Paola Mastrocola

 

Paola Mastrocola
was born in Turin, where she lives and works as a high school teacher. She began her literary career as a poet and essayist. Her debut novel La gallina volante was published in 2000 and won the Premio Calvino. She was shortlisted for the Premio Strega in 2001 for Palline di pane and won the Premio Campiello in 2004 with Una barca nel bosco. With Guanda she is the author of La scuola raccontata al mio cane (2004), Che animale sei? (2005), Più lontana della luna (2007), E se covano i lupi (If Wolves Could Brood, 2008), La felicità del galleggiante (2010), Togliamo il disturbo. Saggio sulla libertà di non studiare (2011), L’anno che non caddero le foglie (The Year the Leaves didn’t Fall, 2016), La saggezza del lupo (2020), Se tu fossi vero (2021). Paola Mastrocola’s books have been widely translated abroad and have sold over 300,000 copies in Italy alone.

Storia dell'orso che scappa

(If You Were Real – The Story of the Escaping Bear)

Ugo Guanda Editore, May 2021

Where does a bear go when it escapes? And why does it escape? In this fairy tale for all ages, Paola Mastrocola tells us about a cuddly toy that turns into a real animal out of friendship: the single, powerful feeling that can light up our roaming.

Bear has been running away all his life because he dreams to see Milco again, the little boy who once asked for a bear as a present: not a teddy bear but a real bear… Can a soft toy become a real bear? For love, to make a friend happy all is possible. You just need to want it enough. You just have to go and see MOP, the teddy bears’ wizard. It doesn’t matter if life becomes complicated after that, and if the dream comes true once life is almost over: fairy tales have just one, eternal present.

The important thing is to keep your wish alive, to go back, meet again, and start all over.

Rights Sold

China: Beijing Everafter Culture Development Co.

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