Micaela Chirif
Illustrations: Gabriel Alayza
Lima: Polifonía, 2010
ISBN 9786124590108

Mario sees everything in the form of words. There are words that scare him and words he doesn’t want to hear, words he must not repeat and words that sometimes feel indispensable. But what happens when words are not necessary? This unique picture book is dedicated to those who love quick strokes, paper, and words. Old books, notebooks, dictionaries, and phone directories helped shape Mario’s universe.

Reviews

This book features a background of various scraps of paper (pieces of dictionaries, notebooks, phone directories, or simply worn-out papers) for one simple reason: its core is the word. In it, Mario approaches reality through language. For the protagonist, some words make him feel proud, while others scare him. Some words he likes to shout, and others he prefers to keep silent. “There are words for everything,” this original work seems to tell us.

With an interesting aesthetic that focuses on the use of two colors (blue and orange) and a striking collage composition, this book highlights the creative power of words. It invites us to reflect on the playful nature of language and its many facets—including the possibility of silence—from an everyday perspective, close to young readers.
Guide to literature, books, and reading for children and young adults. Public Libraries of Chile

Words are treasures. They open worlds and can also fill the mind, granting humans their most primitive ability: connecting with others. From an early age, human beings seek to learn how to communicate to meet their needs, and it is precisely through words that they structure their thoughts. Word-treasures.

There are also book-treasures. Micaela Chirif writes En forma de palabras (In the Form of Words), a story that reveals a universe of infinite possibilities for playing with these structures made of letters. Through this play emerges an understanding of the intimate relationship each person develops with words and their meanings.

And there is one fundamental element without which this book—first published by Polifonía Editorial in 2010 and wisely reissued in 2017—would not be the treasure it is: the illustrations. Gabriel Alayza creates an extraordinary collage-universe that is in constant dialogue with the text and, in turn, with the reader.
Leonard Van Schermbeek

Links

Micaela Chirif and Gabriel Alayza: A Creative Partnership Between Words and Strokes
https://carlosmsotomayor.lamula.pe/2017/08/20/micaela-chirif-y-gabriel-alayza-sociedad-creativa-entre-palabras-y-trazos/carlossotomayor/