Pedro Mañas, a writer based in Madrid, has just run away with the XV Anaya Prize for Children's Literature with his book Apestoso tío Muffin (“Stinky Uncle Muffin”). The book tells the story of Mr. Montgomery Muffin, a man who always smells bad because he attracts garbage, "somewhat like a human vacuum cleaner,"

despite being one of the cleanest people in the whole wide world. One day, Emma, ??a girl who claims to be his niece, appears at his door, and she helps him turn his life around. Muffin ends up changing the ways in which he relates to other people, and, thanks to a miraculous invention, he is finally able to lose the odor that haunts him every day. It is a funny and irreverent story that demonstrates how important it is to overcome our fears, and also teaches us to set aside our preconceptions and to see beyond false appearances.

The members of the jury declared that the book stands out for the reason of "being a profoundly emotional novel, written in a very lively language." It is "a story that grabs a hold of the reader from the very beginning; where the way characters are created brings to mind Roald Dahl’s books; where humor infuses everything, and where themes such as people’s fears, the ability of the protagonist to transform his weakness into his strength, and the fact that we often judge people based in appearances are discussed." In addition, they pointed out that "it is easy for the young reader to identify with the story, because it is told from an extremely positive and zesty point of view, and questions that are very profound are dealt with in an extremely simple, natural way."

Read more here: Revistababar.com