Description
Being a flop
Book summary
A visual and literary account of the emotional roller coaster of childhood. Through the story of Mina, a girl who refuses to speak or eat, Belén Gopegui and Natalia Carrero explore the challenges, fears, and games of childhood. The work combines text and illustration in a creative dialogue where words and drawings merge to build a world of their own, both dark and bright. A book that invites reflection on freedom, expression, and the ability to reinvent oneself.
What is it about?
Mina doesn't want to speak, Mina doesn't want to eat. But suddenly, music plays. The story unfolds across two periods of her childhood, showing her emotional fluctuations, her challenges, and her unique way of facing the world. Belén Gopegui's narration gives voice to this rebellious melody, while Natalia Carrero's illustrations become the pencil that paints, draws, and constructs a universe of spirals, roads, mountains, and sharp peaks. The protagonist jumps through the pages, goes outside the lines, and breaks the rules, exploring how far she can go before everything goes crack. A journey through the lightness and intensity of being a child, where every end is a possible beginning.
Main themes
- The expression and management of emotions in childhood.
- Creative freedom and the breaking of established norms.
- The process of self-discovery through play and drawing.
- The relationship between text and image as a narrative language.
- Overcoming fears and the ability to reinvent oneself.
Who is it recommended for?
Recommended for children aged 6 and up who are beginning to explore their emotions, as well as for parents, educators, and reading mediators interested in picture books that address the complexity of the inner world of childhood with sensitivity and originality. It is also an attractive work for lovers of contemporary illustration and experimental narrative.
What this book contributes
- An interactive reading experience where the reader can get lost in the illustrations and reinterpret the story.
- A tool for talking about moods and the difficulty of communicating what one feels.
- A stimulus for creativity, showing how drawing and writing can be forms of free expression.
- A playful and non-dogmatic vision of childhood emotional conflicts.
Technical data
- Author: CARRERO, NATALIA; GOPEGUI, BELEN
- Publisher: EDICIONES LA UÑA ROTA
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: PICTURE BOOKS, STORIES (CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT)
- Collection: LIBROS QUE NI PINTADOS
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: November 2025
- Number of pages: 72
- Weight: 185 g
Editorial review
A picture book that stands out for its bold graphic proposal and its poetic, lighthearted text. The collaboration between Belén Gopegui and Natalia Carrero results in a work that does not limit itself to telling a story, but invites the reader to experience the creative process. It is a book that may be of particular interest to those looking for readings that challenge the conventions of the children's genre and that offer multiple layers of reading, for both the child audience and the accompanying adult.