Stephen and the Beetle
illustrated by Chiara Carrer
translated by Elisa Amado
by Jorge Luján
When Stephen spots a beetle he takes off his shoe and raises his arm, ready to strike... but then he has second thoughts. He lays his head down on the ground and the beetle walks right up to him. At the last moment the beetle turns aside and each can go on with the day, having avoided the worst.
In this very simple story Jorge Luján presents the kind of deep moral questions that can occur even in the smallest child's day. Chiara Carrer's very original etched and painted illustrations perfectly complement the story, and are in and of themselves beautiful works of art.
close this panelChiara Carrer is one of Italy's best-known children's book illustrators. She has been creating children's books for more than twenty years, with more than one hundred titles to her credit. Chiara has won many major awards, including the UNICEF Prize, the Austrian Kinder und Jugendbuch-Illustrationspreis, the BolognaRagazzi New Horizons Award (Special Mention) and the Golden Apple at the Biennial of Illustration, Bratislava. She also teaches art and has exhibited her work in Europe, Japan and Brazil. She lives in Rome.
Jorge Luján is a prolific and highly respected author and poet. He has worked with many of the world's greatest illustrators to create an outstanding body of work. His books include Rooster / Gallo; Tarde de invierno / Winter Afternoon; Beyond My Hand; Daybreak, Nightfall; Sky Blue Accident / Accidente celeste and Colors! / Colores! He has won many awards, including the Premio de Poesia para Ninos de ALIJA (IBBY, Argentina). He is also a musician and architect. Jorge lives in Mexico City.
Elisa Amado is a Guatemalan-born author and translator who once flew one of the barriletes of Santiago. She has written Cousins (Primas) and Tricycle (El triciclo), which is on the Américas Award Commended List and is a USBBY Outstanding International Book. Her most recent book, What Are You Doing? (illustrated by Manuel Monroy), has received stellar reviews. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
close this panelThis simple yet powerful life-or-death drama between the boy and the beetle is vividly captured in Carrer's striking, highly original acrylic, ink pencil, oil pastel and collage illustrations. Using naive outlines, Expressionistic color washes, open spaces and constantly changing perspectives, she creates tension between the aggressive boy and the passive beetle.
