BOOK REVIEW TOO HARD Author: Raúl Guridi From the reader report by: Miho Ihara The cover features an unsmiling boy and many silhouette-like lines. Despite the disquieting air, this rouses interest in the contents of the book. The book is entirely narrated by the boy and the pictureless white text on black seems to reflect his feelings. The unnerving illustrations convey the protagonist’s worldview in an easy-to-understand manner. As with the text, they reveal the world as viewed through the boy’s uneasy eyes. Though never explicitly stated, it appears the boy is not just timid and fearful but actually has ‘selective mutism’, a common social disorder among many children whereby they are unable to speak in certain social situations. It is said 1 in 500 children in Japan suffer from this. There is a growing interest in this condition, as evidenced by the publication of several picture books and autobiographical manga on this theme in Japan too. The rights to this book have also been taken up in South Korea and the US, so it seems many children across the world are suffering in this way. The story and the illustrations are written from the perspective of a boy who is worried he won’t be able to communicate with others. I think this book should be published in Japan to raise awareness of this condition among people of all ages.
PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS DE | JP
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