Colombia
163
Lara, Enrique / García, Luis (illus.)
Circo de pulgas (Flea circus)
Bogotá : Ed. GatoMalo, 2005. – [32] p.
ISBN 958-33-7436-9
Street dog – Outsider – Flea circus
Within the past few years, a number of small publishing houses have sprung up
in Latin America, which are seeking their fortune in the fairly difficult
children's book scene. In 2005, the Colombian publisher Gato Malo (Bad Cat)
started with a handful of titles such as this textless picture book – a
genre quite common on that continent. The dynamic, caricature-like
illustrations – sketchy black-and-white drawings, which are partly coloured
– tell the story of a dog who is driven from his home and has to survive in
the streets. With a lot of courage and creativity, he forges a new career as
the founder of a successful flea circus. On the outside, this optimistic book
is a funny animal story, yet on a deeper level it also addresses the topic of
outsiders living at the edge of society. (3+)
164
Paz Castillo, María Fernanda (ed./adapt.)
Osorio, María (illus.)
Muertos de susto : leyendas de acá y del más allá (Paralysed
with fear : tales from near and far)
Bogotá : Alfaguara, 2005. – 77 p.
(Nidos para la lectura) (Yo leo solo )
ISBN 958-704-283-2
Horror story – Fear
The series »Nidos para la lectura« (nests for reading) presents a number of
carefully designed anthologies of folk tales, poems, and other short literary
genres. This volume offers retellings of twelve horror stories of European and
Latin American origin. The varied and by no means blood-thirsty selection is
perfect for children who are in for a pleasant shudder of fear but not too
much. The illustrations are a feast for the eyes. The abstract, dynamic
digitally produced graphics, which dramatically amplify the characters'
expressions and gestures, consist of black, grey, white, and red fields of
colour. They provide an attractive contrast to the tales from bygone times.
(8+)