I don’t remember where I discovered today’s Perfect Picture Book. But when I saw that the author is Chilean and the illustrator is Mexican, countries in which two of my grandkids have relatives, I wanted to read and share it with them, and you.
Title: FUTURE
Written By: María José
Illustrated By: Mariana Alcántara
Translated By: Kit Maude
Publisher/Date: Tapioca Stories/2024; originally published as Futuro, Alboroto Ediciones, Mexico/2022
Suitable for Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: the future, dreams, imagination
Opening:
The future is a silvery thing,
Days when your friend
—a square-headed robot—
walks with you to school.
Brief Synopsis: An exploration of what the future may hold.
Links to Resources:
- What do you think will happen tomorrow? Next week? When you are an adult? Describe, in words and/or pictures, what you think will happen in your future;
- Learn about Mars, a destination that may be in your future.
Why I Like this Book:
Future is a picture book with evocative text and surrealistic illustrations that helps kids and their adults think, and dream, about the future.
What, exactly, is the future? Because we aren’t there yet, I think it’s a tough concept for kids, and many adults, to understand. Of course, the easy answer is that the future is anything after the present, now, today. But José and Alcántara posit so much more. It’s something “silvery”; it’s days “when you go to Mars”; it’s a “blank page”, “a long staircase”, and more.
José, a Chilean author, uses sparse, poetic language to encourage readers to contemplate the mysteries and the potential of the future. Alcántara, a Mexican illustrator, uses neon colors and pencil drawings to create an abstract, science-fiction world through which we travel. Together, I think their words and images will lead to many rereadings and discussions about what the future is and how we can make it our own.
A Note about Craft:
José has created a nameless main character who addresses the reader directly. I think this draws readers into the world she and Alcántara have created, and it helps us envision what our futures may hold.
Tapioca Stories, the publisher, is, per their website, “a New York-based publishing house with Latin American soul. Tapioca Stories introduces young English readers to the finest Latin American children’s books, originally written in Spanish and Portuguese.”
This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!
Wander, Ponder, Write 