In picture books we can tell many things through colours, lines and shapes, and that -in turn- allows the text to breathe with freedom. Unfortunately, as we grow up, we lose contact with the expression through pictures, whereas we all were experts on the subject when we were kids.
- Isol, from her acceptance speech, May 27, 2013, Stockholm
The 2013 winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award -ALMA - (the largest book award that exists -- 5 million Swedish kronor!) is Isol, a children's book creator from Argentina, who, in the words of the jury "creates picturebooks from the eye level of the child." This is certainly the case with Petit, the Monster. When this award was announced last spring, I immediately check our shelves to see if we owned any of her work. From making the maps for the "Mapping the World of International Children's Books" section on this site, I knew there were very few authors and illustrators from Latin America represented on the USBBY Outstanding International Book list. So I was pleased to find a few of Isol's works already in our library collection.
Petit, the Monster written and illustrated by Isol.
Groundwood/ House of Anansi, 2010.
Petit struggles with whether he is good or bad -- and sometimes life is just plain confusing. For example, he's bad when he tells lies, but good at storytelling. These nuances are presented from a child's perspective, and capture that sense of confusion and trying to figure this crazy world out. Sometimes he means to help . . . but things turn out wrong. So Petit even wonders if he's a monster . . . though his dog certainly doesn't think so! And neither does his mom. This story has a reassuring ending to natural childhood angst. Isol's illustrations add humor and charm to Petit's plight. Translated by Elisa Amado. Illustrations in pencil, oil pastel and the computer.
Groundwood/ House of Anansi, 2010.
Petit struggles with whether he is good or bad -- and sometimes life is just plain confusing. For example, he's bad when he tells lies, but good at storytelling. These nuances are presented from a child's perspective, and capture that sense of confusion and trying to figure this crazy world out. Sometimes he means to help . . . but things turn out wrong. So Petit even wonders if he's a monster . . . though his dog certainly doesn't think so! And neither does his mom. This story has a reassuring ending to natural childhood angst. Isol's illustrations add humor and charm to Petit's plight. Translated by Elisa Amado. Illustrations in pencil, oil pastel and the computer.
Doggy Slippers by Jorge Lujan, illustrated by Isol.
Groundwood/ House of Anansi, 2010.
Children from all across Latin America wrote letters to the author, who selected and shaped their words into poems. The result captures many unique, and sometimes universal, experiences of pet ownership/ companionship. Isol's muted palettes of browns and expressive linear, scratchy illustrations are full of personality. The endpapers are like "rear window" - showing humorous vignettes of all the different pets and owners - delightful.
Jorge Lujan is an Argentian poet currently living in Mexico City. Isol lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translated by Elisa Amado.
Groundwood/ House of Anansi, 2010.
Children from all across Latin America wrote letters to the author, who selected and shaped their words into poems. The result captures many unique, and sometimes universal, experiences of pet ownership/ companionship. Isol's muted palettes of browns and expressive linear, scratchy illustrations are full of personality. The endpapers are like "rear window" - showing humorous vignettes of all the different pets and owners - delightful.
Jorge Lujan is an Argentian poet currently living in Mexico City. Isol lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translated by Elisa Amado.