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Άστρο
Όταν φτάνει ο Άστρο σε έναν μακρινό πλανήτη, όλοι θέλουν να τον γνωρίσουν. Ποιο είναι αυτό το παράξενο πλάσμα και γιατί βρίσκεται εκεί; Ανάμεσά τους, αποκτά έναν φίλο και μαζί του εξερευνά τα παράξενα τοπία του κόσμου: βουνά, σπηλιές, ωκεανούς. Κάποτε όμως ο φίλος του απομακρύνεται βίαια από κοντά του και ο Άστρο καλείται να αντιμετωπίσει τα δύσκολα ερωτήματα που αγγίζουν την ίδια την ύπαρξη: Τι γυρεύουμε εδώ; Γιατί υπάρχει κάτι και όχι τίποτε; (Από τον εκδότη)
Αυτό το εικονογραφημένο βιβλίο δημιουργήθηκε μεταξύ των ετών 2013 και 2023.
Πέντε από αυτές τις εικόνες επιλέχθηκαν για την Έκθεση Εικονογράφων της Διεθνούς Έκθεσης Παιδικού Βιβλίου της Μπολόνια 2014.
Αυτό το εικονογραφημένο βιβλίο δημιουργήθηκε μεταξύ των ετών 2013 και 2023.
Πέντε από αυτές τις εικόνες επιλέχθηκαν για την Έκθεση Εικονογράφων της Διεθνούς Έκθεσης Παιδικού Βιβλίου της Μπολόνια 2014.
60 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2025
1 person is currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 11, 2025
This is probably one of the most sophisticated and profound picture books I've seen in a while. Not only is the stylized artwork unusual in the best sense, but the story in this sci-fi picture book asks some of the hard questions that you don't often find in a picture book. Questions like "What's the point of being alive?" and "What's at the end of everything?"
Ostensibly about an astronaut on a mission who lands on a strange planet populated with incredible creatures, where even some of the landscapes appear to have arms and legs, this book is about so much more, including how friendships endure through memory, even when our friends are gone. Many of the book's themes are encapsulated in some of the quotes that are on the last page of printed matter. There are quotes from J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan," Stanislaw Lem's sci-fi masterpiece "Solaris," Emily Dickinson, Philip K. Dick, Carl Sagan and more. Make sure and read them. I think they will give you a greater understanding of this amazing book.
Without giving away any spoilers, I will say the ending of this book is mystifying. After reading it the first time, I immediately went back and read the whole book again, searching for clues for what the ending meant. I am almost positive that every reader will probably have a different interpretation for what happens at the end. If you get nothing else out of this book, it will definitely start some interesting conversations and for me, that's a sign of a great picture book.
Ostensibly about an astronaut on a mission who lands on a strange planet populated with incredible creatures, where even some of the landscapes appear to have arms and legs, this book is about so much more, including how friendships endure through memory, even when our friends are gone. Many of the book's themes are encapsulated in some of the quotes that are on the last page of printed matter. There are quotes from J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan," Stanislaw Lem's sci-fi masterpiece "Solaris," Emily Dickinson, Philip K. Dick, Carl Sagan and more. Make sure and read them. I think they will give you a greater understanding of this amazing book.
Without giving away any spoilers, I will say the ending of this book is mystifying. After reading it the first time, I immediately went back and read the whole book again, searching for clues for what the ending meant. I am almost positive that every reader will probably have a different interpretation for what happens at the end. If you get nothing else out of this book, it will definitely start some interesting conversations and for me, that's a sign of a great picture book.
October 21, 2023
Maravilloso 🥲
September 16, 2023
Menuda joya se ha marcado Manuel Marsol.
December 10, 2025
Πανέμορφο βιβλίο! Η εικονογραφία του είναι απλά μαγευτική!
December 8, 2025
Usually children’s books that deal with scary things by metaphor fail. They’re confusing and frustrating for the kid, and trivializing of whatever important issue they’re trying to address obliquely. Astro is an exception. The story of a lone astronaut visiting a strange planet and befriending the inhabitants — one in particular — is satisfying even if you’re not quite sure what’s going on. The art is stunning and welcomes repeated reads and scrutiny. It’s about death and loss and how time when one is grieving can be a blur … but it’s also just about going on a journey and making and losing someone you miss. Truly lovely.
June 15, 2025
This curious picture book melds fantastical artwork with meditations on loss. A creature from another planet meets an explorer (he's in a spacesuit so he could be of any race) who arrives in a space ship. The story is told entirely from the point of view of the creature, which has a bulbous torso resembling a brain, two blue legs and a long black eel-like neck and a hairy black catfish-like face. The curious creature becomes friends with Astro the explorer and all of the strange and wonderful creatures in this strange land view Astro as a novel plaything. Much of the book is their exploration of this completely bizarre and beautiful world of unusual rock formations, small ponds, underground caverns and of creatures that seem to consist of rocks and water themselves. You really have to spend some time examining the offbeat illustrations to get a sense that the world has no earthlike properties of gravity and physics. Collage elements such as fragments of knitting and torn paper combine with beautiful watercolor-like textures and patterns on the long horizontally oriented pages.
A crisis comes when the creature dies, although it still narrates the story. Astro becomes sad, angry, questioning: “Why is there something instead of nothing? / What is the point of being alive? / What’s at the end of everything?” When no one in that world can answer his questions, he decides to leave and continue his explorations. The last few spreads are reminiscences of the good times that Astro and the creature had, running, exploring, and at the end Astro picks up a small cube with an ‘x’ on it from the landscape. The last page is a closeup of his black gloves which become space itself.
Observant readers will notice at least one literary nod in the artwork, a drawing of a scene from Peter Pan, and at the end there’s a quote from that book and from several others. What a gorgeous, existential and unusual book!
A crisis comes when the creature dies, although it still narrates the story. Astro becomes sad, angry, questioning: “Why is there something instead of nothing? / What is the point of being alive? / What’s at the end of everything?” When no one in that world can answer his questions, he decides to leave and continue his explorations. The last few spreads are reminiscences of the good times that Astro and the creature had, running, exploring, and at the end Astro picks up a small cube with an ‘x’ on it from the landscape. The last page is a closeup of his black gloves which become space itself.
Observant readers will notice at least one literary nod in the artwork, a drawing of a scene from Peter Pan, and at the end there’s a quote from that book and from several others. What a gorgeous, existential and unusual book!
March 14, 2025
This was first published in Spain in 2023. This English translation was done in 2024 by Lizzie Davis.
I was halfway through this quirky book before I really understood what was going on.
An astronaut lands on an unusual planet, full of strange creatures and fantastic landscapes. The astronaut explores and experiments until it is time to leave. He finds out he cannot because his ship has been destroyed, so he tries to repair what he can, only to find himself stranded on this planet.
Marsol tells the story from the point of view of a native from the planet. When the astronaut (Astro) lands, his behavior is very odd to those living on the planet. The translation is smooth, speaking with a naive, almost childlike wonder.
There are many wordless pages that, quite frankly kept me scratching my head.
The artwork is what is especially appealing and bumps this from being optional to recommended. It is literally out of this world! On the cover is a 4-legged, 2-handed walking mountain with a river flowing ln it! Very imaginative snd allows readers to tell the story and fill in all the details for themselves.
Show this to a class of 4th grade writers and give them carte blanche to come up with their own story!
Recommended for grades 3-6.
I was halfway through this quirky book before I really understood what was going on.
An astronaut lands on an unusual planet, full of strange creatures and fantastic landscapes. The astronaut explores and experiments until it is time to leave. He finds out he cannot because his ship has been destroyed, so he tries to repair what he can, only to find himself stranded on this planet.
Marsol tells the story from the point of view of a native from the planet. When the astronaut (Astro) lands, his behavior is very odd to those living on the planet. The translation is smooth, speaking with a naive, almost childlike wonder.
There are many wordless pages that, quite frankly kept me scratching my head.
The artwork is what is especially appealing and bumps this from being optional to recommended. It is literally out of this world! On the cover is a 4-legged, 2-handed walking mountain with a river flowing ln it! Very imaginative snd allows readers to tell the story and fill in all the details for themselves.
Show this to a class of 4th grade writers and give them carte blanche to come up with their own story!
Recommended for grades 3-6.
November 24, 2025
An astronaut lands on a planet. The inhabitants of the planet name it Astro. One of the planet's residents, who is also the narrator of the story and looks like an orange fluff ball with a long black neck, strikes up a friendship with Astro. They explore the planet together. And then - the unthinkable happens and our orange fluff ball friend is killed in an accident. Astro is devastated and grapples with the different stages of grief finally reaching acceptance. And wonder filled with memories of their friendship.
I liked the quote from Stanislaw Lem at the end. "We’re not searching for anything except people. We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors." A truth worth pondering! There are also quotes from writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, and Carl Sagan that provide thoughtful rumination.
A different take on grief but since grief comes in all varieties, it is good to have choices when dealing with it. The illustrations are lovely and invoke a sense of wonder.
I liked the quote from Stanislaw Lem at the end. "We’re not searching for anything except people. We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors." A truth worth pondering! There are also quotes from writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, and Carl Sagan that provide thoughtful rumination.
A different take on grief but since grief comes in all varieties, it is good to have choices when dealing with it. The illustrations are lovely and invoke a sense of wonder.
April 8, 2024
Whereas my previous exposure to his work, in the form of his Bologna-awarded "MVSEVM" (with Javier Sáez Castán) was an interesting yet alien project, this one, despite being full of aliens, and of strange worlds and landscapes and creatures, was familiar. Human.
An all-ages 'exploration' of the concept of 'the duel' (i.e. dealing with loss), Marsol hit the mark completely as far as making it accessible to children (some parents at the presentation I went to had read it with children as young as two) while still being an engaging read for adults.
Besides, the art is fantastic. Abstract yet grounded. Imaginative and wild and nonsensical but also full of character and emotion. Alien, yet human.
For children, a new exploration of the fantastic.
For adults, a return to childhood whimsy.
An all-ages 'exploration' of the concept of 'the duel' (i.e. dealing with loss), Marsol hit the mark completely as far as making it accessible to children (some parents at the presentation I went to had read it with children as young as two) while still being an engaging read for adults.
Besides, the art is fantastic. Abstract yet grounded. Imaginative and wild and nonsensical but also full of character and emotion. Alien, yet human.
For children, a new exploration of the fantastic.
For adults, a return to childhood whimsy.
January 5, 2026
"I knew that after night comes day
And that you should make the most of the good times.
Because they don't always last.
Another of those amazing children's books that make me want to locate and read (at least something) by each of the authors quoted in the Author's note. Well worth of 10 years it to make. Thanks to Carol for having us read this. Translated from the Spanish. Wonder if the Spanish one is available in US?
May have come out in USA in 2024, so possibly not eligible for Bachelder.
And that you should make the most of the good times.
Because they don't always last.
Another of those amazing children's books that make me want to locate and read (at least something) by each of the authors quoted in the Author's note. Well worth of 10 years it to make. Thanks to Carol for having us read this. Translated from the Spanish. Wonder if the Spanish one is available in US?
May have come out in USA in 2024, so possibly not eligible for Bachelder.
February 1, 2026
I discovered this book purely on accident, read it, and then proceeded to be filled with the desire to cry over it. The only reason I didn't cry about it was because I was at my job. This story is beautiful. This book is living rent-free in my brain. This book is probably now one of my favorite picture books of all time. The art was gorgeously weird, and my heart is struggling to recover from the hit it received upon finishing this work of literature.
April 15, 2025
是奧秘守護我們。
兩次進到Lisboa這件書店，看到cover就愛不釋手。秉持著萬不得已不要買實體書的心理，也不好意思用手機翻譯葡萄牙文，站著胡亂又細細地翻完。
Livraria da Travessa - Lisboa
兩次進到Lisboa這件書店，看到cover就愛不釋手。秉持著萬不得已不要買實體書的心理，也不好意思用手機翻譯葡萄牙文，站著胡亂又細細地翻完。
Livraria da Travessa - Lisboa
July 13, 2025
Beautifully illustrated story with gorgeous locations.
July 27, 2025
Thought provoking, unique, and moving picture book that tackles themes of friendship, exploration, loss, and resilience.
October 14, 2025
Oh ok, I wasn't expecting to cry today. So beautiful!
November 24, 2025
[Μπορεί τα πλάσματα και οι πλανήτες να εξαφανίζονται. Όμως οι ερωτήσεις μένουν να αιωρούνται για πάντα.]
November 29, 2025
I wish I could give this 10 stars!! So good!!
Want to read
November 29, 2025Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
December 30, 2025
Adding to my favorite existential picture books. :)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews