Il principe azzurro/La principessa fuxia
By: Riccardo Francaviglia & Margherita Sgarlata
Publisher: Carthusia, Italy
Format: Hardback, two-way
One book, (at least) two tales...
Il principe azzurro/La principessa Fuxia is a book where two stories share the same stage. There are a few other silent books like this: like Kaninchentango by DeVries & Scubert or Follow the firefly/Run rabbit run! by Carvalho. Besides offering plenty of storytelling possibilities, these books are a wonderful way to learn how to be more attentive when reading pictures: Read the book from front to back for one story, and when you reach the end, reverse direction and read through the pages again to find the second story. Children are often really surprised of how the same pictures can tell two different tales just by changing the reading direction.
The title of this book translates to "The blue prince/The pink princess". Together with the image of a prince with blue armour and a princess in a pretty pink dress, this might create an expectation of a traditional fairytale where the two of them will end up living happily ever after. If your normal reading direction is from the left to the right, it feels natural to start with the story of Prince Blue. He is a brave prince that easily navigates through all kinds of dangers, like duels, storms and a giant dragon. When reversing the reading direction, this time reading from the right to the left, it is the princess that takes the center stage. Her story was there too, all along. Francaviglia & Sgarlata has designed the book so well that it really feels like you are reading a brand new book when reversing direction.
The book has at least two happy endings, but none of them the traditional prince-gets-princess ending that might be expected, and if you read closely, you will find even more stories hidden amongst the colorful illustrations.
Il principe Azzurro/La principessa Fuxia was a finalist in the 2017 Silent Book Contest. All books published from this contest has the same, square format of 28.5 x 28.5 cm. It is a perfect size for this concept, as the large size allows the reader immerse himself in the pictures and really get a feel for the difference reading direction can make.
The illustrations, that seem to be made of lino- or woodcuts with color, are gorgeous. The characters are expressive and funny, but the illustrators also portray the different environments in a masterful way, like the beautiful double-spread of the boats at sea and the pittoresque village houses below:
If you are new to reading silent books, or mediating to new silent book readers, two-tale-books like this are perfect! This particular book is also a great starting point for important conversations on gender, love and friendships.
