Odiseea

Una dintre marile pasiuni ale copilului meu este cititul. De cativa ani este pasionata de mituri si legende grecesti, de zei si eroi, de Iliada si Odiseea sau Eneida. A citit si recitit adaptari, romane grafice, carti ilustrate si enciclopedii despre ei, despre aventurile lor pe care le cunoaste deja in amanunt.

Cand a aparut pe marile ecrane epopeea lui Christopher Nolan, a vrut neaparat sa mergem. Asadar printre alerte de vreme rea, intr-o sala plina, intr-un cinematograf care toata ziua rula acest film, am fost si noi acolo. La iesire, imbufnata, fiica mea a concluzionat ca “acest film este plin de greșeli, imi pare rau ca am insistat sa il vedem”. M-am uitat speriata in jur sa vad cine ar putea sa auda o fetita de 11 ani spunand asta. Am avut noroc, fiecare era ocupat cu altceva.

Arta are rolul de a ne oferi o evadare din realitatea cotidiana. Filmul acesta este o mare operă de arta, în viziunea mea. Si istoria imi va valida probabil aceasta parere.

Dar pentru ca istoria este scrisa de cele mai multe ori de invingatori este bine sa o citim cu atentie si obiectivitate. Mai ales pentru ca nu stim ce bucati lipsesc si ce este extra.

Am selectat cateva imagini din cartile despre Odiseu si marile lui patime si voi lasa arta sa va vorbeasca despre el.

First graphic novels

A graphic novel is the best adaptation to a novel that we want to introduce younger kids to it. So, it is no wonder that almost all the great classical stories were at some point or other, adapted into a graphic novel.

Here is a selection of graphic novels that my 11 yo daughter has read and she loves reading te still. From Gareth Hinds to Vera Brosgol, her list of favourites is long and I am sure you’ll find some great reading titles for this summer.

The future book

by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris

If someones knows how to make great books that children will love and burst into laughter when they read it, is these two remarcable artists. And some more, yes. But these two definitely on the top.

Discovering comic books

As independent readers, kids love to discover new stories and worlds, to laugh and to worry for the favourite heroes. So discovering comic books is sort of a pivotal point in their journey across the universe of books.

My kid is in love with comics, she reads them, creates new stories based in her favourite characters or authors, draws and illustrates as much comics as she can.

The classical series are a bit long, yes. All the great comic books authors develop new lines to their series , so each 1-2 years a new book is published. So the majority of the comic books series has around 15-20 titles. But as they are read and reread over and over again, I would say that are a great addition to a child library, especially if they have younger siblings, to pass along the books.

My daughter helped me put together a selection of the comic books she red that she thinks are apropiate as a first encounter with this kind of stories.

She loves authors like Cece Bell, Raina Telgemeier, Dav Pilkey, Jim Davis, Tom Gauld, Charles Martin Schulz, Rene Goscinny, Stephen Hilenburg, Ileana and Maria Surducan.

Enjoy!

102

What is 102 you wonder? Well, artist Matthew Cordell has the answer: the exact number of beans a mama mouse needs to make a get well again soup for her sick baby. How sweet is this? And how wonderful the illustrations, made entirely on scented coloured ball pens?

We loved the story and the illustration of it very much, for sure it will be one of the greatest books published in 2026.

Navigating night

Julie Leung writes a delicate and heartwhelming story about life, as it is experienced by a child who has to live more than would want to. The visual story told by the illustrator Angie Kang is so powerful and changes with the moods and feelings of the main character. Every night she has to go with her father, Baba, to help him deliver the food made at their family restaurant. He doesn’t speak English so well and it is hard for him to follow the map or talk to the customer. So his daughter comes along for help. Of course she would prefer do childish thing instead: play, relax, read, sleep. But she knows she has to help the family so she does it.

For some of us life was somehow easy and maybe we didn’t appreciate it. And things would come to us and their value or what we have to do in exchange is for others to worry.

But for the rest of us, life, especially in a foreign place, hits hard sometimes and only an united and hardworking family can do it all, together.

We go slow

A poem. Brilliant illustrations that feel so close that we could walk right there, alongside our heroes.

Aaron Becker is one of the greatest illustrators of our time and after we will be gone he would still remain one of the great visual artists of all times.

His latest work, “We go slow”. Enjoy!