Shola, among the Best Books of 2013 chosen by The Independent

Nicholas Tucker of The Independent reviews Shola among his other choices for the best of 2013:

Translated from the Basque by Margaret Jull Costa and lavishly illustrated by Mikel Valverde, these gently ironic stories about another small dog whose aspirations regularly outrun her abilities are totally charming.

It's not the 1st time that Atxaga's stories for children have been praised and specially selected in English. A volume by British author Julia Eccleshare, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, contains the novella Memoirs of a Basque Cow (Behi euskaldun baten memoriak).

The Adventures of Shola is a compilation of stories that were published in Basque in different books. It was just october that it was published in the UK, and several positive reviews have been written since then.

Pam Norfolk, in the Lancashire Evening Post:

guaranteed to have you wrapped around her paw before you can say her favourite word… ‘discombobulated!’

The Bookbablers site states:

This book is a translation and at points does feel quite foreign, but in my opinion, this only makes the stories more exciting to read

We felt specially touched by Wizard's review: a 10 year old child who wrote to The Guardian:

I think that the Adventures of Shola was a fabulous book by an author from the Basque Country. The illustrations are superb and humorous although I felt from looking at the cover of the book that the book may be for children younger than me (I am 10). The storyline is very engaging and will make you laugh your socks off and spread a grin on your face.

Another review, also in The Guardian.

Links:

• Pushkin Press
• On sale in Amazon