“The Sleeping Grandmother” presents with sensitivity, tenderness and closeness the close relationship between a child and his grandmother, who falls ill.

The poetic tone of the text is completed with simple illustrations in soft colors made with pencil, watercolor and pastel. What stands out is the subtlety with which Roberto Parmeggiani - evoking his own sentimental memory - narrates the process of the illness: from when the protagonists shared time, reading and affection when the illness had not yet manifested, through the first symptoms and the lethargy of the irreversible dream that the grandson compensates with company; to a story-like ending... João Vaz de Carvalho uses beautiful visual metaphors to represent the passage of time, loss, absence and memory.

This timeless story takes place in a familiar environment, far from the cold and impersonal environment of hospitals and residences. It transmits emotion, serenity and love. It is a sincere tribute to a fundamental figure in the childhood of every human being: grandmothers and grandfathers.

■Theme: the story of a boy and his grandmother, who falls ill.

■ Recommended age: from 4 years.

■ Notable aspects: grandparents-grandchildren relationship; illness, death; feelings: affection, absence; story of Sleeping Beauty; from the illustrator of “28 Stories to Laugh” and “The Carnival of the Animals” (Kalandraka).

Pages: 40
Dimensions: 18.5 x 28cm
ISBN: 978-84-8464-913-7
Language: Spanish
Available in: Galician, Portuguese, Italian