(almost) wordless story by Imapla
Board book – 155 x 210 – 24 pages (and flap)
Issued by Océano-Travesía
Glu… Zazzzzzzzz… Glu glu… Zazzzzzzzz…
The law of the sea is clear: the big fish eats the small fish, usurping power. There will always be big and small fishes.
However, law may also be other, when all fishes join their forces… Then, who is the real King of the Sea?
New project (text and Ilustration) by Imapla
(Spanish language)
Hardback – 200 x 280 – 24 pages
Estanislau Zamori loves clouds and he lives in them.
He paints the clouds of colours and plays with them, until his teacher appears with her huge black cloud.
His dad one day got himself into a black cloud, and ended as a me-teo-ro-lo-gist… now there is not cloud in the sky that resists him.
This is a tender story about reality, dreams and the strong relationship between father and son.
“Today is Friday, there are some clouds.
I like Fridays.
On Fridays my dad walks me to school.
I kiss him and I get into the classroom.
The clouds follow me.”
New Project (Text and illustrations) by Imapla
(Spanish Language)
We all have inside of us some wolves and sometimes we should let them howl…
Inspired on the crying of a clown, Imapla has created this touching story, where a child unburden himself, letting out the wolf that he had inside.
“When Charlie was born,
he had sadness on his lips.
When Charlie was born he did not cry.
Nobody knew why Charlie was so sad.
But he was sad.
Charlie had a little wolf inside of him
who tried to come out every time he spoke.”
Interview of Gabriela Keselman in Pizca de Papel (Spanish)
Modified on Oct. 28, 2009
Text by Gabriela Keselman
Illustrations by Gabriela Rubio
Published by Kókinos
Catalina doesn’t like saying goodbye. Every time she has to say goodbye she has a strange feeling in her heart and she gets butterflies in her stomach and really feels like shouting “DON’T GO AWAY!”.
But the sun disappears so that the moon can come out and the winter leaves us to give way to spring, as her father leaves her room so that she can sleep and dream… In this way, Catalina understands that some things have to go in order to make way in our lives for other things that are just as nice, just as fun and just as comforting.
This is a story full of daring three colour illustrations (black, red and golden inks), where each farewell has a reason to be and a happy ending. Through this story, readers will realize the importance of being able to let things go and to learn how to say goodbye.
Printed in 2 true colours + golden ink
Issued in Spanish language
Finalist of the Madrid Booksellers Prize 2009
Text by Clara Lairla
Illustrations by Ana G. Lartitegui
Paperback – 180 x 180 – 48 pages (20 acetate pages)
Project in Spanish language
Lucia likes to disappear. She hides behind her hands and in such way, she gets into her world. There she covers herself from her brothers; escapes from the horrible neighbour and stops listening to the barks of the grumpy dog that lives next door. Lucia’s world is magical, sweet and there the bad guys always lose. However, every now and then she goes beyond certain limits and patience run out of the others. Then, it is useless to hide again.
Lucia’s hands are drawn on the acetate pages, showing that she is covering and uncovering her eyes each time she wants to hide. This game of transparency, gives life to the project, offering a different and original perspective.
Text by Asha Miró Illustrations by Philip Stanton
Published by Satelite K
Hardback – 235 x 235 and 140 x 140- 48 pages
In a small village in Madagascar the river has dried up. Young Nirina has to set out on a fascinating trip seeking the aid of the world’s great rivers to help her find the magic drops which will bring the water back to her home. During her adventures she travels to eleven different countries, meets new friends, and learns the songs that children sing, using their own languages.
Contains also the lyrics of 13 children’s songs from countries around the world + audio CD.
Rights also available without audio CD.
Gotas de color in itunes
Presentation in Mamaterra Ecology Festival
Illustrations by Noemí Villamuza
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 DCL
Paperback – 300 x 300 – 40 pages
Snake is eating too much… the jaguar, the wild pig, the macaw, even the worm! With a full up belly, will the snake stand it? Watch out the illustrations, because the animals are wild and they might come out of the book!
Issued in Portuguese language
Text and illustrations by Imapla
Published by Ediciones SM
A tale told through simple and graphic images and a few onomatopoeic expressions.
At the beginning, there were only trees and silence. Birds came and began to sing. But the world is changing and the birds have to learn new languages: the language of the woodcutter’s saw, the language of the trees falling down, the language of the sirens and all the new city languages…
An apparently very simple story to read out loud, to have fun, imitating all the city noises but also to make us think about the changes of our environment.
SM Foundation International Illustration Award 2007
Modified on 10/06/2010
Issue of the 4th edition of the series
Text by Gabriela Keselman Illustrations by Teresa Novoa
A four-titles series published in Spanish language by Edelvives
Hardback – 215 x 220 – 32 pages
Pino en el mar (Pino by the sea)
Pino, the penguin, lives with his parents and behaves just like a child of his age: with innocence, generosity and enthusiasm. “The beach was full of sand. The sea was full of water. And Pino’s family was full of things for their holiday…” Pino discovers what fun it is to be in the sea and how difficult it is to obey his parents when he is having such a good time… (3rd edition: July 2009)
Review in New Spanish Books in Germany
Review in New Spanish Books in the UK
Pino se viste solo (Pino gets dressed by himself)
Pino, the penguin, lives with his parents and behaves just like a child of his age: with innocence, generosity and enthusiasm. “Pino’s mother stuck her beak outside the window. It was a cold, wet morning. She went into Pino’s bedroom and stood by his bed. She looked under the eiderdown but he wasn’t there…” Pino has put on a lot of clothes and all of them inside out. His mother helps him so that he can move again. Pino wants to grow up and he realizes that sometimes he needs an adult to help him to learn how to do things on his own. (3rd edition: July 2009)
Pino quiere a Nina (Pino loves Nina)
Pino, the penguin, lives with his parents and behaves just like a child of his age: with innocence, generosity and enthusiasm. “Pino loved Nina very much. Pino thought Nina was the cleverest, smartest, prettiest penguin. She was the penguinest penguin!” In this book, Pino the penguin finds love in a innocent way and he discovers that in order to make another penguin happy he has to make an effort and he must never give up. (3rd edition: July 2009)
El chichón de Pino (Pino’s bump)
Pino, the penguin, lives with his parents and behaves just like a child of his age: with innocence, generosity and enthusiasm. “Pino the penguin arrived at school. He had a birthday present in his school bag. Pino was in such a hurry to give it to his friend, little bear, that he tumbled over and skidded straight into a chair…” As a result Pino got a bump on his head and, although at the beginning he doesn’t know what to do about it, he soon realizes that it won’t last forever and he can still have a good time… (3rd edition: July 2009)
Issued in Spanish Language
Text by Ilan Brenman Illustrations by Fernando Vilela
Paperback – 300 x 300 – 32 pages
What fits into a book? All you want, all you imagine. A book is like mother’s heart, has endless spaces and possibilities. This small big-sized book would not be different. In it everything in the world fits in, be them big, small, full of movement or motionless. With wonderfully vivid colors and shapes, young readers will not veer from it up to the end, making them dream, like only books can do…
Ilan Brenman was born in Israel. He is the author of many books for young readers and has been published by several important Brazilian publishers.
Fernando Vilela was born in Sao Paulo City, Brazil. He is an awarded author-illustrator with more than fifty books published by several important publishers in Brazil and abroad.
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
Text by Pablo Guerrero Illustrations by Emilio Urberuaga
Hardback – 220 x 300 – 32 pages
When I’m a taxi driver, I drive you in my taxi to the sea.
When I’m a piano player, I sing to your heart’s rhythm.
When I’m a painter, I cover your ceiling with almond trees…
All the papers a child is able to assume, all the worlds a child is able to build, all the words a child is able to say…
Issued in Spanish and Korean languages
Text & photos by Sandra Barrilaro
Hardback – 270 x 250 – 34 pages
A special album lit up by a bluish light, the moonlight…
A night trip to the land of dreams: the sea, an island, children, the midnight sun… but, above all, the carriers of dreams who travel across the villages and hamlets to gather the dreams of their inhabitants and give them to the gods who live in the mountains. Their baskets are as large as their dreams. Their baskets are as light as their dreams.
Review in Revista Cuatrogatos (Spanish)
Text by Ana Rossetti Illustrations by Jorge Artajo
Hardback – 240 x 320 – 32 pages
“Hello Mr. Today”, says Mireya as she welcomes the new day blowing with all her might and filling the air with happiness.
So begins this clever book which spins a poetical and simple story that tells us about a day in the life of Mireya. She shares her feelings with her friends, wondering what the day will bring them, what the sun will allow them to do, wondering at what moment Mr. Today will cry and about the fears that come with the darkness. Will she be able to go on her outing? and so together with her friends she asks the day to be exciting, fun, happy and extraordinary. Will there be a lot of traffic and will the city be as noisy as a horrible storm? Will the night fishermen arrive and help Mireya to fill the air with good vibrations?
With an easygoing narration, created by Ana Rossetti, and jointly with the original illustrations of Jorge Artajo, this book invites children to play with their imagination, by creating expectations of the most wonderful thing that we all have: our daily life.
Buenos Días Señor Hoy is a book full of easily interpreted metaphors, a sweet and beautiful book where good thoughts come flying along and fears disappear when you turn on the sun in your bedroom.
Wordless story by Fernando Vilela
Published by Atica
Paperback – 275 x 202 – 40 pages
The book tells us the story of two children – and their pet turtle – who live in the region of Jarí, a small riverbranch that links River Amazon and River Tapajós in Pará State. However the main character of the book is, in fact, the scenario itself: the river that leads the destiny of the communities that live around it, who are compelled to move on to other places in the Forest in the period of the rains. Even the school obeys the logic of the river, interrupting the classes in the rain season.
The fauna and flora, the day-by-day of the community and their habits are portrayed with beauty and fidelity in details – all of it without the need of a single word. It is an invitation for kids to discover a part of Brazil little explored.
Wordless
Review in Rádio Cultura Brasil (audio in Portuguese)
Text by Gabriela Keselman Illustrations by Marcelo Elizalde
Published by Planeta Oxford
Paperback – 130 x 195 – 32 pages
A four-titles series whose main character is a young schoolmistress called Mary Clay.
She is funny and very imaginative and has strange powers: Mary Clay is able to make magic objects out of clay (she can make a clay plane and fly in it…) and she can solve, in a humorous way, the typical problems children face at school.
How to make Mum come soon, when she is late, without getting too sad ?
PDF Pedagogical Guide of Mamá llega tarde (Spanish language)
How to let someone know how important he is, and not just on his birthday?
PDF Pedagogical Guide of Me da vergüenza (Spanish language)
How to sail in a milk and chocolate ocean, and then have to drink it all to save the boat?
How can Tom feel safer fighting against a clay-monster than against his friends?
Children & Adults in Keselman’s imaginary worlds
Text by Gabriela Keselman Illustrations by Claudia Bielinsky
Published by Alfaguara Infantil
Hardback – 160 x 200 – 24 pages
A four-titles series full of humour and tenderness for young readers.
A family just like any other, with their ups and downs, except for the fact that they are elephants!
Text by Gabriela Keselman Illustrations by Nora Hilb
Hardback – 170 x 215 – 32 pages
Ku Kangaroo asks himself… “Why do I no longer fit in my mother’s pouch?” There is no space for him there anymore and he discovers that the reason for this is a little intruder who looks just like him. There is another kangaroo, a little brother! But he certainly does not need a little brother!
He is angry and upset and sets off looking for another pouch. But all of them are too small and uncomfortable for him. He finally understands that he is too big to be in a pouch and he is now strong enough to jump on his own.
With this picture book, Gabriela Keselman and Nora Hilb introduce us to the ideal book for both jealous children and… kangaroos.
Illustrations by Emilio Urberuaga
Published by La Galera
I’m walking very quietly down the hall, when all of a sudden, a monster appears, out of nowhere. It’s not the first time we’re face to face. Somehow he seems familiar! That’s why I’m not even a bit scared. Although to tell the truth, I don’t think it’s funny. The monster chases after me, but I’m very quick and run away. Of course, he’s much bigger… well, actually, he’s HUGE, and what’s more, he’s as stubborn as he can be. I’m sure he’s out to get me. I wonder… doesn’t he have anything else to do? I tell him I’d better go and play but he pretends not to hear me. And puts me in a gigantic pot full of hot water. It’s CLEAR he wants me for his snack.
Who is that monster who smears a whipped cream over Eugene’s head (if only it were chocolate…) and who beats and beats the cream with his big hands?
Hey, what’s going on? The monster hands Eugene some pajamas… and gives him a big bear hug and laughs a lot again:”Now that you’re squeaky clean, Eugene — says his dad— I’m going to smack a big fat kiss on your little plump cheek! Eugene KNEW this monster seemed familiar!
Issued in Spanish & Catalan languages & bilingual edition English-Spanish
Illustrations by Pep Montserrat
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)