What do you think?
Rate this book
The Little Blue House
In a very small town in rural Argentina there is a magical house. No one has lived in the house for almost as long as anyone can remember. But once a year, at midnight, the house turns blue and twenty-four hours later it turns back to white again.
Twelve-year-old Cintia lives with her father. Her mother left town when Cintia was a little girl and she can hardly remember her. But Cintia finds great comfort in her grandmother’s house where she is fed delicious food, told stories and is loved. Cintia father is a very angry man and his anger is often turned against her. Cintia also finds refuge in the Little Blue House. She is drawn there repeatedly even though her father has told her not to go, and the town Mayor, forbids anyone from visiting the place without paying.
As the time approaches for the annual transformation of the house more mysteries crop up. Cintia and her grandmother must come to grips with what Cintia’s father’s actions. The Mayor’s plans must be confronted and an old bookseller needs to find a way to save what is most important. And what about the rumors of buried treasure?
Twelve-year-old Cintia lives with her father. Her mother left town when Cintia was a little girl and she can hardly remember her. But Cintia finds great comfort in her grandmother’s house where she is fed delicious food, told stories and is loved. Cintia father is a very angry man and his anger is often turned against her. Cintia also finds refuge in the Little Blue House. She is drawn there repeatedly even though her father has told her not to go, and the town Mayor, forbids anyone from visiting the place without paying.
As the time approaches for the annual transformation of the house more mysteries crop up. Cintia and her grandmother must come to grips with what Cintia’s father’s actions. The Mayor’s plans must be confronted and an old bookseller needs to find a way to save what is most important. And what about the rumors of buried treasure?
- GenresChildrens
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 23, 2022
REVIEW OF THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION
I do indeed very much adore Latin American based magical realism, but to tell the truth ONLY in either the original Spanish texts (which though tend to generally take me many months to finish, since my Spanish for reading knowledge is sadly pretty much and frustratingly majorly rusty due to lack of use) or in German translations. And yes, this is generally also why I simply do not bother all that much with magical realism authors like for example Isabel Allende in English (for honestly, while I totally enjoy reading Allende in German, and of course in her original Spanish, I have found every English translation of Allende’s work I have tried to date, stagnant, unpoetic and incredibly superficial and awkward with regard to narrational flow and necessary, required descriptiveness).
Therefore, and due to the above, I was originally not going to even bother with reading Sandra Comino’s (Argentinian) La casita azul in Beatriz Zeller’s and Susana Wald’s English translation (because La casita azul is generally consider to be magical realism light, magical realism for younger, for middle grade readers). However, because I have not been been able to locate La casita azul and noticed that Open Library does have a copy of the English translation, of The Little Blue House I grudgingly but also though without any positive expectations whatsoever decided to download and give The Little Blue House a quick try.
But sadly, albeit of course not at all unexpectedly either, after 20 pages of The Little Blue House I really could no longer stomach the dragging, unlyrical stylistics and awkwardly superficial narrative flow of Beatriz Zeller and Susana Wald’s English language renderings and very rapidly and without any guilt or contrition decided to abandon The Little Blue House as a DNF. And while I must admit that I naturally (since I stopped reading The Little Blue House after only 20 pages) have not in fact read a sufficient amount of featured text to make any comments or judgements as to the contents and themes presented by Sandra Cominio (and the two translators), I do definitely think that for me, with regard to writing style, syntax and word flow, The Little Blue House very clearly demonstrates yet again that magical realism just does not work for me in English (and that I will thus need to most definitely try a bit harder to locate La casita azul, that I really must find a copy of the Spanish original, as unfortunately, La casita azul has not been translated into German).
I do indeed very much adore Latin American based magical realism, but to tell the truth ONLY in either the original Spanish texts (which though tend to generally take me many months to finish, since my Spanish for reading knowledge is sadly pretty much and frustratingly majorly rusty due to lack of use) or in German translations. And yes, this is generally also why I simply do not bother all that much with magical realism authors like for example Isabel Allende in English (for honestly, while I totally enjoy reading Allende in German, and of course in her original Spanish, I have found every English translation of Allende’s work I have tried to date, stagnant, unpoetic and incredibly superficial and awkward with regard to narrational flow and necessary, required descriptiveness).
Therefore, and due to the above, I was originally not going to even bother with reading Sandra Comino’s (Argentinian) La casita azul in Beatriz Zeller’s and Susana Wald’s English translation (because La casita azul is generally consider to be magical realism light, magical realism for younger, for middle grade readers). However, because I have not been been able to locate La casita azul and noticed that Open Library does have a copy of the English translation, of The Little Blue House I grudgingly but also though without any positive expectations whatsoever decided to download and give The Little Blue House a quick try.
But sadly, albeit of course not at all unexpectedly either, after 20 pages of The Little Blue House I really could no longer stomach the dragging, unlyrical stylistics and awkwardly superficial narrative flow of Beatriz Zeller and Susana Wald’s English language renderings and very rapidly and without any guilt or contrition decided to abandon The Little Blue House as a DNF. And while I must admit that I naturally (since I stopped reading The Little Blue House after only 20 pages) have not in fact read a sufficient amount of featured text to make any comments or judgements as to the contents and themes presented by Sandra Cominio (and the two translators), I do definitely think that for me, with regard to writing style, syntax and word flow, The Little Blue House very clearly demonstrates yet again that magical realism just does not work for me in English (and that I will thus need to most definitely try a bit harder to locate La casita azul, that I really must find a copy of the Spanish original, as unfortunately, La casita azul has not been translated into German).
August 4, 2010
Genre: fiction
Format: chapter
Grade level: middle school
Sandra Comino’s The Little Blue House is a story about a twelve year old girl named Cintia who lives in a small village called Azul in Argentina. In Azul there is a house which is white 364 days out of the day; however, on November 28 the house turns blue. This is an annual event and the corrupt mayor of the town exploits this event.
Cintia lives with a physically abusive father and a step-mother who is also abused by him. Her mother left the home when she was three years old. Cintia’s only comfort is spending time with her maternal grandmother, hanging out with her friend Bruno (who she has a crush on) near the little white-blue house, and reading books. All of these activities her father forbids her to do; however, they are her only outlets from the abuse. Cintia and Bruno eventually uncover the story behind the transformation of the house. Also with the help of her grandmother she finally escapes her father’s wrath.
This story would be ideal for early middle school students and struggling readers. The text is simple to read and any cultural words are italicized and found in a glossary in the back of the book. Some of the themes of this book are abuse, politics, fantasy, friendships, etc. Readers of this book would probably want to read Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights since they are both mentioned in this book.
Format: chapter
Grade level: middle school
Sandra Comino’s The Little Blue House is a story about a twelve year old girl named Cintia who lives in a small village called Azul in Argentina. In Azul there is a house which is white 364 days out of the day; however, on November 28 the house turns blue. This is an annual event and the corrupt mayor of the town exploits this event.
Cintia lives with a physically abusive father and a step-mother who is also abused by him. Her mother left the home when she was three years old. Cintia’s only comfort is spending time with her maternal grandmother, hanging out with her friend Bruno (who she has a crush on) near the little white-blue house, and reading books. All of these activities her father forbids her to do; however, they are her only outlets from the abuse. Cintia and Bruno eventually uncover the story behind the transformation of the house. Also with the help of her grandmother she finally escapes her father’s wrath.
This story would be ideal for early middle school students and struggling readers. The text is simple to read and any cultural words are italicized and found in a glossary in the back of the book. Some of the themes of this book are abuse, politics, fantasy, friendships, etc. Readers of this book would probably want to read Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights since they are both mentioned in this book.
November 18, 2007
Odd story from Argentina about political corruption, child beating, and a magical blue house.
July 18, 2011
I thought this book was only okay at best.
August 12, 2023
Lo tuve que leer para el colegio y encima me lleve ese trimestre porque no habia leido ese libro, la trama era más o menos
September 2, 2025
No entiendo como no se arriesga a hacer algo distinto teniendo una historia medianamente interesante para ser ejecutada hasta por momentos parece subestimar a su público lector objetivo, es decir, adolescentes. Ojo tiene algunas cosas interesantes, más allá de su brevedad y falta de riesgo; Sandra Comino -como ya se ha visto en otros textos de ella- sabe narrar las violencias sufridas en las infancias sin caer en un recurso meramente descriptivo y empalagoso. También rescato esa retrospectiva hacia principios de los 2000 y la última generación pueblerina que vivió en silencio distintos tipos de violencias, no hay nostalgia solo recuerdos. Es breve y su final apresurado, personajes poco creíbles (salvo los de los preadolescentes) y una intertextualidad poco aguda.
December 16, 2025
Mi maestra (en su momento) no hizo leer este libro en clase y he de decir que me encanto. Es fácil de leer, interesante, con buena trama y un libro con el que te puedes identificar fácilmente (debido a las dificultades y problemas de la protagonista). Además de aquellas interacciones románticas y inocentes que tiene la protagonista con el personaje masculino, siendo muy reconfortante y tranquilizador.
Sé que recordaré este libro con nostalgia y alegría, excelente experiencia.
Sé que recordaré este libro con nostalgia y alegría, excelente experiencia.
August 12, 2021
Lo tuve que leer para la escuela, fue meehh
March 4, 2023
corto, tierno, bonito, con aprendizajes y un final feliz.
May 2, 2023
lo leí por el colegio y es el único libro que leí obligadamente (por el colegio) y que me atrapó un poco.
June 27, 2023
Lo leí hace tiempo y la verdad la historia me conmovió, es una lectura rápida y la verdad muy buena. Hasta el día de hoy la sigo recomendando.
July 24, 2024
ame, re tierno
September 3, 2024
27/06/24
Me encantó el final.
Una montaña rusa.
Muchas emociones.
Corto, bien escrito y con personajes bien armados.
Me encantó el final.
Una montaña rusa.
Muchas emociones.
Corto, bien escrito y con personajes bien armados.
October 11, 2024
Ideal para llevar al aula.
November 17, 2024
Tierno. Juvenil. De ágil lectura. Con pasajes donde se aborda la violencia familiar y lo que es vivir en un pueblo que hacen que valga la pena su lectura.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews