Rights sold: 

Colombia / China

Once upon a time, there was a mother who had a son so small that he could live inside a nutshell. They called him Benjamino, which means the smallest one.

Inspired by the Italian oral tradition that nourished her voice in childhood, María Teresa Andruetto recaptures the accents, humor, and sound of traditional stories to revive the enchantment and art of storytelling for those who are just beginning to read.

My grandmother Felicitas was born in a small village in Piedmont, northern Italy, and it was from that region that I heard the adventures of Gioaninn ca boija (Little Juan, the resourceful one) and Ciavtin cit (The little shoemaker), perhaps to show us that, no matter how small you are, with a little cunning and a little luck, you can outwit wolves and ogres. María Teresa Andruetto

Benjamino, like so many characters we remember from our early stories, makes up for what he lacks in size with his wit.

Other books by the same author