HISTORIA DE UNA CUCARACHA

Winner at the 2012 International Latino Book Awards. A superbly illustrated original story about the power of loving yourself and finding happiness.

This is the story of Anastasia, a cockroach who dreamed of being accepted and becoming famous and important like her distant relatives the Egyptian beetles, sacred insects that everybody treated like royalty.

Although it may seem impossible to believe, in another life Anastasia was a princess, transformed by a wave of the magic wand of Fairy Brunilda, who was determined to sow good wherever she went. But being a princess is not an easy task… Soon Anastasia began to feel out of place. She didn’t like life in the palace too much, and after following exciting adventures, Anastasia came to understand that being an ordinary, everyday cockroach wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Especially when, moved by her great heart, she managed to save the lives of an entire family of humans, everything without getting a hair out of place! What prize did Fairy Brunilda have in store for her as a reward for her generous actions?

Ganador del International Latino Book Awards en 2012. Una historia original magníficamente ilustrada sobre el poder de quererse a uno mismo y de encontrar la felicidad.

Anastasia es una cucaracha que soñaba con ser aceptada y convertirse en famosa e importante como sus parientes lejanos, los escarabajos egipcios, unos insectos sagrados que eran venerados por todo el mundo.

Un día, el hada Brunilda, empeñada en hacer el bien a diestro y siniestro, la convirtió en una bellísima princesa con solo un simple movimiento de varita. Pero ser princesa no es tarea fácil… Pronto Anastasia empezó a sentir que ese no era su lugar. La vida en palacio no le gustaba demasiado, y tras vivir emocionantes aventuras, comprendió que lo de ser una cucaracha normal y corriente no estaba tan mal. Sobre todo cuando, movida por su enorme corazón, fue capaz de salvar la vida de una familia enterita de seres humanos, ¡y sin despeinarse un pelo! ¿Qué premio le tendría preparado el hada Brunilda por su generosa acción?

Carmen Gil Martínez (Cádiz, 1962) is a Spanish author and Literature teacher who writes and illustrates stories, theater and poetry for children. She began publishing books in 2003, and since then more than 90 of her works have been published and translated into several languages. She loves writing children's literature, along with teaching. She has carried out theater projects, puppetry, storytelling, dance workshops and currently teaches poetry courses in primary schools and gives talks to encourage reading for families and teachers. Gil collaborates with various institutions (Instituto Cervantes, Centro Andaluz de las Letras, Autonomous Governments, Universities...) giving some conferences and holding meetings with readers. In 2011, the Junta de Andalucía awarded her Gold Medal of Merit in Education for her work to encourage reading.

Sonja Wimmer loves painting pictures and telling stories. After studying and working for some years as a graphic designer in her hometown of Munich and Brussels, she decided to pack her suitcase and move to Barcelona to study Illustration at the Llotja Arts and Crafts School. Since then, she lives between brushes and stories, working as an illustrator and freelance for publishers and other customers worldwide. She has received many awards for her work in the United states, most notably Gold Medal for Best Illustrator for The Word Collector.