After kicking off April by celebrating Children’s Book Day, we’re still deep into the most literary month of the year, with lots of exciting LIJ news hitting our newsroom recently. From beloved classics such as the new adventure of Tigre y Oso, as well as other revivals such as the McBroom farm series, to attractive titles by Spanish-language authors such as Marina Tena, Susanna Isern or Fernando Lallana and Chus Castaillon. Not forgetting, of course, the children’s comic with new titles by Kay O’Neill and Lewis Trondheim’s tribute to some irreducible Gals.
Rooster’s Head, Serpent’s Tail (Cursed Curses)
Really Really Really
Illustrations by Bartolome Segui
I’m talking, 2023
Until recently, Lauren was an ordinary thirteen-year-old boy, but his life takes an unexpected turn. the parents fall into a strange dream that doctors can’t explain. That’s when he discovers that curses exist, and together with his sister and their guardian, he embarks on a mystery and action-packed adventure to undo his parents’ curse. Author Marina Tena received the Ignotos Prize for novels and short stories a few months ago Don’t sit at the wizard’s table (Editorial Crononauta).
Additional information |: first pages |: book trailer
Manuscript of Sancho Panza
Fernando Lallana and Jose Castillo
Illustrations by Irina Hirondelle
Anaya, 2023
XX Anaya Prize for Children’s Literature, 2023
In a place in Aragon called Zaragoza, the publishing house “Cuadratura” goes under. Until one morning like any other, your editor receives a manuscript unlike any other. Let’s start with the fact that the handwriting is literal. It is a bundle of yellow plates that seems to be centuries old and contains a fascinating testimony: the true story of Alonso and Sancho, two young men who inspired. Quixote. Intrigued, Rebecca reads how Alonso and Sancho meet Miguel de Cervantes, who personally tells them his adventures. From Argamasilla to Venice, passing through Lepanto or Algiers, the author will tell Sancho, Alonso, Rebecca and the reader a life full of battles, escapes, romance, hardships and even a strange mystery.
Additional information |: first pages
Pink, blue and you
Elise Gravel
Nubeocho, 2023
Skateboards are just for boys. And dinosaurs too? Can only girls take care of children? Can women only marry men? There are many issues related to gender identity that we often take for granted. But who made these rules? Is it really necessary to follow them? This picture album tries to teach children that another world is possible. a world where we are all on an equal footing and are loved and respected no matter who we are, how we look or how we feel.
Additional information |: first pages
The tiger and the bear in the city
Janos
Translated by Iago Nicolas
Kalandraka, 2023
Which side of the road to walk on if there is no sidewalk, what to do to cross the street, elements (such as traffic lights, signals, or zebra crossings) that regulate vehicle and pedestrian traffic, or basic rules such as using belt are some of the discoveries Tiger and Bear make during their visit to the city. In this great adventure, they have the help of a goat, a bark and other pedestrians and drivers who guide their steps and also know what not to do. With this new book, Kalandraka continues the series of adventures of these two beloved characters we met How beautiful is Panama? Mail for a tiger y: Let’s go treasure hunting!
Additional information |: first pages
The witch who didn’t want the broom (from the sweepers)
Susanna Isern
Illustrations by David Sierra Liston
Bescoa, 2023
Petra, the famous witch of Tornados, along with a group of other witches, participates in a talent competition held at the Luna Mansion. The winner will be chosen by the magician Linus to live under his tutelage and be his apprentice. What a great opportunity! Linus the Magus is an exceptional being. But when Petra is chosen, she will discover that all is not as it seems, and that brooms are not always full of opportunity. A story that pays tribute to all the women who grew up and worked in the shadows and who fought to get the recognition their work deserves.
The Guardian of the Moths
Kay O’Neill
The Dome, 2023
Anya is going to become the protector of the moon moths, the luminous creatures that pollinate the Night Flower once a year. This tree blesses the village of night and helps its inhabitants survive. Being a Moth Guardian is a great honor, but also a great responsibility. It means spending nights alone in the desert in the dim light of a flashlight. Still, Anya is looking forward to proving herself and showing her appreciation to the entire village. But… is it worth making such an effort? The icy winter nights, the impenetrable darkness, the rejection of loved ones… will unleash Anya’s desire to experience what she has always secretly longed for, even if it breaks the faith the entire village has placed in her. A new title from a New Zealand author Tea Dragon Societythe graphic novel won two Eisner Awards in 2018.
Additional information |: first pages
McBroom’s Wonderful Farm
Sid Fleishman
Illustrations by Quentin Blake
Translated by Gemma Rovira
Blackie Books, 2023
Welcome to the wonderful McBroom Farm, a place like no other. In it you’ll find magically growing crops, giant watermelons and ears of corn, raging gale-force winds, rain of rabbits, a terrifying invasion of locusts, and even a ghost wandering around restlessly. This volume, which Black now restores, is the version that makes up the first three stories in the McBroom series (1966-1969) and which was already published in the 80s in Alfaguara (Orange series) with illustrations by Quentin Blake in 1972 :
For safety!
Lewis Trondheim
Saturday, 2023
When Lapino wakes up in the middle of the forest, he can’t believe his eyes… a big man with braids, blue and white stripes and a helmet calls out to him. “Asterix”. Lapino, in disbelief, ignores this curious figure and continues on his way. But an unfortunate encounter with a Roman patrol and Panoramix’s efforts to apparently force him to drink the magic potion ends up convincing him; he seems indeed to have moved to the city of the irreducible Gauls. And interestingly, even Tutatis is there. Using his character Lapinot, Trondheim pays tribute to the Gaulish immortals Uderzo and Goskin. Also recommended, by the same author, is the series the dungeon (Editorial Standard), with Joan Sfar.
Additional information |: first pages
What do emotions do? (when no one’s looking)
Tina Ozievich
Illustrations by Alexandra Zayaki
Translated by Ernesto Rubio and Marta Slick
Siruela, 2023
Joy, pride, enthusiasm, anger, anxiety, fear… We all know these feelings and many others. But do we know what they do in their spare time when no one is looking? This fun book invites parents and children to talk and think about how the world of emotions (and ours too) works.
Additional information |: first pages
Skellig
David Almond
Translation by Verónica Canales Medina
Duomo, 2023
In the garage of the new house, Michael discovers something magical: an unusual creature that seems to need help. His name is Skellig and he likes Chinese food and thick. We will never know exactly what it is. neither did Michael. But what matters to her and her baby sister, who is between life and death in the hospital, is that Skellig is there. Published more than 20 years ago, this book won David Almond the Whitbread Children’s Prize (now Costa Book) and the Carnegie Medal. It has been turned into a play and an opera, as well as a film adaptation, starring Tim Roth as Skellig.
Additional information |: first pages
I see, I see, what you see.
Raphael Martin
Illustrations by Claire Schwartz
Translated by Blanca Gago
Red Fox Books, 2023
I see, I see, what you see. Lollipop growing in the meadow. A miniature surfboard swept away by the waves. A giant’s claw stuck in a swamp? This playful title by Raphael Martin and Claire Schwartz invites us to walk wide-eyed through the woods, the beach, and the mountains and discover ingenious forms that are not always easy to recognize, and often defy our imagination. More than forty riddles about everything that hides, disguises and surprises the natural environment.
Additional information |: first pages
