Different ways of doing the same things

BOOK REVIEW

DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THE SAME THINGS

Author: Mariana Ruiz Johnson From the reader report by: Kristin Lohmann

In this booklet, the richness of life is celebrated, just like the individual´s liberty and unique way of proceeding.

A short, colourful prologue explains what everything is about: you may do everything in completely different ways. […] The subsequent double pages present examples of respectively four illustrated possibilities. […] The middle part of the book is about the various kinds of boredom – at this stage the booklet can be folded out, and what appears is a number of illustrious characters who are bored in the most different ways. The booklet is concluded by a double page which is a counterpart to the prologue and asks the question: Well now, in which way did you read the book? At daytime or at night? Disguised as a witch or a tamer? From the beginning to the end or from the end to the beginning?

The illustrations are limited to just a few colourings (black, white, blue and red). They are captivating because of their simplicity, their witticism and their expressiveness and serve as a perfect completion of the text.

Looking at this lovingly designed booklet is certainly much fun, be it alone or together with others, be it from the beginning or from the end, and quite certainly again and again. The scenes convey familiar emotions such as courage, joy, love of adventure or a feeling of friendship. The message: there is no pre-given way of how something should be done – it is you alone who invents the ways in which you would like to do something, and in the process you may well pursue different paths or think around corners.

Remark by the jury: this is a book which must be talked about. It is less suitable for looking at it by oneself but rather as accompanied reading.

PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS DE

TTT PUBLICACIONES ILUSTRADAS

Title DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THE SAME THINGS FORMAS DIFERENTES DE HACER LAS MISMAS COSAS

Author Mariana Ruiz Johnson Genre Children and Young Adults Pages 36

ISBN 978-84-94988-42-4 Year of publication 2020 Number of editions 1 Language Spanish Spanish retail price 14.50 €

Author’s biography: The author-illustrator is from Argentina and her major interests include the narrative power of pictures, anthropomorphised characters, the use of colour as a compositional tool, nocturnal scenes, childhood, the power of nature, humour, and magic. She studied fine arts and children’s book illustration and she has published books both as author and illustrator across the world. In 2013 she received the Compostela prize for Picture Books for Mamá (Mummy), published by Kalandraka and translated into ten languages. In 2015 she won the international competition, the Silent Book Contest, with Mientras duermes (While you sleep), published in Italy by Carthusia Edizioni. Currently, she lives with her family on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and dedicates her time to illustrating and writing her own books. Ruiz Johnson also enjoys working with other authors.

https://marianaruizjohnson.wordpress.com/ Synopsis: How many ways do you think there are to dive into water? Of getting angry? Whatever you may think, there are millions! In this exciting book you will find so many incredible and surprising way of doing things – like travelling to the moon by boat!

Publisher: Publicaciones Ilustradas TTT In 2013, TRES TIGRES TRISTES was born. We specialise in children’s picture books that can be enjoyed by readers of any age. Following from this mission, we launched our second imprint in 2018, AVENAUTA, with the intention of publishing work directed at teenagers and adult readers.

Publishing rights available from: Publicaciones Ilustradas TTT S.L. - CIF X www.verokagency.com Contact: Véronique Kirchhoff [vero@verokagency.com]