A tale about a silent encounter: one day, Saída arrives at school – but she doesn’t speak! She comes from another country far away, and it seems as if she lost all her words during the journey. But Saída and her friend don’t give up, even though they lack a common language. They discover new ways of understanding each other, gestures, images and touch. Their story is one about friendship and solidarity and knowing that there are different worlds each individual world can benefit from – provided you are ready to open your eyes and approach it with an open mind.
by Susana Gómez Redondo & Sonja Wimmer
- 2020 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist! (English edn.)
- Commended on the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year List (English edn.)
“Susana Gómez Redondo spins a beautiful tale. The words curl and warm themselves around the two young strangers and glow as their bond develops. Repetition of the phrase, “The day Saida arrived,” gives the story a timeless quality that is rooted only in the pair’s friendship. The artwork by Sonja Wimmer is exquisite and vivid. Drenched in emotion, Wimmer conjures up the emotions felt by Saida when she is unable to express herself.” – Butler’s Pantry.org
“The magical search for language as a wonderful story about friendship.” – Süddeutsche Zeitung
“… a wonderful story about the power of language to overcome boundaries. A book that deserves a vast readership.” – Tagesspiegel
“An award-worthy example of real picture-book-artistry that enchants in every way.” – bv.medienprofile
“… the language frees itself from the constraints of a faithful reproduction, it is playful and unfolds its magic.” – 1000 und 1 Buch
Takatuka | hc | 36 pp | 240 x 220 mm | 5+
Rights sold: English, German, Portuguese (Brazil)
[original title: El día que Saída llego]