Ariel Andrés Almada

Are you looking for a warm-felt book for your child or children that shows the strong bond created between brothers and sisters? Well, this book “Brothers and Sisters” does just that. It shows it through the eyes of a little boy.

Your child can imagine themselves as the little boy with their siblings as Sisters having a bond with their brother and sister or just their sisters if that is what they have. Or just their brothers if that is all she has, or he has.

Parents will enjoy this book as it shows that siblings fight, but there is also that bond of love for every sibling as they get older. The picture is lovely. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and enjoying myself. I was able to see my cousins with their siblings being somewhat like this. I, at this point, did have some step-siblings and still cherish that.

This book is excellent for parents to have in the family home if they have quite a few children in their household. This book may help with what goes on with siblings, or you may have experience with siblings of your own.… (mer)

Born blind, Annie learns to navigate the world around her through her sense of smell, guided by aromas in everything. As she grows up, her favorite activity - cooking with her grandmother - turns into a vocation, and she uses her culinary arts to help those around her, crafting superb and highly individual dishes that suite the emotional needs to each person. Then one day Julian comes to her, hoping to find help with his lethargy, but despite everything she does, he keeps returning for more help. Have Annie's culinary arts failed her, or is there something else that Julian is seeking...?

Originally published in Spain as La niña que caminaba entre aromas, this lovely picture-book pairs an engaging and magical story from Argentine expatriate author Ariel Andrés Almada, and gorgeous artwork from German illustrator Sonja Wimmer. I appreciated the positive way in which the story depicted a blind character interacting with her world, becoming the figure who helps others, rather than one who needs help herself. The beautiful artwork is well suited to the story, capturing and amplifying the fairy-tale feeling of the narrative. This is the second book I have read from Almada, following upon her The Lighthouse of Souls, which I also found beautiful, and the first from Wimmer. I will hope to read more from both of them! I would recommend Walking Through a World of Aromas to anyone looking for children's stories featuring blind characters, cooking and/or food as a theme, or interested in children's books from Spain.… (mer)