Viola e il Blu
(Violet and the Blue ) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
This is the story of Viola, a little girl who plays football, rides a kick scooter, and loves dressing in blue. Viola capitalizes the name of each colour, because for her they are just like people: each one is unique. But not all people agree with her, especially adults. Many people think that there are things ‘for boys’ and things ‘for girls’, but Viola has never really understood this. So one day she decides to check with her father, who is a painter and knows a lot about colours. On a Friday afternoon in May, when the sky is bright blue and speckled with white clouds, Viola’s father is in the garden tending the gentians. In Italian, gentians have a girl’s name, but they have blue flowers. Fortunately, nobody says anything to the flowers. It is different with people, Viola thinks. A flower is fine for everyone just as it is… [Publisher’s website]
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
The book is based on a tender and sincere dialogue between a father and his daughter. Thanks to its candour and sensitivity, this dialogue succeeds in addressing important issues avoiding any heavy or didactic tone. The child’s pure look at life’s events, her questions, and occasional insights give us room for reflection. Viola’s father is an artist, his work allows him to spend more time with his daughter and he is often at home with her, while her mother, an engineer, is often away. For some people this is strange, certainly it is quite the opposite of what usually happens, but this does not make it wrong. The roles that the world dictates to men and women, as well as to boys and girls, are nothing but boxes, made to have everything in its place and to remain unchanged. Boxes in which we sometimes shut ourselves, in which sometimes our family also shuts us in. Boxes that seem invisible, even comfortable at times, until we discover them and decide they are not for us. Viola e il Blu is a book that speaks to young readers, answering their questions, but also to adults, who dare to question themselves, to ask questions and find answers … “out of the box.”