Spanish / Venezuela
El hijo del astronauta
(The son of the astronaut)
Val, Elena
(text/illus.)
Caracas [et al.]: Ediciones Ekaré, 2024. – [40] p.
ISBN 978-84-128118-0-3
Father | Son | Parental absence | Longing | Picture book
Reading age: 5+
White Ravens issue: 2024
My father is far away. He is an astronaut travelling through space in service of all mankind. The little boy who tells this story fantasizes about what his father is doing and what will happen when he returns home again one day. Then they will throw a party and play together and go swimming. Behind these thoughts and dreams, one hears longing and loneliness. The huge hole in the boy’s life cannot be simply closed up through the power of imagination. But at least his friends can distract him. In this picture book, Elena Val offers a precise and moving portrait of the feelings of a child who idolizes his father, on whom he concentrates all his love. Ultimately it does not matter whether the father is really an astronaut or has perhaps simply disappeared, whether he has deserted the family, died or gone away to find work – situations that countless children experience every day. The expressive illustrations in vibrant colours capture a boy’s world oscillating between reality, fantasy and dreams. [JW]