Telefono senza fili
By: Ilan Brenman & Renato Moricini
Publisher: Gallucci, Italia, 2021 (First published in 2014)
Format: Hardcover
What are they saying?
This book is built on such a great idea - a game of whispers. And it is masterfully executed by Brenman & Moriconi! "Telefono senza fili" is the perfect example of a book that is filled with sounds, but still silent, a book that is filled with words, but still wordless. There is no complicated story or confusing action, so as a reader, you are not left to wonder what is happening. But you get really, really curious to find out what the different characters are saying!
"Telefono senza fili" is a big, bold book: Large format, bright colors, a white edge to a black background that make the colors pop. There is one large picture on each page, all portraits of different people and fairytale creatures. The first spread shows a jester whispering something to the king. On the next spread, the king whispers to the knight, and so the story goes. We meet pirates, parrots, tourists, little Red riding hood complete with the wolf, grandma, and hunter... The last spread is the only one that breaks the pattern - a large dog on the left page breaks "his" picture by leaning into the portrait of the jester on the right page to give him a kiss. (Maybe a kiss what was the Jester wished for in the first place?)
If you are a beginner silent book mediator, this book is perfect. It works both with a single child, a group of children or a whole audience: There are so many fun ways to read and mediate it. Beware that it might take longer than you think though....children often want to talk about the different characters and the intervisual references they experience, from retelling little Red riding hood to singing pirate songs. The book is also perfect for speaking gibberish, or if you are in a multi-lingual group - how aboutusing a different language for each character?
Unfortunately, "Telefono senza fili" seems to be out of print. Still available at Ebay and other places that sell used books, so grab a copy while you can! Both Ilan Brenman and Renato Moriconi are very successful illustrators and authors. Moriconi has written several silent books like "The little barbarian", "Opera liquida" and "Rifugati", reviews of these to come -stay put!
