Personal & social issues: self-awareness & self-esteem (Children's/YA)
2016
Patricia and Karina Cocq Muñoz write an ingenious, sophisticated and beautiful fable. The main character is Juanita, a shy and untidy street cat, but she has a characteristic that makes her different from the other animals in the neighborhood: she is a reader. The strange thing is that they don’t like her. They make fun of her for being different, for not having defined features. Juanita's fur is like the tortoiseshell, multicolor. According to the canon, she is not pretty. This has given rise to a series of myths to explain her unique "design". This fable subtly reveals itself against the tyranny of the homogeneous and the similarity as a rule. Juanita becomes aware of the slavery imposed on her by the culture of "the same" and transforms her discourse and action. She doesn't need to be like everyone else, so she decides in total autonomy not to be a passive reflection, thus shows herself publicly, without any shame, with her crazy and scattered colours.
