assemblage for kids

Even though I don't read or speak Spanish I couldn't resist ordering a copy of this children's book beautifully illustrated by Javier Solchaga with simple assemblages made from found objects.

The story is about a Princess whose golden ring is stolen by a magpie made from a painted peg and the sequence of events that leads to the recovery of the ring.

A cat catches the magpie, a dog catches the cat, a stick beats the dog, a fire burns the stick, water puts out the fire...

Each part of the narrative sequence begins with a cropped image with the question 'What is this?'

and the answer

This is the goat that drank the water that put out the fire that burnt the stick that beat the dog that chased the cat that caught the magpie that stole the cloth that wrapped the ring of the Princess of Trujillo.

Here's my favourite:

This is the kid born of the goat who drank the water etc...


This is the shepherd who found the ring...

and received a kiss from the Princess of Trujillo.

In the corner of the endpapers we see the naughty magpie up to no good again...

Now that's what I call a sophisticated picture book.