Papelucho facts for kids
Papelucho is a super famous character from a series of children's books! A Chilean writer named Marcela Paz created him. There are twelve books in the series, published from 1947 to 1974. These books became a classic for kids in Chile.
The books are written like diaries. Papelucho, an 8-year-old Chilean boy from Santiago, writes them himself. This is cool because many other children's books happen in made-up places. Papelucho finds fun and humor in his everyday life. He uses his amazing imagination, sharp observations, and creativity to do this. His stories are similar to other popular children's books from Europe. These include Le petit Nicolas by Goscinny and Sempé, Just William by Richmal Crompton, and Celia by Elena Fortún.
The first book, Papelucho, came out in 1947. It won an award from a young Chilean publishing house called Rapa Nui. The author's sister, Yolanda Huneeus, drew the pictures. The book quickly became a bestseller in Chile. Many new editions were printed. Eleven more books followed, with the last one, Am I Dys-Lazy?, appearing in 1974.
By 2007, over five million copies of the series had been sold! Papelucho is listed as "recommended reading" in Chilean schools. Today (in 2011), Random House in Santiago, Chile, still publishes the books.
Contents
Awards and Recognition
Marcela Paz received Chile's top literary award, the Premio Nacional de Literatura, in 1982. This was a few years before she passed away in 1985. In 1968, the book Papelucho the Missionary was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. This award is given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in Amrisville, Switzerland.
The Papelucho stories have also been turned into plays for the theater and even comic books.
Papelucho Around the World
The first Papelucho book was translated into French in 1951. It was part of the Rouge et Bleu collection by GP publishers. This French version was very popular, selling 25,000 copies quickly! A second edition came out just two years later. A new French edition appeared in 1980 and was published by different companies over the years.
In 1972, the Japanese publishing house Kodansha released a Japanese translation. It featured drawings by Marcela Claro Huneeus, who is the author's daughter. A Greek edition was published in Athens in 1984. More recently, Anicia in Rome has published Italian translations of four of the books.
There is also a special Spanish-English edition. This bilingual version became available in Chile at the end of 2006. Lina Craddock, Ailsa Shaw, and Jean Paul Beuchat did the English translation.
Papelucho on Screen
In 2007, Cine Animadores and Canal 13 Films released a movie called Papelucho and the Martian. This film was inspired by the book of the same name.
Papelucho in Comics
Papelucho was also made into a series of comic books. Walter Carzon drew the pictures for these comics.
See also
In Spanish: Papelucho para niños
