My son's first book

I am excited about launching my very first personal blog to write about my lifelong passion: children's books with beautiful narratives and illustrations. They are works of art which open you, even grown-ups, up to something you might not know or be aware of before.

For this, I believe books can be one of the best gifts to give. Last week, I accompanied my husband to a little bookstore in our town to look for something to bring to our friend for his son's first birthday.

Then, we both fell in love with this book about the moon and a little girl by Gianni Rodari, an Italian journalist, educator, and author of children's literature awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1970.

The book was so beautiful that we ended up getting two copies; one for the birthday boy and the other for our son who was turning four months old on the day his fellow friend was celebrating his first birthday.

A friend of mine once told me she would always buy her daughters books targeting a little ahead of their actual ages. I second her. Although the book is recommended for children aged one year or more, I do not think it is too early for our son to enjoy this book.

Of course he still does not understand a word, but he seems to like listening to my voice and seeing colours and shapes jump off the pages. I am glad that we found him such a special "my first book." Our friend also told me that the book was already making his son crazy!

Its narratives, written for toddlers, are simple yet profound and poetic. In fact, my Italian husband had to consult a dictionary to explain to me the proper meaning of one of the first words in this book. He said, "you know, Rodari is difficult."

Although I myself am a beginner in his literature, I would say Rodari is beautiful, intellectual, fantastic and a bit surreal. Having read two books by him: this new entry to our bookshelf and Telephone Tales in Japanese translation, that is my impression so far.

Now I am interested in reading more Rodari in the original language, and got four more books published for Italian preschoolers. I cannot wait to read them with my son in the near future. But first, they should serve me as nice Italian textbooks!

About today's book

La luna al guinzaglio

Written by Gianni Rodari

Illustrated by Andrea Antinori

Published in January 2021 by Emme Edizioni

No translation is available as of March 2021

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