A delicate text that subtly explores conflict in the playground and masculinity, without falling into gender stereotypes.
Valentin loves colours. Yellow for rainy days, pink for friendship… Most of his friends are girls, because he doesn’t really get on with boys. He doesn’t like play-fighting, or football, and they often make fun of his colourful clothes or gentle manners. One day, he explodes. His world shatters. To cheer himself up, Valentin gets out his sewing machine, adds the thread, presses on the pedal, and listens to the machine go tac tac tac.
Time stops while he’s sewing. But can you sew friendship back together?
Chiara Mezzalama: Chiara Mezzalama is an Italian author, translator and psychotherapist, internationally renowned for her adult novels, as well as her picture books for children, including Le Jardin du dedans dehors, critically acclaimed in France and abroad.
Reza Dalvand: Reza Dalvand’s illustrations were selected for the Shanghai 2020 Book Fair, as one of the 50 best illustrators. He is nominated for the 2025 Astrid Lindgren award.
