Spain
(Galician)
152
Alfaya, An
A sombra descalza (The bare-footed shadow)
Vigo : Xerais, 2006. – 133 p.
(Fóra de xogo; 92)
ISBN 84-9782-426-1
Spain/Civil War – Family – Secret
This
novel deals with the dark sides of a family that suffers from one thing in
particular: insurmountable speechlessness. Elsa, the 16-year-old protagonist,
wants to know the reason for this secrecy and starts her own investigations
leading her back to the Spanish Civil War and her great-aunt Sagrario’s
distressing misfortune. She finds out that her grandfather actually is a
despot and the women in the family his patient victims. The recognition that
her own family is far from perfect is a bitter pill for Elsa, yet it also
serves as an important step in the process of growing up and finding her own
identity. An Alfaya has cleverly constructed this novel told in a quiet voice.
New questions and secrets that appear at strategically important points in the
plot create an interesting tension right up to the end. (14+) (Premio
Lazarillo; 2005)
153
Carballeira, Paula (text)
Hénaff, Carole (illus.)
Smara <proper name>
Pontevedra : Kalandraka, 2006. – 59 p.
(Seteleguas)
ISBN 84-8464-549-5
Sahara – Tradition – Storytelling
The
setting for this book is the city of Smara (aka Semara), which is situated in
Western Sahara and formerly served as an oasis for caravans travelling through
the desert. There, a Spanish boy who accompanies his father on a journey meets
Avoa Ugaga (Grandmother Ugaga). The wise old woman tells him entrancing
stories about ancient times. Thus Smara is not only a foreign and fascinating
place for the boy; it is also a symbol for an endangered traditional culture
that is rich in myths, tales, and images. The book resonates with a quiet,
almost melancholic atmosphere that is also captured in the illustrations
inspired by the desert landscape and the colours and shapes of local ceramics,
fabrics, and spices. (9+) <>
154
Patacrúa (text)
Solchaga, Javier (illus.)
A Princesa do Caurel (The princess from the Caurel mountains)
Pontevedra : OQO Ed., 2006. – [32] p.
(Colección Q)
ISBN 84-96573-52-4
Chain tale – Ring – Theft
The
type of fairy tale in which an object travels from one person to the next and
eventually returns to its starting point exists in numerous different versions.
The story, often written in verse, grows longer and longer with each new
change of owner because all of the previous stations are repeated. In this
original photo-picture-book, the object is a ring that comes into the
possession of
a princess, then a bird, a cat, a dog, a stick, and so on. The figures are
crafted with a lot of imagination from finds such as boards, roots, screws,
tiles, etc. At the start of each new episode, only a small part of the next
protagonist is shown at first. Thus, these pictures arouse the readers’
interest, invite them to guess, and also allow them to closely
inspect the material used. (4+)