Greek / Greece
Ē Zoē me to mpampa
(Zoe and Papa)
Tsilinikos, Dēmētrēs
(Tsilinikos, Dimitris)
(text)
Mpulumpasēs, Petros
(Bouloubasis, Petros)
(illus.)
Thessalonikē: Epomenos Stathmos, 2019. – 32 p.
ISBN 978-960-8259-35-5
Single father | Daughter | Mother | Death | Vital energy | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2020
What might happen if a father were suddenly on his own? He might get super powers! This happened to Zoe’s Papa, who has to take care of her all by himself since Mama is not there anymore. Zoe is amazed by all of his talents in their newly shared everyday life and supports him when she can. For example, she eats a second portion of the amazing meal he cooked and lends him a hand, no, lends him two hands – to clap for him as he cleans up her room. His greatest super power, however, lies in conveying his love and care without showing his stree to Zoe – which is therefore revealed only to the reader's eyes, with great humour in the parallel visual narrative in Petros Bouloubasis’s pictures. Zoe can always be at ease and depend on Papa, even when he’s juggling the household. Dimitris Tsilinikos tells this creative, life-affirming story from the perspective of the little girl – “Zoe” in Greek means “life”. It is about Zoe and her father’s relationship and how they handle the enormous changes that the loss of her mother brings. [TA]