You and me. The most wonderful story in the world

BOOK REVIEW

YOU AND ME. THE MOST WONDERFUL STORY IN THE WORLD

Author: Elisenda Roca From the reader report by: Rodrigo Petronio

A beautiful book, simple and very good for cross-cutting themes related to the coexistence between siblings, birth of new siblings, how to deal with differences and possible conflicts. It alternates the voices/talks between the older sister and the little brother who has just arrived. This alternation is often regular, one page for each speech/point of view. Illustrations are very sober and totally match the text’s proposal.

Tú y yo: el cuento más bonito del mundo by Elisendra Roca with illustrations by Guridi, is a story to be whispered in the ear. It is the story of the coming of the younger brother, a recurring theme in children’s literature. As it is a commonplace, it follows that the theme can be approached in a variety of ways, and the book does so in a direct, but not hurried, manner. It is narrated by the older brother, who writes a kind of letter to the little one. The older brother has time to get used to the idea, to create in his imagination a reality not yet realized. And, of course, jealousy and insecurity arise: the point of narrative conflict thus completes the thematic framework common to this type of approach. The duo is recurrent: younger brother coming + jealousy showing up. The feeling does not come as something crystal-clear; rather, it gradually grows inside the older brother who, not knowing how to name it, turns to his parents.

As can be seen, the theme of the journey of the older brother who gains a baby brother is recurrent, and does not bring many novelties. Here, it can be read with the mediation of an adult, who should explain the many feelings to the child - fear, excitement, doubts, euphoria, loneliness, love, and also jealousy -, enabling links with real life, with the change in the family routine.

Illustrations are the allure of the book, mixing different languages with prints, textures, the use of crayons in different colors, and collage of elements. It is a simple and creative book at the same time. Maybe it could be called a classic, in thematic terms.

PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS BR

CASALS EDITORIAL

Title

YOU AND ME. THE MOST WONDERFUL STORY IN THE WORLD TÚ Y YO. EL CUENTO MÁS BONITO DEL MUNDO

Author Elisenda Roca Genre Children and Young Adults Pages 48

ISBN 978-84-9101-038-8 Year of publication 2015 Number of editions 12 Language Spanish Spanish retail price 15.90 €

Author’s biography: Elisenda Roca is a journalist, writer, and theatrical director. She has directed, produced, and presented programmes for radio and TV. She studied Information Science at the Autónoma University in Barcelona. She has been the vice-rector at Catalunya’s School of journalism and director of the audio-visual production company Paraula. She was part of the jury for the literary prize, Lletra d’Or. She has worked for several media companies such as Antena 3 and TVE where she presented the program Cifras y Letras (Numbers and Letters); as well as TV3 and COM Radio. She has published stories for children, illustrated pop-up books, novels for young adults and, in collaboration with Dr Carlota Basil, she also wrote an educational book about conception, pregnancy and the postnatal period. Among her the many prizes she has received over her career, of most importance are the Òmnium Cultural for radio, the Ondas for TV, the TP de Oro and the ATP, among others.

Synopsis: You and me. The most wonderful story in the world is a picture book written by Elisenda Roca and illustrated by Guridi. The book is a tender, humorous description of the doubts, feelings, and emotions of a child on the arrival of a new sibling, taking us through the pregnancy and the first months of the new baby’s life. Written in rhyme and accompanied by Guridi’s fun and expressive illustrations, this story explores the older sibling’s responses, first, surprise and later jealousy, in an entertaining and natural way. This is the secret of the book’s worldwide popularity. A book to be read as a family to help any little three-year old who is about to have a little brother or sister: someone just like them who will love them more than anything else in the world.

Publisher: Company Combel, un sello de Editorial Casals, SA Editorial Casals is now 150 years old. Since 1989, under the name Combel, we publish illustrated books for children from infants to nine years old, with a specialist catalogue in novelty and pop-up books, including cardboard books and books for bath time, stories, graphic novels and non-fiction.

Publishing rights available from: Editorial Casals, SA. - CIF A08199820 Casp 79, Barcelona www.combeleditorial.com https://youtu.be/4qOctxi9Y6w /cuentacombel/elisenda-roca/ Contact: Esther Serra [esther.serra@editorialcasals.com] [rights@combeleditorial.com] Phone: (+34) 932 449 550 Countries where the rights have been sold: Korea: Dongsim; Simplified Chinese: CITIC; France: La Martinière; Hungary: Vivandra: Italy: Clichy; Turkey: Tekir Kitap Comments: More than 45,000 copies sold worldwide.