Where is Thomas?

Written by Micaela Chirif
Illustrated by Leire Salaberria
Santiago: Ekaré, 2016
ISBN: 9788494429118

♦ Os 30 melhores livros infantis do ano 2020
♦ 2019 Cátedra Unesco de Lectura PUC RIO Award
♦ 2017 Colibrí Medal Mention
♦ 2017 Fundación Cuatrogatos Award
♦ 2017 Bratislava Biennale Selection

Thomas is a boy with an overflowing imagination and who knows how to play alone. He loves to hide. His mother, like all mothers, plays with him and looks for him all over the house, she pretends she doesn’t see him. Thomas travels far with each object he picks up, and he “flies” to a tropical island, to a jungle, to the moon… he will even sail down the river with his mom. A book for the littlest ones with a short text and cheerful illustrations, full of details to discover with pre-readers. To share and enjoy.

Comments

“Where is Thomas?” is a delicious album, taken care of even in the smallest details by Ediciones Ekaré Sur. From the rounded edges of its sheets, to the format and the selected paper. This is a text to show, treasure, read and reread. Chirif and Salaberria manage to introduce us to the best of children’s literature in 124 words and 16 illustrations. Together they build an expressive richness, so sensitive, that the meaning will be one for a 6-year-old boy and another for a 26-year-old mother. In that interpretative distance, they both recognize each other, and both can play.”
Vivaleer. Programa COPEC de incentivo a la lectura. (COPEC reading incentive program)

Surely for our first readers, this album will be an opportunity to discover the power of imagination, to put words to what is happening, to recognize lived situations, to verify that there can be several realities at the same time.
Biblioabrazo

The delight begins when you touch this hardcover book, with rounded corners, heavyweight coated paper and beautiful, colorful images in gouache. On its guard, the game presents itself: different plants serve as a hiding place for a jaguar, a dinosaur, a unicorn. What else can you find? This game continues through the story itself: Thomas likes to hide, and his mother is always looking for him. Thomas doesn’t answer, but it’s not a prank, no. It’s just that at each hiding place, his imagination takes him to faraway places and encounters with incredible beings. As images invite the reader to identify, from one page to the next, which elements of Thomas’ real world come to life in the world of his imagination, further exploring this literary hide-and-seek. The edition’s high quality guarantees the book’s durability in the hands of young readers, as this story is sure to generate many “Again!” to the ears of mediators.
Catedra UNESCO de Leitura PUC Rio

Links

Where is Thomas? Vivaleer COPEC
http://www.vivaleercopec.cl/2017/01/24/donde-esta-tomas/

The gift of making children’s books
https://cuatrogatos.org/blog/?p=5229

Where is Thomas? Biblioabrazo
https://biblioabrazo.wordpress.com/2016/10/12/donde-esta-tomas-micaela-chirif-y-leire-salaberria/