Head in the Clouds
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Descripción editorial
With her head in the clouds, Sofía has questions that even her teacher can’t answer – a joyful and inquisitive book about the vibrant worlds inside our minds
Sofía goes to school every day but she still has a lot of questions. Why are grown-ups always in a rush? What number comes after infinity? Sofía’s teacher says she has her head in the clouds, she’s seeing birds. In collages of graph paper, worksheets, and newsprint, punctuated by scratches of graphite and bold swaths of bright paint, Sofía’s world springs to life. When she gives one of her birds to her teacher, her teacher’s monochrome world of blank paper and gray lines bursts into color, affirming the joy and necessity of always being curious. Inquisitive children, with a supply of questions as limitless as their imagination, will recognize themselves in Sofía, delighting in pondering her questions – and in coming up with more of their own.
Originally a painter, Rocío Araya turned to illustration where the field of possibilities, she feels, is infinite. With a style that is spontaneous and full of surprises, her boundless imagination is at work in these exhilarating pages. Look for a tiny, curled, brown cat and an expansive night sky, and spot a hula-girl dancing across a geography worksheet. This treasure hunt of a book is one for reading again and again.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Araya, making her English-language debut in this work reminiscent of Jostein Gaarder's Questions Asked, imagines a dreamy student and an on-task teacher clashing in the classroom. When the student remarks that they'd rather ask questions than sit through lessons, the teacher responds, "Oh, Sofía! You must see so many birds with your head in the clouds! And what might those questions be?" The queries flow forth, ranging from the simple ("Why are grown-ups always in a rush?") to the philosophical ("Can I be good and happy at the same time?") to the quirkily curious ("Does a cow's baby know I drink its mom's milk?"). Fine art spreads combine sly, childlike line drawing, collage, and fiercely stroked paint that suggests the greens of institutional corridors and the free, endless blue of the sky. When the teacher asserts an alternate position ("I'm not like you. When there are many paths, I always pick the same one") and describes an obliviousness to life's beauty ("when I take a plane I don't look out the window"), Sofía offers a special gift that hints at the child's strengths as well as the limitations of the authority figure's worldview. Protagonists are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 3–6.
