Spanish / Spain
La excursión
(The outing)
Manzano, Eva
(text)
Novillo, Carla
(illus.)
[Madrid]: Bookolia, 2023. – [48] p.
ISBN 978-84-18284-72-4
Bed | Excursion | Adventurousness | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2023
Beds are not known for being adventurous. By undertaking an excursion on a train, the protagonist of this picture book is an exception to the rule. And how exciting it is! Unlike always having the same old view of the backyard from the room at home, the vistas from the train window are constantly changing. Houses, trees and much more rapidly speed by. On a meadow, the bed meets a river and a tree who are eager to find out what it is like to sleep in a bed. Later, the bed experiences its first sunset, and soon a cow and a child join this motley company. Together they all gaze up at the starry skies. How will this story end, asks the child. But before it can hear an answer, it falls fast asleep. »La excursión« is a wacky ode to nonsense and the pleasure of making up absurd stories. The pictures by Carla Novillo are congenial companions to Eva Manzanoְ’s text. They are not only stock full of bizarre details but also use eccentric perspectives and proportions to create a funny, topsy-turvy world. [JW]