Skip to main content Skip to page footer

Andruetto, María Teresa (Text) / Trach, Martina (Ill.)

Clara und der Mann im großen Haus

A picture book from Argentina

Translated from Spanish by Jochen Weber
© 2019 Baobab Books
56 pages, hardcover, 18 x 30 cm
CHF 25.00 / € [D] 19,00 / € [A] 19,60
ISBN 978-3-905804-97-3
Ages 6 and up

Once upon a time, there was a girl, the youngest daughter of a poor family. They lived in a small village somewhere in the vast Argentinian pampas. There was no school and no library in the remote village. In the only house that was of significant size, a man lived a completely withdrawn life, never showing himself at all. When Clara looked through the window one day, she saw a room full of books and became curious. She dared to speak to the mysterious man and Juan opened the door. Clara not only discovered her love for books, but developed a great friendship too … The story by Argentinian author María Teresa Andruetto is based on real life; the girl Clara is her own mother. The story is a moving and subtle plea for respect and self-determination, and against prejudice.

The Author

María Teresa Andruetto (*1954) was born in Arroyo Cabral, Argentina. She studied Literature at the University of Córdoba. Andruetto has been one of the co-founders of the Children’s and Youth Literature Publication and Research Centre, publishing secretary to Piedra Libre magazine and member of the advising council of PROPALE (Reading Programme/National University of Córdoba). Among other rewards she received 2009 the «Premio Iberoamericano SM de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil» and 2012 the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

The Illustrator

Martina Trach (*1988) was born in Buenos Aires and still lives there today. She studied graphic design at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and describes herself as an inveterate drawer. Trach has created subtle illustrations for Clara's story, which cleverly play with light and darkness and help the reader to make the multi-layered nature of the text visually comprehensible too.

Original edition: »Clara y al hombre en la ventana«, Limonero, Buenos Aires
Text © 2017 by María Teresa Andruetto
Illustration © 2018 by Martina Trach

 

To top

Award

KIMI-Siegel für Vielfalt (July 2020)