The volume, illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, a hymn to brotherhood between peoples. The proceeds will go entirely to the Red Cross for the Ukrainian emergency
The moon is not mine, not yours and not even his: everyone’s moon. It took a genius like Gianni Rodari (1920-1980) to remind us, in such a dramatic moment, that beautiful things must be shared.
In the nursery rhyme The moon of Kiev the popular children’s writer tells the magic of an encounter in his own way: Rodari begins by wondering if the moon that you see in the sky of the Ukrainian capital is as beautiful as the one that shines on Italy and Rome, if it is the same or maybe just his sister. the moon in person to answer him: almost a little impatient pulls the poet’s ears to remind him that yes, she is the same for anyone who looks at her (I’m always the one!) and adds amused: I’m not / a night cap / on yours head!.
And his ability to amaze does not end there because, moving far and wide in the sky, the moon lights up everyone: From India to Peru, / from the Tiber to the Dead Sea. And so that his special rays bring joy to free travel without a passport.
A hymn to friendship and brotherhood between peoples who did not need identification documents to travel back then, when Rodari wrote it, in 1955, at the beginning of the Cold War; and he doesn’t need it today when, for two months now, the nursery rhyme has started to travel again from one country to another to bring words of hope. The moon of Kiev which went viral in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which led to the outbreak of a war between the two countries.
Read by the actress Valeria Solarino on TV, then recited by Stefano Accorsi on Instagram; and still told in the homes of thousands of parents to children, in schools by hundreds of teachers and teachers to pupils, from dozens of older brothers and sisters to younger sisters and brothers: all repeating the lines of Rodari dreaming that they will bring back the peace.
The moon of Kievwhich is part of the collection Nursery rhymes in heaven and on earth (1960), which has now also become an independent book, an illustrated book in which the words, wise and saucy, by Rodari are illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna. This is a pro-Ukraine solidarity project conceived by the publisher Einaudi Ragazzi and supported by Corriere della Sera.
One of the most important designers on an international level, Alemagna had already measured herself against Rodari, whom she considers one of his spiritual fathers: his drawings illustrated the classic To get the stories wrongreissued in 2020 for the centenary of Rodari’s birth: the tables were then selected for the exhibition Italian excellences della Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Now to illustrate The moon of Kiev Alemagna has chosen a simple, almost childish trait; figures, objects, details that are easy to read and immediately understand; domestic scenes: a room, a window overlooking the moon; a kitchen with a familiar presence (a mother); urban landscapes (a bridge with many arches) and exotic scenes (two elephants shaking hands). In the colors: very brown, warm as a hug, a lot of blue, a little blue; white for the snow and for the special rays of the moon that stretch everywhere and with a flight of imagination become what you don’t expect …
The volume, in the bookstore for a few days, immediately entered the ranking of best-selling books, also appearing in the Top Ten alongside the bestseller novelties. A demonstration, if necessary, of the value of the humanitarian message of which the book bears, but also one testimony of popularity and the affection of generations of readers for the most representative children’s author, the only Italian writer to have won the Hans Christian Andersen Prize, the Nobel Prize in children’s literature.
As for Rodari’s luck, it would make you smile if it weren’t a serious and serious crime, the news he wants The adventures of Cipollino (1951), a book that at the time was translated with enormous success all over the world, is still today among the most counterfeited volumes: just over a month ago it was at the center of the operation Ghost Book of the Guardia di Finanza next to The brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante and the novels by Fabio Volo.
On the positive side, Rodari’s legacy can be found in the attention that the scholastic institution has always reserved for him. In the volume Imagine, write, narrate (Carocci, 2021), which measures the practice of creative writing in school desks, Raimonda Maria Morani – curator of the volume together with Cristina Coccimiglio and Federico Longo – starts from the Rodari of Grammar of Fantasy (1973), which defined creativity is a synonym for “divergent thinking” capable of continuously breaking the patterns of experience, to arrive at the author’s democratic point of view, summarized in the Rodarian slogan: All uses of the word at all.
on the other hand, a confidential Rodari the one evoked by Grazia Gotti in hers Literally (Bompiani, 2022): bookseller and trainer as well as president of the national committee for the celebrations of Rodari’s birth, Gotti describes him as a writer who makes you smile with a “civil” laugh, as Antonio Faeti called it, but also melancholy; a visionary, he wanted to make a newspaper for children, he was modern, he liked languages, he went to Frankfurt, Moscow, China …; an open type, as are the endings of many of his stories. He too, just like the rays of The moon of Kievfree to travel without a passport.
A special Albumin for children of all ages
An opportunity not to be missed: on Thursday 5 May the book arrives on newsstands with Corriere della Sera The moon of Kiev (in an Einaudi Ragazzi and Corriere co-edition) by Gianni Rodari with the original illustrations by Beatrice Alemagna. The volume comes out as a special issue of the series for small Albumini readers (on newsstands at € 7.90, in addition to the price of the newspaper). The proceeds will be entirely donated to the Italian Red Cross for the Ukraine Emergency. Pedagogue, journalist and writer Gianni Rodari (Omegna, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, 1920 – Rome, 1980) was one of the most significant Italian authors for children and young people. His books, translated into numerous languages, have earned him many awards including, in 1970, the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. Of the many works by him we mention: Tales on the phone, The book of errors, Nursery rhymes in heaven and on earth, The adventures of Cipollino, There was twice the baron Lambertoe Grammar of fantasy. Beatrice Alemagna (1973), born in Bologna, lives and works in Paris; she has held exhibitions and created posters for the Center Georges Pompidou; her works have received international recognition. The artist has put his colors and his imagination at the service of important authors such as David Grossman, Gota Kristf and Raymond Queneau, the philosopher Aldous Huxley, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, Pippi Longstocking’s mother Astrid Lindgren and Rodari himself (for the book To get the stories wrongEmme Edizioni, 2020).
May 3, 2022 (change May 3, 2022 | 9:02 pm)
© Time.News