TEHRAN – Three children’s books by Iranian writers have been published in Spanish.

“Somos Exploradores” (“We Are Explorers”) by Shahrzad Shahrjerdi is one of the books that have been published by La Maleta, a publisher in the autonomous community of Asturias in northwest Spain.

Ghazal Fathollahi is the illustrator of the book, which shows fraternity, imagination, collaboration and self-improvement against the pain of war.

This book, through the love between two brothers and their imagination, leads us to reflect on the hardships suffered by some people as a result of conflicts in their countries of origin that force them to leave their homes in search of something better.

Another book is “Un Bosque Para Todos” (“A Forest for All”) by Nazanin Abbasi. Graphic designer Alireza Alaeddini and photographer Behdad Shirmohammadi have created the illustrations of the book.

It is about a beautiful green forest that stands proud under the blue sky. Forest animals run from one side to the other, playing, eating, building their nests and living in peace until one day, a human looking for a place to live arrives in the forest and begins to build his house. And everything changes afterwards.

La Maleta has also published “Un Paraguas con Mariposas Blancas” (“An Umbrella with White Butterflies”) by Farhad Hassanzadeh.

Illustrations by Ghazaleh Bigdelou embellish the book, for which she received a nomination at the Biennale of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB) in Slovakia in 2019.

This book introduces children to Noruz, the Iranian New Year celebration, and its beautiful traditions through three stories that end up interrelated. 

Lawrence Schimel is the translator of the books originally published by Tuti Publications, the children’s branch of the Tehran-based publisher Fatemi. 

Earlier in August, Fatemi released a Persian translation of Spanish author Anna Llenas’ book “The Color Monster: A Story about Emotions” by Sahar Tarhandeh.

Photo: Copies of three books by Iranian writers published in Spanish by the La Maleta publishing house in Asturias, Spain. 

MMS/YAW