The Light Is Big

Ana Pessoa & Joana Estrela

At first we babble. Then we repeat syllables. Then words – to interact and also because we have desires.

But suddenly something truly magical happens: we put different words together and make a new construction. We’re no longer imitating nor repeating. We are saying something about what’s around us.

These are our first sentences, precious and unrepeatable.

What do they say about us? And more importantly: what do they say about the world?

Welcome to this book, filled with sentences that someone said for the very first time.

Press voices

“Clearly aimed at small children, with illustrations which cherish the elements, this book doesn’t adhere to a comparatist, logic-based approach based around opposites. The freedom that it celebrates with its choice of statements, all based around an idea of being this or that, echoes the spontaneity and value of discovery.” Andreia Brites, Blimunda magazine

“The technique evokes the pictures we painted at school, using something between tempera and watercolour, but the relationships with the written text are subtle and sensitive. Stunning graphic and linguistic quality thus fuels empathy with a child’s language, both verbal and non-verbal. Open to multiple interpretations, it’s a poem on all levels; dazzling.” Dora Batalim, Caminhos de Leitura

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