Matteo Astone – Children's writer
There are things that are alive… and then there are reflections
#behindthescenes of... the story opening How does The little girl behind the mirror begin? The opening of a story is important, isn’t it? That’s why I thought long what the best way to open my book was... Well, then I chose to start with “Once upon a time...” The most banal choice. No, it is… Continue reading A BANAL START… TO BE ORIGINAL
Second #character appointment: she is the little gypsy, the protagonist of The little girl behind the mirror. Two carefree pigtails, a few bits of straw sticking out of her brown hair, two colored ribbons, one blue and one yellow, tangled in two funny bows. A dress the color of the earth, with many flowers, that… Continue reading THE LITTLE GYPSY
In a past post I shared the 10 reasons why Isaac Singer (Nobel Prize in literature in 1978) wrote for children. Now it’s time for mine. I also have 10. And this is really why I write for children: A good children story has the power to talk about great things with simple words; The… Continue reading MY 10 GOOD REASONS TO WRITE FOR CHILDREN
I’m Italian and I write in Italian. Well, when I write about science, in my job as a researcher, I write in English, but when I invent a story, when I write a children’s book, I need all the potentiality of the language. And my language is Italian. I can improve my English as much… Continue reading WHEN THE TRANSLATION RISKS BEING BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL
For the first #character appointment we are with him. He who will tell us the story of The little girl behind the mirror. No words better than his can introduce this character: I am a wanderer. I never stop for long in one place and so I have seen hundreds of different ones. However, this… Continue reading THE VAGABOND OF THE VILLAGE OF THE MIRROR
Some are small and some big, some friendly and welcoming, some deep and wise. But there are also those unpleasant and proud, suspicious and icy. And then those playful and funny, bizarre and surprising... And they always have something familiar... Because, after all, they are like us. I’m talking about the characters of The little… Continue reading THEY ARE THE CHARACTERS OF “The little girl behind the mirror”
One year ago I would never have imagined to see my dearest book La bambina dietro allo specchio translated in English and becoming The little girl behind the mirror, with an edition even more beautiful than the Italian one. I would never have imagined to be myself living abroad in the US. And I would… Continue reading THE LITTLE GYPSY PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME OUTSIDE ITALY
The little girl behind the mirror lives around a sentence, that first popped up in my mind before anything else: There are things that are alive... and then there are reflections. Does it make sense to you? Maybe not, if you haven’t read the book yet. Well, when that sentence appeared in my mind years… Continue reading THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE ALIVE… AND THEN THERE ARE REFLECTIONS
I can’t wait to introduce to all of you my newborn The little girl behind the mirror, from the story and its characters to all the secrets behind the scenes that led to the final publication. I start today by sharing a curiosity regarding the first thing of my book that one would come across:… Continue reading A SILLY START FOR A GREAT TITLE
These are not my personal reasons (I will tell you mine soon), but they are enough funny and serious that are worth reading. He is Isaac Singer, a polish writer, who published many novels and children’s books and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1978. On that occasion he gave a talk about… Continue reading 10 GOOD REASONS TO WRITE FOR CHILDREN
Matteo Astone - Children's writer 