acaramelada, cuentos en verso [The Caramel Fairy, Tales in Verse], Las tres reinas
magas, cuento teatro [The Three Wise Women, a theatre story].
Ana María Matute (b.1925) started to write for children about 1956, after publishing El
país de la pizarra [The Country of the Blackboard]. Other short stories are ‘El
saltamontes verde’ [‘The Green Grasshopper’] and ‘El aprendiz’ [‘The Apprentice’]. She
has also written several novels including Paulina, Sólo un pie descalzo [Just a Bare
Foot], and El polizón del ‘Ulises’ [The Stowaway of the ‘Ulises’] which won the Lazarillo
Prize. She has always been strongly attracted to the world of children, and very often
presents children as narrators.
A playwright, Lauro Olmo (1925–1994), has had great success in collaboration with
his wife, Pilar Enciso, with La maquinita que no quería pitar [The Little Engine which
Wouldn’t Whistle], Asamblea general [General Meeting], and El raterillo [The Little
Pickpocket], for different ages. With the last he won the Prize of the Círculo de la Crítica
del Uruguay.
Monserrat Del Amo (b. 1927) has received many prizes for her works: the Lazarillo
Prize for Rastro de Dios [Traces of God], the CCEI for Chitina y su gato [Chitina and her
Cat], and the National Prize for Children’s Literature for El nudo [The Knot]. Her style is
attractive and appropriate both for small children and for adolescents. Following the
trend of collective protagonists in the adventure novel, she created the series Los Blok
[The Bloks], about a family, and Zuecos y naranjas [Wooden Shoes and Oranges] about
emigration. As a playwright, in 1970 she was presented with the AETIJ (Spanish
Association of Theatre for Children and Youngsters) Award, for her play Fiesta.
Jaime Ferrán (b.1928) received the Lazarillo Prize for Angel en Colombia, which is the
second book of his Angel series. His contribution to poetry comprises La playa larga
[The Long Beach] and Cuaderno de música [The Music Notebook] among others. His
poetry is directed towards children of over 12 years of age, with the intention of
introducing them to adult poetry.
Ángela Ionescu (b.1937) discovered her literary vocation when telling tales to her
children. Her most important work, translated to many languages, is De un país lejano
[From a Distant Country], which has received the Doncel and Lazarillo Prizes, and has
appeared in the List of Honour of IBBY. Other works are: El país de las cosas perdidas
[The Country of the Lost Things], Donde duerme el agua [Where Water Sleeps], and La
misma piedra [The Same Stone].
Concha López Narváez (b.1939) was awarded the Lazarillo Prize for El amigo oculto y
los espíritus de la tarde [The Hidden Friend and the Evening Spirits], the CCEI for La
colina de Edeta [The Hill of Edeta] and Memorias de una gallina [The Story of a Hen]. Her
name was on the IBBY List for La tierra del sol y la luna [The Land of the Sun and the
Moon], a historical novel. Her books range from short tales for the youngest, to
adventure or historical novels for older children.
Fernando Alonso (b.1941). His book El hombrecillo vestido de gris y otros cuentos [The
Little Man in Grey and other Stories] gained him the Lazarillo Prize, and his name has
been on the Honour Lists of the Andersen Prize and IBBY. He has also written Feral y
las cigüeñas [Feral and the Storks], El hombrecillo de papel [The Little Paper Man] and
other books. One of his characteristics is a curious sense of humour which may seem
bitter to grown-ups.
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