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Rosa Caramelo
In a tale that teaches the importance of equality and independence, all the little girl elephants are made to eat only pink flowers so their skin will be a lovely pink tone, but only little Margarita seems unable to change color, despite her parents' cajoling, chastising, or teasing.
36 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
140 people want to read
About the author
Adela Turin
40 books11 followersHistorienne de l’art et designer industriel, Adela Turin fonda à Milan, en 1974, la maison d’édition Dalla parte delle bambine (en français, Du côté des petites filles). Ce fut l’origine d’une expérience éditoriale originale : publier des albums qui dénoncent et expliquent le sexisme aux enfants. Traduits et publiés en France par les Éditions des femmes, ils ont été réédités par Actes Sud Junior et sont maintenant disponibles en petit format. Nella Bosnia a participé à la création de Dalla parte delle bambine et en a illustré les cinq premiers albums. Editeur, auteur de contes pour les enfants Adela Turin est LA spécialiste du sexisme dans la littérature enfantine.
Elle est fondatrice, ainsi que directrice éditoriale, de l'Association Européenne Du Côté Des Filles, qui vise l'élimination des stéréotypes sexistes du matériel éducatif.
Elle est fondatrice, ainsi que directrice éditoriale, de l'Association Européenne Du Côté Des Filles, qui vise l'élimination des stéréotypes sexistes du matériel éducatif.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 22, 2020
A herd of elephants enforces gender separation in this feminist fable, ensuring that their female members maintain their beautiful candy pink color and bright eyes by always eating anemones and peonies. Walled off in a little garden where their food - which was more aesthetic than nutritious - grew, the little girl elephants led a safe and contained life, one whose primary goal was being beautiful, and eventually finding a husband. The gray boy elephants, in the meantime, roamed the savannah, ate grass, and had fun swimming and wallowing in the mud. And then one day a little gray girl elephant named Daisy came along, and somehow, no matter how hard they tried, her parents simply couldn't make her pink...
Originally published in Italian in 1976 as Rosaconfetto, this classic of European picture-book literature has been translated into English before - in 1976 it was published by the London-based Writers & Readers Publishing Cooperative as Sugarpink Rose - but Spanish publisher NubeOcho has once again made it available to English-speaking children with the release of Candy Pink. This is cause for celebration! As someone with an interest in the translation of children's literature, someone who often laments the wealth of children's books unavailable to us here in the Anglophone world, I am always excited to learn of new publishers crossing linguistic and national borders to make international children's stories more readily available. That being the case, I was quite excited to meet a representative of NubeOcho recently, and to be given a copy of this picture-book to look at.
I confess that I had my doubts, going in to Candy Pink - "an examination of gender that references pink? couldn't the author have been more original?" I thought - but they proved baseless. If anything, Adela Turin was being original, when one considers that Rosaconfetto was first published in 1976 (the year I was born!). The more I considered it, in fact, the more I realized just how relevant this story, and the idea of "pink" segregation, still is. I often have concerned parents approach me for recommendations for their young daughters, and they frequently ask explicitly for something "non-pink, non-princessy, non-sparkly." Whilst no believer that a few pink sparkles are necessarily harmful - I like sparkly greeting cards myself - there's a huge difference between liking something pink every once in a while, as part of a balanced 'diet' of colors, and feeling that pink is a specifically gendered color, one that is only suitable for girls, who have an obligation to conform to some sort of enforced ethos of femininity based upon it. I suspect that some readers might find Turin's narrative a trifle didactic, but there is no question in my mind that the lesson it seeks to impart is, as the blurb on the back cover maintains, "still necessary." The story itself, moreover, has the appeal that tales about child non-conformists often do, while the artwork, done by Nella Bosnia, has a kind of vintage charm. There is a satirical element to the visuals here - the scenes in which the pink girl elephants are dressed up in ruffles has an absurd humor - that complements the social commentary in the text.
In sum: a book well worth seeking out, both as an example of a classic of European children's books, and as a feminist fable about gender equality, and freedom from enforced gender expectations.
Originally published in Italian in 1976 as Rosaconfetto, this classic of European picture-book literature has been translated into English before - in 1976 it was published by the London-based Writers & Readers Publishing Cooperative as Sugarpink Rose - but Spanish publisher NubeOcho has once again made it available to English-speaking children with the release of Candy Pink. This is cause for celebration! As someone with an interest in the translation of children's literature, someone who often laments the wealth of children's books unavailable to us here in the Anglophone world, I am always excited to learn of new publishers crossing linguistic and national borders to make international children's stories more readily available. That being the case, I was quite excited to meet a representative of NubeOcho recently, and to be given a copy of this picture-book to look at.
I confess that I had my doubts, going in to Candy Pink - "an examination of gender that references pink? couldn't the author have been more original?" I thought - but they proved baseless. If anything, Adela Turin was being original, when one considers that Rosaconfetto was first published in 1976 (the year I was born!). The more I considered it, in fact, the more I realized just how relevant this story, and the idea of "pink" segregation, still is. I often have concerned parents approach me for recommendations for their young daughters, and they frequently ask explicitly for something "non-pink, non-princessy, non-sparkly." Whilst no believer that a few pink sparkles are necessarily harmful - I like sparkly greeting cards myself - there's a huge difference between liking something pink every once in a while, as part of a balanced 'diet' of colors, and feeling that pink is a specifically gendered color, one that is only suitable for girls, who have an obligation to conform to some sort of enforced ethos of femininity based upon it. I suspect that some readers might find Turin's narrative a trifle didactic, but there is no question in my mind that the lesson it seeks to impart is, as the blurb on the back cover maintains, "still necessary." The story itself, moreover, has the appeal that tales about child non-conformists often do, while the artwork, done by Nella Bosnia, has a kind of vintage charm. There is a satirical element to the visuals here - the scenes in which the pink girl elephants are dressed up in ruffles has an absurd humor - that complements the social commentary in the text.
In sum: a book well worth seeking out, both as an example of a classic of European children's books, and as a feminist fable about gender equality, and freedom from enforced gender expectations.
October 31, 2016
My boyfriend recommended this book to me as an example of controversial children's literature. He remembered what made it controversial: the plot involved a transgendered elephant. I read the story and agreed, but thought there was much more to his assessment. At the basic level, this story explains gender constructs. The plot follows a girl elephant that doesn't fit in with her pink-skinned, flower eating, socializing peers. She bucks the trend. She strikes down the false gender construct that differentiated the difference between the elephant sexes. I appreciate this story, because it explains gender constructs in a way that children can understand. I wouldn't consider this type of book controversial, in fact, I think its the type of book that students should be able access and learn from.
April 13, 2021
¡Por fin encuentro un cuento que podré leerle a mi futura hija!
Me pareció hermosísimo. No solo por las adorables ilustraciones, sino por todo el mensaje que envía.
Habla de la industria de la belleza, de cómo se nos ponen expectativas que muchas veces no logramos alcanzar, de cómo sufrimos por vernos como los demás quieren que nos veamos y cómo eso nos genera un falso sentido de alegría y seguridad; habla de lo libres que nos sentimos cuando dejamos de autoflagelarnos, cuando dejamos que las cosas sean como fueron hechas para ser, y de cómo la decisión de una puede marcar el futuro de muchas. Todo eso en tan poquitas páginas.
Me encantó.
Me pareció hermosísimo. No solo por las adorables ilustraciones, sino por todo el mensaje que envía.
Habla de la industria de la belleza, de cómo se nos ponen expectativas que muchas veces no logramos alcanzar, de cómo sufrimos por vernos como los demás quieren que nos veamos y cómo eso nos genera un falso sentido de alegría y seguridad; habla de lo libres que nos sentimos cuando dejamos de autoflagelarnos, cuando dejamos que las cosas sean como fueron hechas para ser, y de cómo la decisión de una puede marcar el futuro de muchas. Todo eso en tan poquitas páginas.
Me encantó.
February 18, 2008
Apparently not all little girls grow up reading feminist fairy tales. This was my favorite.
June 29, 2022
Las elefantas deben ser rosadas y de ojos brillantes. Todo esto porque deben comer plantas en particular, aunque de mal sabor y olor. Pero sus hermanos y primos pueden jugar libres por la pradera, bañarse en los ríos y dormir a la sombra de los árboles. Ellas, en cambio, deben permanecer encerradas donde crecen las plantas para no perder su color rosado. Margarita cansada de esto decide explorar el prado y da cuenta que la felicidad no guarda en los estereotipos, sino que en la construcción de quienes los cuestionan. Una perfecta alegoría sobre el patriarcado y machismo y como el feminismo hoy sigue rompiendo barreras a pesar de los traspiés (como lo ocurrido en EEUU con el derecho al aborto), porque será más tarde que nunca en que todas y todos nos veremos en iguales condiciones para poder ser libres y felices en los prados de la vida.
Excelente forma de acercar el feminismo a las y los más pequeños del hogar.
Excelente forma de acercar el feminismo a las y los más pequeños del hogar.
October 11, 2019
Precioso
December 3, 2016
Candy Pink tells the story of life “in idyllic elephant country.” Females told what to eat, wear, and behave. Due to their restricted diet of anemones and peonies, the females have “large bright eyes and skin the color of candy pink,” while the boys are the traditional grey skinned elephants we all know. To ensure the females eat the correct fruit (and behave in a socially acceptable manner), they must . . .
Candy Pink’s message—now 40 years old—is anything but subtle. At its basic, Candy Pink is about equality between boys and girls. Why must boys and girls wear different clothes, eat different foods, and enjoy different activities, despite what they might individually prefer to wear, eat, and do?
If you check this out at Kid Lit Reviews, and I really hope you will, please "like" so I know you were there. Thank you.
Originally reviewed on Kid Lit Reviews. To read the full review and see interior photographs, go to:
http://bit.ly/CandyPink2016
Candy Pink’s message—now 40 years old—is anything but subtle. At its basic, Candy Pink is about equality between boys and girls. Why must boys and girls wear different clothes, eat different foods, and enjoy different activities, despite what they might individually prefer to wear, eat, and do?
If you check this out at Kid Lit Reviews, and I really hope you will, please "like" so I know you were there. Thank you.
Originally reviewed on Kid Lit Reviews. To read the full review and see interior photographs, go to:
http://bit.ly/CandyPink2016
January 15, 2017
What a great book! It's a forty-year-old book, but just released in the US for the first time. I wish they'd have released this here so much earlier. This is a fantastic book about gender equality. It tells the story of little female elephants who are told to eat certain things to become pretty and pink, and behave certain ways so they will be attractive and be married when they grow up. This works like a charm until Daisy, a little female elephant, does all the things she's told but still doesn't turn pink. The other elephants don't know what to do about Daisy because she's not fitting into their idea of what each gender's correct attributes should be.
I loved this book. I'm so glad the library has this.
I loved this book. I'm so glad the library has this.
September 28, 2019
A very obscure Italian/French children's picture book classic, which to me seems to have been heard of only by people who have read 'Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading' by Lucy Mangan (how lucky is she to have owned so many books in her childhood?).
'Candy Pink' (or 'Sugarpink Rose' in some English translations) is one of the earliest books about gender equality made for children, in the seventies. And I think it does its job well.
In elephant country, girl elephants are segregated from boy elephants, and are only fed a diet of anemones and peonies so that they turn pink with bright eyes, and therefore pretty and desirable for marriage material for the boys. They are also given pink and fluffy clothes and accessories.
While the girls are under this social - and unhealthy - pressure, within their small fenced enclosure, the boys are free to play, run, muck about in the mud and water, and lie under trees in the open country.
One social outcast girl elephant might be the first stepping stone towards rebellion and freedom for all girl elephants. Towards them no longer being made into safeguarded commodities in their society.
Break down the walls, the fences, the system!
The only real issue I have with 'Candy Pink' is that Daisy, the girl elephant who is different outside of her control and is supposedly the main character, isn't much of a character. She's more of a rebel placeholder. The book spends a lot of time at the beginning explaining its world and how its gender dynamics work, and then nearly halfway through we are introduced to Daisy, who tries to fit it but can't because she can't turn pink no matter how many flowers she eats, and then her parents give up and let her alone, and then she decides to walk out of her enclosure and join the boy elephants in their fun, and soon the other tenacious, scandalized-turned-frightened-turned-envious girl elephants follow her example. No one is pink anymore. And that's how an oppressive system collapses, apparently.
Is there an allegory for transgender people's experiences in here as well? Probably unintentional, but very interesting.
'Candy Pink' is more of a moral and metaphor played out than a story with characters to connect to, but it works. Anyone can read it and enjoy it and take to heart its message. Any feminist children's book, any feminist classic book, is a must-read for me, and I'm glad to know its existence, and that it holds a prominent, pink place on my bookshelf.
It absolutely needs more universal attention and recognition. Every child needs to read it.
And it's cute and contains soft and colourful illustrations.
'And ever since then, it's been hard to tell the difference between boy elephants and girl elephants.'
Happy 600th Artemis Crescent review, too.
Final Score: 4/5
'Candy Pink' (or 'Sugarpink Rose' in some English translations) is one of the earliest books about gender equality made for children, in the seventies. And I think it does its job well.
In elephant country, girl elephants are segregated from boy elephants, and are only fed a diet of anemones and peonies so that they turn pink with bright eyes, and therefore pretty and desirable for marriage material for the boys. They are also given pink and fluffy clothes and accessories.
While the girls are under this social - and unhealthy - pressure, within their small fenced enclosure, the boys are free to play, run, muck about in the mud and water, and lie under trees in the open country.
One social outcast girl elephant might be the first stepping stone towards rebellion and freedom for all girl elephants. Towards them no longer being made into safeguarded commodities in their society.
Break down the walls, the fences, the system!
The only real issue I have with 'Candy Pink' is that Daisy, the girl elephant who is different outside of her control and is supposedly the main character, isn't much of a character. She's more of a rebel placeholder. The book spends a lot of time at the beginning explaining its world and how its gender dynamics work, and then nearly halfway through we are introduced to Daisy, who tries to fit it but can't because she can't turn pink no matter how many flowers she eats, and then her parents give up and let her alone, and then she decides to walk out of her enclosure and join the boy elephants in their fun, and soon the other tenacious, scandalized-turned-frightened-turned-envious girl elephants follow her example. No one is pink anymore. And that's how an oppressive system collapses, apparently.
Is there an allegory for transgender people's experiences in here as well? Probably unintentional, but very interesting.
'Candy Pink' is more of a moral and metaphor played out than a story with characters to connect to, but it works. Anyone can read it and enjoy it and take to heart its message. Any feminist children's book, any feminist classic book, is a must-read for me, and I'm glad to know its existence, and that it holds a prominent, pink place on my bookshelf.
It absolutely needs more universal attention and recognition. Every child needs to read it.
And it's cute and contains soft and colourful illustrations.
'And ever since then, it's been hard to tell the difference between boy elephants and girl elephants.'
Happy 600th Artemis Crescent review, too.
Final Score: 4/5
November 11, 2025
Mi hija de cinco años llegó con este libro desde el colegio… Solo puedo decir que me emociona que ella lo haya escogido.
Un libro que tiene muchísimos años y sigue resonando hoy. Es un libro más bien directo y que deja muy claro las diferencias que vivimos las mujeres desde pequeñas, y lo difícil de ser diferente.
La verdad al inicio me costó un poco responder todas las preguntas de mi hija, ya que, hay cosas que agradezco no ha vivido pero que si todavía son parte del día a día, y que este libro reflejan tan bien.
Para todos quienes criamos es un libro necesario. Y para las que crecimos y nos vemos reflejamos, también 💜
Un libro que tiene muchísimos años y sigue resonando hoy. Es un libro más bien directo y que deja muy claro las diferencias que vivimos las mujeres desde pequeñas, y lo difícil de ser diferente.
La verdad al inicio me costó un poco responder todas las preguntas de mi hija, ya que, hay cosas que agradezco no ha vivido pero que si todavía son parte del día a día, y que este libro reflejan tan bien.
Para todos quienes criamos es un libro necesario. Y para las que crecimos y nos vemos reflejamos, también 💜
September 24, 2019
Un libro que sigue siendo muy necesario actualmente para educar desde la coeducación, sin sexismos ni estereotipos entre niños y niñas. Es un cuento que me encanta pero me gustaría que fuese un poquito más largo.
May 12, 2017
Very heavy handed but that might make it more accessible to kids? They'd probably appreciate this more.
September 10, 2017
Dai 5 anni Elefantine rosa alla riscossa. Pasqualina insegna ai grandi la libertà di essere se stessi.
April 23, 2018
Really sweet and with a great message. The illustrations are lovely also. I think every little girl should have access to stories like this.
April 14, 2019
Favorite book when I was a kid! Still is such an important and beautiful book.
March 9, 2020
Una maravilla de libro. Se lo recomiendo a todas y todos quienes estén educando infancias libres.
August 7, 2020
Superfeminista.
May 5, 2021
It was ok. Daisy couldn't help that she was gray ,but her parents didn't understnd.
December 4, 2022
Lo volví a leer y me sentí una nena chiquita de nuevo 🥰
January 15, 2023
Cuento para coeducar, sin sexismos ni estereotipos. Un imprescindible en cualquier estantería infantil.
February 22, 2023
bom para trabalhar o eu, a questão de genero e o que se espera das meninas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2025
Read to me on tiktok. Absolutely wonderful feminist fable.
May 14, 2021
Crying my eyes out
May 17, 2019
El cuento trata de cómo las elefantas pequeñas tienen que vivir para crecer hermosas y rosas, encerradas comiendo flores mientras que los machos viven libremente por la pradera, jugando en charcos y comiendo hierba. Y gracias a que una elefanta no conseguía ser rosa a pesar de todo, decide rebelarse y escapar con sus hermanos, y más adelante se unen todas las elefantas, que acaban siendo grises como los machos y por eso ya no se los puede distinguir.
Creo que es importante romper con los estereotipos del rosa para niñas y el azul para niños desde que son pequeños, o con el de no comas eso que no vas a estar bonita, que de mayor tienes que buscar marido... Y mil cosas más que se debería cambiar para que la sociedad sea más igualitaria.
Creo que es importante romper con los estereotipos del rosa para niñas y el azul para niños desde que son pequeños, o con el de no comas eso que no vas a estar bonita, que de mayor tienes que buscar marido... Y mil cosas más que se debería cambiar para que la sociedad sea más igualitaria.
February 13, 2019
Ojalá no existiesen los días internacionales, de nada, ni del hombre, ni de la mujer, ni de la niña, ni de la infancia, sobre todo estos dos últimos. Ojalá no hiciese falta concienciar respecto al papel de las niñas como género diferenciado de los niños y ojalá el rosa sólo fuese un color más de la paleta y no un símbolo que marca diferencias, como entre los elefantes de Rosa caramelo. Una manada de elefantes que alimenta a sus elefantitas de peonías y anémonas, no por sus especiales valores nutritivos, sino por el color rosa que tinta sus pieles y las hace tan especiales a los ojos de sus padres y sobre todo tan atractivas para casarse cuando sean mayores.
¿Y que opinan las elefantas de ir vestidas de rosa, todo el día comiendo flores poco apetecibles y encerradas en un cercado para estar bien cuidadas y hermosas?. ¿Es posible que la felicidad se parezca a revolcarse en el barro, dormir la siesta bajo los árboles y jugar con el agua como hacen sus hermanos y primos? , ¿y que haces si, a pesar de seguir todas las instrucciones tu piel sigue sin volverse de color rosa caramelo? A veces solo hace falta dar un paso adelante y predicar con el ejemplo para formar una rebelión, incluso cuando se hace sin buscarlo,bien lo sabe Margarita, la protagonista de la historia.
La primera vez que mis libreros de referencia me recomendaron este clásico de Adela Turín recuerdo que pensé “qué antiguo” pero tras varias relecturas puedo afirmar sin lugar a dudas que es una historia de rabiosa actualidad, a pesar de haber sido escrito hace más de 30 años. Y es algo muy triste si nos paramos a pensarlo, casi tan triste como que en pleno siglo XXI siga existiendo la necesidad de que existan días internacionales para las mujeres y niñas, como claro distintivo de que aún hay pasos que dar en pro de la igualdad en el mundo.
Sea este mi pequeño granito de arena alzando la voz para concienciar sobre la necesidad de igualdad, aunque ya casi se nos esté acabando este 11 de octubre de 2018, ojala que este libro deje pronto de estar vigente y sea solo el recuerdo de una época en la que todavía existía el día internacional de las niñas, porque entonces hacía falta. Ojalá sea pronto. Ojalá.
http://www.nadiecuentacuentosya.com/2...
¿Y que opinan las elefantas de ir vestidas de rosa, todo el día comiendo flores poco apetecibles y encerradas en un cercado para estar bien cuidadas y hermosas?. ¿Es posible que la felicidad se parezca a revolcarse en el barro, dormir la siesta bajo los árboles y jugar con el agua como hacen sus hermanos y primos? , ¿y que haces si, a pesar de seguir todas las instrucciones tu piel sigue sin volverse de color rosa caramelo? A veces solo hace falta dar un paso adelante y predicar con el ejemplo para formar una rebelión, incluso cuando se hace sin buscarlo,bien lo sabe Margarita, la protagonista de la historia.
La primera vez que mis libreros de referencia me recomendaron este clásico de Adela Turín recuerdo que pensé “qué antiguo” pero tras varias relecturas puedo afirmar sin lugar a dudas que es una historia de rabiosa actualidad, a pesar de haber sido escrito hace más de 30 años. Y es algo muy triste si nos paramos a pensarlo, casi tan triste como que en pleno siglo XXI siga existiendo la necesidad de que existan días internacionales para las mujeres y niñas, como claro distintivo de que aún hay pasos que dar en pro de la igualdad en el mundo.
Sea este mi pequeño granito de arena alzando la voz para concienciar sobre la necesidad de igualdad, aunque ya casi se nos esté acabando este 11 de octubre de 2018, ojala que este libro deje pronto de estar vigente y sea solo el recuerdo de una época en la que todavía existía el día internacional de las niñas, porque entonces hacía falta. Ojalá sea pronto. Ojalá.
http://www.nadiecuentacuentosya.com/2...
December 31, 2016
So disappointed in the tone of this story. The idea that female elephants didn't want to wear pink and be locked behind a gated garden while their male cousins got to play in the savannah and the water needed a lot more umph to make a story. This was so transparently 'girls don't want to be treated differently than boys' that it was only a message in your face rather than building an actual story about a girls who enjoy all elephant activities.
July 18, 2025
Buena forma de hacerle ver a las personas de una manera sencilla la separación entre hombres y mujeres desde que nacen, como las mujeres están condenadas a ser algo para un día casarse y los hombres simplemente son ellos mismos.
Feliz porque al final ellas son lo que quieran ser!
Feliz porque al final ellas son lo que quieran ser!
December 4, 2016
We appreciated the message, but this was a bit heavy-handed. May have to try it in the original Italian sometime.
January 28, 2017
A picture book that explains gender equality in a simple and beautiful way.
February 4, 2017
I guess it's about gender expressions?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews