ACHUKA Book of the Day 1 Oct 2021
This perfectly-formed (215mm x 185mm) Latvian-printed non-fiction picture book from Book Island, the Bristol-based publisher founded by Greet Pauwelijn with a mission “to publish up, not down” first appeared in Spanish in 1977 as Asi es la dictadura two years after the death of Franco with cartoon-style illustrations by L. F. Santamaria. The book was republished in Spain six years ago with these new illustrations by Mikel Casal who has a more graphic style of caricature. Now that it is available in English, it should be in every school library in the UK.
original cover
The Spanish edition is available direct from Book Island: https://www.bookisland.co.uk/collections/books/products/this-is-a-dictatorship-spanish-edition
A dual gift of both the English and Spanish editions of the book would make a splendid present for any young person beginning to study Spanish at school.
What happens to a country when one person makes all the rules? What would it feel like to live in such a place? And why is it important for us to know about? This book, first written in Spain soon after the end of the Franco dictatorship, set out to explain dictatorship to the next generation. The Spanish publishers believed that “Children are interested in everything adults are interested in. You must explain things to them, even if it requires effort.”
In an Endnote, we are told, “In 1977, when this book was first created, there were around 40 counties in the world that were considered to be dictatorships. Today, in 2021, according to various sources, there are 36… However, there are many forms of government that, although they are not labelled as such, are not all that different from dictatorships… So long as there is neither transparency in public management, nor the potential for citizens to participate and exercise their rights (including the right to complain and make demands), there can’t be true democracy.”
The endpapers depict two dozen dictators of recent times — at the front ordered by date of birth and at the back ordered by date of death.
Read more about the illustrator: https://blog.picturebookmakers.com/post/141480225261/mikel-casal
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And follow the translator (also a poet):
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