Latin America
Colombia
As Time Went By
By José Sanabria, Audrey Hall (Translator)
As Time Went By. José Sanabria. Translated by Audrey Hall. NorthSouth Books, 2016. Originally published as Con el paso del tiempo in Spanish by Comunic-Arte, in Argentina, in 2015, but actually first appeared as Wie die Zeit vergeht in German, in Switzerland, a translation by Gabriela Stöckli of the original Spanish text. ISBN 9780735842489. 48 p. (Ages 4-8). Picture book.
Readers learn about change and its effects on human lives as a ship sails through time. A 2017 Batchelder Honor Book. [jm]
Chile
Book of Questions
By Pablo Neruda, Sara Lissa Paulson (Translator), Paloma Valdivia (Illustrator)
Book of Questions: Selections/Libro de las preguntas: Selecciones. Pablo Neruda. Translated by Sara Lissa Paulson. Illustrated by Paloma Valdivia. Enchanted Lion Books, 2022. Originally published as Libro de las preguntas in Spanish by Editorial Losada, Buenos Aires, in 1974. ISBN 9781592703227. 80 p. (Ages 6 and up). Poetry.
A lavish, large-format bilingual abridged and illustrated version of Chilean Nobel Prize winner Neruda’s Book of Questions. Newly translated. Sweeping bold, stylized illustrations by Chilean illustrator Valdivia dramatize but do not answer rhetorical questions about the natural world, leaving plenty of room for exploration and wonder. Valdivia has been shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration. [ayg]
Argentina
Sheep Count Flowers
By Micaela Chirif, Arthur A. Levine (Translator), Amanda Mijangos (Illustrator)
Sheep Count Flowers. Micaela Chirif. Translated by Arthur A. Levine. Illustrated by Amanda Mijangos. Levine Querido, 2021. Originally published as Las Ovejas by Limonero, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2020. ISBN 9781646141197. 40 p. (Ages 4-7). Picture book.
If we count sheep, what do sheep count to get to sleep? This dream-like book speculates on the answer to that question and more about sheep. Peruvian author and poet Micaela Chirif's picture books have won the “A la Orilla del Viento” picture book competition from the Spanish-language publishing house Fondo de Cultura Económica. Three of her picture books were White Ravens selections. [jm]
Jungle Tales
By Horacio Quiroga, Jeff Zorrilla (Translator), Bert van Wijk (Illustrator)
Jungle Tales. Horacio Quiroga. Translated by Jeff Zorrilla. Illustrated by Bert van Wijk. Brigham Distributing, 2013, c2012. Originally published as Cuentos de la Selva in Spanish, in Argentina, in 1918. ISBN 9780615708072. 87 p. (Ages 9-11). Fiction.
There are many translations of this classic collection of eight short stories well known to schoolchildren in Argentina: this one, a large-format paperback, marries an engaging tone with bright, stylized artwork by Dutch illustrator Bert van Wijk. The stories revolve around human-animal and animal-animal alliances and incursions. There is an original pourquoi story about how the flamingos got their red legs. And a story of great heroism and self-sacrifice in which a giant tortoise walks hundreds of kilometers to carry his sick friend, a man, from the jungle to safety in Buenos Aires. The illustrated glossary of jungle animals is an especially nice touch. [ayg]