AUTHOR: Anna Miracle
PUBLISHER: Zahorí Books
GENRE: Children’s Literature
READER’S NAME: Alejandro Varderi
DATE: May 23, 2022

This book for ages 8 and up, seeks to create awareness about the urgency to protect the environment and save the planet. Its large format allows for the display of big illustrations in full color that catch the eye and draw attention to the short and clear texts conveying basic information on global warming, sustainable energy, clean water action, eco-friendly houses, waste management sustainability and sustainable food production, among other important topics.

Originally published in Catalan, the book had an ample distribution in both languages within the scope of other recent volumes such as Cosas verdes: conoce y defiende la naturaleza (“Green Things: Understand and Defend Nature”), Este es también mi mundo: ¿cómo podemos hacerlo mejor? (“This Is Also My World. How Can We Make It Better?”) and 10 ideas para salvar el planeta (“Ten Ideas to Save the Planet”).

There is also an extensive literature in English on these themes. Books such as How You Can Save the Planet (2021), The Greatest Show on Earth (2022) and The Green Planet (2022) have been very successful among young readers, proving that there is a good potential market for Bienvenido, nuevo mundo.

Each chapter opens with the question “¿Y si…”?  (“What if…?”) proposing 70 different projects intended to help children to understand vital concepts easily and to enjoy learning about deforestation, urban pollution, better eating habits, clean means of transportation and pollination, among other subjects. Technical terms are taught in context and new inventions are linked to specific problems: “Para vigilar los arrecifes de coral en peligro de extinción, investigadores norteamericanos han creado medusas robot capaces de introducirse en cualquier rincon.

There is a good balance between text and illustrations not to overwhelm the young reader and to give a sense of hope and beauty despite the complexity of the topics at hand. Several pages have been designed as double pages that can be folded and unfolded to reveal its contents as if walking into a forest or a home.

This is Anna Miracle’s first children’s book. David Acevedo is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator with a long experience in the field.