 – 32 pages
La carta, originally titled La carta de la Sra. González, is a very surprising and unusual picture book.
A woman wrote a love letter remembering the sweet cherry aroma of her lover’s pipe and thought to herself: “One must pay careful attention to detail”. Then she posted it in the letter-box. The postman, surprised by the cherry scent of the letter, decided to give it priority. He went riding on his bicycle but he was so happy and absent-minded that he fell down a big hole as deep and dark as the mouth of an enormous fish. The enormous fish was resting in a large river. He hardly ever moved but this time, he decided to swim away and look for food. He was trying to reach a silver fish when both of them fell down a deep hole as if they were being swallowed by a giant. The giant was very thirsty, drinking a big bottle of water and thinking “I could drink a whole river!”… He was still thirsty and decided to go to the well. But it was so difficult to get the water that the giant fell down into the dark round hole of the well, like the navel of a huge beast… But finally, the lover receives his letter…
The book has a circular narrative structure of stories within stories, many surreal elements and a type of fantasy that is based in reality (all the elements hidden in the illustrations belong to the worlds of the woman and the man: “One must pay careful attention to detail”). A book about how love is able to change life, time and reality.
The illustrator has designed 2 alternative covers for this book.
This book has been studied by several important specialists in children’s literature who praised the quality of the experimental writing and drawing and the meta-fictional aspects of the book.
Best Children’s Picture Book Award Mexico International Book Fair
Issued in Spanish Language
Review in Babar.com (Spanish language)
Review in Imaginaria.com (Spanish language)
Text by Emili Teixidor Illustrations by Philip Stanton
Published by Destino & Planeta Oxford
Hardback – 220 x 235 – 32 pages
Ring 1-2-3 y el mundo nuevo is the story of the arrival of a new child into an old, worn-out world. The newborn looks at the world and does not like what he sees. Noisy gray cars, gray buildings in flames, gray boats, gray wars and gray pollution… This baby decides to use his imagination to change his name and much more. He invents a whole new world that better suits him: a new world filled with colours and friendship with everything he wants to see and experience.
This delightful 32-pages picture book deals with surprising themes. It conveys positive sensations using colourful illustrations with references to modern issues, and friendly texts brimming with humour and creativity.
Stanton’s illustrations forcefully project the positive development of the storyline: an old world built by grown-ups and based on wars, weapons and towers in flames is replaced by the colourful creation of an invented planet. A place where imagination enables each of its lucky inhabitants to share happiness and good intentions.
Video Presentation Ring 1-2-3
Review in El Mundo
Ring 1-2-3 in S.O.L. (Servicio de Orientación a la Lectura)
Published by La Galera
Mr. and Mrs. Goodparents have a big problem: they don’t know what to give their son Mikie for his birthday.
When they decide to ask him directly what does he want for his birthday, they get more confused. Mikie wants something very big, very strong, very gently, very sweet, very warm, that will move from side to side, that will make him fly and that will make him laugh for a long time. What’s that?
Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Goodparents will discover that the great gift is much more at their hands than they expected.
Issued in Spanish, Catalan, English (USA), French and Korean languages
National Catalonia Award to Illustrated Children’s Book
IBBY Honor List
Included in: The Best 100 Works of XXth Century Children’s Literature (Foundation Germán Sánchez Ruipérez), The Best of 1999 (National Association of Parenting Publications List of Honor), The Best of Children’s Media (The Parent’s Guide To Children’s Media Organization)
Review in Imaginaria (Spanish)
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