Fuertes started to write poetry for children. Nevertheless, even now there are not many
books of poetry published for children. There are some folkloric collections of songs and
games edited by the Teacher’s Training College in Madrid, Arturo Medina (1915–1995)
and the eminent researcher Carmen Bravo-Villasante (1922–1994).
Children’s Authors Before the Civil WarSalvador Bartolozzi (1882–1840) was the author and illustrator of the famous series
Pinocho y Chapete and Pipo y Pipa. In the first, the protagonists act as hero and faithful
servant in the style of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
Elena Fortún (1886–1952) was the celebrated author of the series of books about
Celia: Celia lo que dice, Celia novelista, and others. She also published several plays for
children to act: Moñitos, La bruja Piñonate, and so on, collected in Teatro para niños.
Antoniorrobles’s (1897–1983) publications began with Ocho cuentos de niñas y
muñecas [Eight Stories of Girls and Dolls], and received the National Award for his book
Hermanos monigotes [Brother Puppet] in 1932. He discovered that modern characters
can be full of fantasy and of humour, and is considered to be the creator of
contemporary children’s literature. His book La bruja Doña Paz [Mrs Peace, the Witch]
was awarded the prize of the Anglo-American Committee of the United Nations.
Alejandro Casona (1903–1965) was a teacher and famous playwright for adults; his
plays combine fantasy and reality, as in El lindo Don Gato, [Beautiful Mr Cat] and A
Belén, pastores! [To Bethlehem, Shepherds!]. With La flauta del sapo [The Toad’s Flute]
with its light and easy style, he gave new life to poetry for children.
These last three authors went to exile for political reasons and continued writing after
the civil war.
From the End of the Civil War (1939) to the PresentIn 1952 José María Sánchez Silva (b.1911) published the book which would make him
famous: Marcelino, pan y vino [Marcelino, Bread and Wine] which has been reprinted
and translated many times, eventually being made into a film. In 1968 he was awarded
the Andersen Prize for his complete works.
Carmen Kurtz (1911) also wrote for adults. In 1962 she published óscar cosmonauta
which was a runner-up for Andersen Prize, and which started the series of óscar novels:
óscar espeleólogo, óscar espía atómico and others. She has also received the CCEI
(Comisión Católica Española de la Infancia) on four occasions: three times for books in
the óscar series, and once (1981) for Veva, the story of a little girl who discovers her
inner self. She has also received the Lazarillo Prize for Color de fuego [Colour of Fire],
which is the story of a boy who is ‘tamed’ by a horse.
Gloria Fuertes (b.1918). After her success as a poet for adults, she has been fully
accepted by the youngest children. Her distinctive style reflects children’s speech in a
very colourful way. She has given her name to a Prize for poetry written by children.
Among her works we can mention: Don Pato y Don Pito, poems for children, La princesita
que quería ser pobre [The Little Princess who Wanted to be Poor], a play, El hada
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