The Butterfly Workshop

by Gioconda Belli, Wolf Erlbruch (Illustrator), Charles Castaldi (Translator)

For children and adults alike . . . Odair, one of the "Designers of All Things" and grandson of the esteemed inventor of the rainbow, has been banished to the insect laboratory as punishment for his overactive imagination. But he still dreams of one day creating a cross between a bird and a flower. Then, after a helpful chat with a dog . . . Gioconda Belli 's novel, The Inhabited Woman , was a worldwide bestseller. She has since enjoyed international success with her many collections of poetry and her novels. Wolf Erlbruch is the author of over 25 illustrated books and the recipient of countless international prizes.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

46 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Gioconda Belli (born December 9, 1948 in Managua, Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguan author, novelist and poet.

Gioconda Belli, partly of Northern Italian descent, was an active participant in the Sandinista struggle against the Somoza dictatorship, and her work for the movement led to her being forced into exile in Mexico in 1975. Returning in 1979 just before the Sandinista victory, she became FSLN's international press liaison in 1982 and the director of State Communications in 1984. During that time she met Charles Castaldi, an American NPR journalist, whom she married in 1987. She has been living in both Managua and Los Angeles since 1990. She has since left the FSLN and is now a major critic of the current government.

Belli graduated from the Royal School of Santa Isabel in Madrid, Spain and studied advertising and journalism in Philadelphia.

In 1988, Belli's book La Mujer Habitada (The Inhabited Woman), a semi-autobiographical novel that raised gender issues for the first time in the Nicaraguan revolutionary narratives, brought her increased attention; this book has been published in several languages and was on the reading list at four universities in the United States. The novel follows two parallel stories: the indigenous resistance to the Spanish and modern insurgency in Central America with various points in common: women's emancipation, passion, and a commitment to liberation. In 2000, she published her autobiography, emphasizing her involvement in the revolutionary movement, El país bajo mi piel, published under the name The Country Under My Skin in the United States; it was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2003. Belli continues publishing and maintains that poetry is her most important work. Belli was the recipient of the Premio de Poesía Mariano Fiallos Gil in 1972 and of the Premio Casa de las Américas in 1978. In 2008 Belli received the Biblioteca Breve Award for her book El infinito en la palma de la mano (Infinity in the Palm of The Hand), an allegory about Adam and Eve in paradise.

Belli's books have been published in numerous languages.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Dirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Schmetterlinge wiegen fast nichts. Sie sind ganz leicht. So leicht, als ob die Sonne mit den Wimpern schlage, als ob sie vom Licht geblendet sei und ihre Augen rot und gelb blinzelten. Schmetterlinge sind wie das Niesen des Regenbogens.»

Gioconda Belli, nicaraguanische Schriftstellerin und Lyrikerin, 1948 in Managua geboren. Ab 1970 beteiligte sie sich am Widerstand der Sandinistischen Befreiungsfront FSLN gegen die Somoza-Diktatur ihres Landes.
2023 wurde ihr vom Regime in Nicaragua die Staatsbürgerschaft entzogen.
Sie lebt im Exil in Madrid.

Kongenial illustriert von Wolf Erlbruch.

«Der Schmetterling. Ein gefalteter Liebesbrief sucht eine Adresse.»
Jules Renard

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most beautiful children book I know. It has a fantastic story about following your dreams, creativity and I love the illustrations. It is just perfect.

[Οδυσσέας Μουζίλης · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το διαβάζεις σαν κάμπια, χαμογελάς σαν πεταλούδα!

https://pepperlines.blogspot.gr/2018/...

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die kleinen Dinge im Leben sind bewundernswert. Schmetterlinge sind klein und schnell unterwegs; so vergisst ein mancher wie bezaubernd die Welt sein kann. Zauberhaft illustriert und inspirierend geschrieben. Eröffnet Türen zu eigenen kreativen Stunden und der Frage, was Schönheit für jeden einzelnen bedeutet.

[Satrina T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book about the power of persistence when you are following your dreams. The Designers of All Things laugh when they see a boy try to create a new animal, a mix between a flower and a bird.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirierend, herzlich und dazu noch warmherzig-witzig illustriert ❤️

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, fanciful little myth of the creation of all creatures, especially of insects and most especially of butterflies. It's also about the thrill of creation and the desire to give beauty to the world. And, of course, Wolf Erlbruch's illustrations are fantastic.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This happy book made me smile. It tells about the creative process and how some people don't give up when people tell them they can't do what they want to do. Yes, this is a children's book
and yes, I am reading everything I can by Gioconda Belli.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY CHILDREN'S FAVORITE BOOK!

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book for kids and any other interested!

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book about following your dreams. Despite the trials you will face to get there, it will be worth it if you could make it to the very end, at last exalted.

[Alanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das Buch, dass ich gerade im Schrank gefunden habe, ist groß, abgestoßen, stellenweise klebrig und voll mit Haferflocken (??). Als ich es aufgeschlagen habe, zum ersten Mal seit bestimmt ewigen Jahren, habe ich mich doch sofort wieder an alles erinnert.

Ich liege im Bett, meine Mama oder mein Papa müssen zum hundertsten Mal das Buch aufschlagen. Ich kenne Rodolfo, Kalle, Gwendolin und Paganini, ich kann die Bildunterschriften aufsagen, ohne sie je gelesen zu haben. Der Hund rutscht für mich zur Seite. Manche Wolken rund sind und manche würfelig, das ist eben so. Als Kind ist mir die Welt der Gestalter so vertraut wie meine eigene.

Heute sind sind die Gestalter da, wo man nicht mehr so einfach hinkommt. Ob sie mir etwas auf den Weg gegeben haben? Vielleicht, vielleicht auch nicht. Heute beeindruckt mich die mühelose, klare und wunderbare Sprache. Die unendlichen Texturen der Bilder, die manchmal aus dem Buch herausfallen wollen. Die groben, feinen Gestalter in all ihrer Eigenheit. Ihre Umgebung, ein Paradies der Schöpfungslust.

[Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

M'ha fotut força mandreta. La idea està bé, però l'he trobat massa llarg i aquest cop les il•lustracions de Erlbruch (a part que no les he trobat especialment bones) m'han aportat poc a la narrativa. Un poco decepcionante

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya había tenido la suerte de leer a Gioconda, y el contexto en el que surge la historia de Odaer y las mariposas me parece naturalista, como todo lo que he contemplado de esta autora.
Me parece muy hermosa la pluma y sin duda lo recomiendo un montón para conocer a Belli.

[Rachel H]

I'd really like to buy a copy of this book in English or Spanish if anyone has a copy to sell!

[Angela Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un hermoso libro.

[Consol Albiol]

Amazing! Really nice

[Jann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagenes bellísimas, excelentes poemas.
Un libro hermoso.

[J. Blair Hartman III · Rating 4 out of 5]

having to translate from a Spanish language copy made me keenly aware of the verbosity in the text…otherwise, it is a real beauty of a book.

[p33€3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

💕

[Lieve Snellings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super mooi