Picture Book Review: The Composition by Antonio Skármeta
Published January 30th 2003 by Groundwood Books Pedro is a nine-year-old boy whose main interest in life is playing soccer. The arrest of his friend Daniel's father and a visit to the school of an army captain who wants the children to write a composition entitled "What My Family Does at Night" suddenly force Pedro to make a difficult choice. The author's note explains what a dictatorship is and provides a context for this powerful and provocative story. I read The Composition a few years ago and decided to re-read it since I almost didn't remember the story. It was a gift from my mom, she wanted me to have it since it has meaning to my family's story. It's a short and beautiful illustrated book. The artist is Alfonso Ruano and he managed to paint a feeling. The story was written by Antonio Skármeta, a Chilean author. The protagonist, Pedro, is a young Chilean boy who spend his days playing and not worrying much, as innocent kids do, until h...