"The White Ravens - International Youth Library
A Selection of International Children's and Youth Literature"
Pode ser consultado aqui
"A maior flor do mundo"
(The biggest flower in the world)
Saramago, José (text)
Letria, André (illus.)
Porto: Porto Editora, 2015. – [48] p.
ISBN 978-972-0-72821-0
the first edition containing these illustrations (Ed. Caminho, 2013) is no longer available
Love of nature | Children's literature | Storytelling | Simplicity
White Ravens issue: 2016
Reading age: 6+
"Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago (1922-2010) plays a double game in this story: he first laments his inability to write for children, because he can’t write in a simple way. If only he could do so, he would write the most beautiful of all children’s stories – he then proceeds to explain what would happen in that story, were he but able to write it… Finally, Saramago does go on to tell a “real” story, delicate and touching, about a boy who saves a flower from dying of thirst high on a mountain, which then becomes the biggest flower in the world. It is a great story for adults and children alike about the art of storytelling and writing, the art and beauty of simplicity and about a child who surpasses himself. The text, first published in 2001 with illustrations by João Caetano, here is newly interpreted by illustrator André Letria. Part straightforward, part mysterious and poetically powerful, his illustrations truly complement the great author’s literary masterstroke."
