How the Reeds became hollow - Paperback

by Dominique Lafourcade Señoret (Editor), Ekaterina Ilina (Illustrator), Gloria Nichols (Translator)

This delightful book is bilingual. The original Spanish and its English translation are on facing pages, a format that encourages comprehension and increases enjoyment in language learning.

The charming fable about Nature was written 100 years ago by the poet Gabriela Mistral, the only female Spanish-language winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The text talks about diversity, and how narrow-minded changes can upset the balance of nature. The magical illustrations were inspired by the poetic text, with many references to mythology in different cultural settings. Despite its apparent naïveté, the tone is literary and quite beautiful.

This work would be ideal for classroom use in schools and universities, as well as language learners of all ages. I also imagine the audience to be a parent reading with a child, using the images to explain or answer questions, and exploring the bilingual text. Children like to go back and re-read books that make them think, with images that trigger their imagination or leave doubts. This should be one of those books.