Argentinian author María Teresa Andruetto, who won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012, exquisitely transforms personal history into an inspiring tribute to living courageously in Clara and the Man with Books in His Window. Fellow Argentinian artist/muralist Martina Trach's glorious double-page spreads enhance Andruetto's text and create a strong sense of place and time. Originally published in 2018, Clara is Andruetto and Trach's English-language debut, eloquently translated by Guatemalan Canadian Elisa Amado.
"This is the story of my mother and her friend, Juan," Andruetto prefaces her narrative, "about how she discovered books and he, the light of day." Young Clara is her laundress mother's delivery service. "DON'T GET DISTRACTED... DON'T LET THE LAUNDRY GET DIRTY," her mother reminds Clara as she sets off carrying a laden basket. At the man's home, she leaves the laundry and collects the payment left under the doormat: "He never goes out. He always stays inside," Clara explains. But one day, pushing the curtain aside, the man engages Clara in brief conversation through the window. He won't explain why he's shut in--yet--but asks if she can read. "My grandmother taught me how," she responds. On her next delivery day, a book appears under the doormat. And then another. And then she's invited inside, where he gifts her with his own story, about when he became "afraid of the light." He instills in Clara his meaning of courage: "being brave enough to live the way you want to, the way you believe." Clara immediately declares: "I'm going to have courage!" Encouraged by her exuberance, the man exits his fortress to hand Clara the book she almost left behind.
Trach sets Andruetto's spare narrative in a rural landscape populated with simple homes (colorful albeit a bit faded), suggesting this is not a land of plenty. The man's impressive house is the area's only multi-story building, so large that Clara's silhouette is minuscule in comparison. The plethora of books throughout the interior suggests the man is likely one of the community's most privileged--and learned. Yet young Clara, in constant motion, with her brown bob, green dress, and red shoes, engenders the man to invite, talk, and share. Trach cleverly underscores the infinite power of books through saturated primary colors--red, blue, and yellow stand out against the dim, neutral colors of their setting. Together, author and artist provide a galvanizing reminder that books are conveyers of immense knowledge, exhilarating enjoyment, and audacious empathy. --Terry Hong
Shelf Talker: Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning author María Teresa Andruetto turns her mother's memories into a gorgeously inspiring story about books and connection.