SATA
ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: MADANI’S BEST GAME
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.franpintadera.com
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Spain
NATIONALITY: Spanish
LAST VOLUME:
Phone: 630905933 info@franpintadera.com http://franpintadera-contacto.blogspot.com/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
EDUCATION:University of Castilla-La Mancha, graduated.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and theater director. Previously, worked as a social educator.
AVOCATIONS:Reading, music, walking, sports.
AWARDS:Parents’ Choice Gold Award, for Why Do We Cry?; Spanish Ministry of Culture grant, 2022.
WRITINGS
Also, author of books in Spanish; contributor to publications in Spanish.
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2020, Tiffany Flowers, review of Why Do We Cry?, p. 78; September 15, 2022, Kit Ballenger, review of Madani’s Best Game, p. 58.
Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2020, review of Why Do We Cry?; August 1, 2022, review of Madani’s Best Game; April 1, 2023, review of Why Are We Afraid?
ONLINE
Eerdlings blog, https://eerdlings.com/ (2022), author interview.
Fran Pintadera website, https://www.franpintadera.com/ (May 30, 2023).
Interview with Children’s Book Author Fran Pintadera
Date: 2022
Author: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
4 Comments
We had the opportunity to interview Fran Pintadera, a storyteller, theater director, and the author of over one dozen children’s books. His book Why Do We Cry? (Kids Can) received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and was selected as a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year. He also wrote Madani’s Best Game (Eerdmans), a children’s book based on Fran’s time as a social educator in new immigrant housing, where he often played pick-up soccer with a boy named Madani.
What made you decide to become an author?
Sometimes you don’t decide “I want to be this or that.” I simply removed the weeds, the things I didn’t want, the things that were foreign to me. By removing the lie, only the truth remains. I feel that my truth is that I was always a writer waiting for his moment.
What makes you most passionate about being a writer?
It fascinates me that there is nothing written about my future. When you write, in a way, you are also writing your next step. Where do you want to go as a person and as a writer? I think that life always surprises us, and I am passionate about not knowing what my next book will be about.
Illustration by Raquel Catalina from Madani’s Best Game
What’s a typical workday like?
I don’t have any “normal” days at work. In Spanish the word “normal” has its origin in “norm,” something like a law that must be followed. Writing is an art, and I consider art to be alive. I let it surprise me. I come up with stories in the most outlandish situations possible, and, sometimes, in front of the computer and with time to write, nothing comes to me. Of course, when a story asks to be told, I move everything around me to sit down and write.
How much research do you do before you begin a book?
It depends on the book. But even if it’s a simple topic—let’s say a story about frogs—I like to read about batrachians, customs, habitats… I like to have a lot of information about the topic I’m dealing with, even if it isn’t reflected in the book afterwards. Although the most important thing I consider is the impulse. Data doesn’t make good stories.
“I love being a writer. I think I am very lucky. I like to remind myself.” —Fran Pintadera
Where do you find your inspiration for new stories and characters?
Life is full of stimulation. I stopped looking a long time ago. However, inspiration keeps showing up. Yes, life is infinite and it is enough to learn to look at it.
What has been the most memorable reaction you’ve received from a reader so far?
A woman wrote to me after reading my book Why Do We Cry?. She told me that she had experienced a profound loss and had been unable to cry ever since. His emotion was covered up. She told me that after reading this book she uncovered something and cried again, and that she felt very liberated. It was very shocking to me.
What do you hope kids learn from Madani’s Best Game?
I hope, above all, that they enjoy the story. It was exciting for me to write it, hopefully they find it exciting too. How nice it would be if Madani opened their eyes and made them look around with a changed outlook. This story would be great to add to learning to look beyond what is visible.
Illustration by Raquel Catalina from Madani’s Best Game
When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?
Making music, reading, walking with my dog and my family. And practicing some sport (but not soccer, I leave that to Madani).
Can you tell us one thing people may not know about you?
I love being a writer. I think I am very lucky. I like to remind myself. And I like my readers to know that. I am lucky to have them on the other side. This is teamwork.
In Spanish
Pintadera, Fran WHY ARE WE AFRAID? Kids Can (Children's None) $19.99 6, 6 ISBN: 9781525311291
After the electricity cuts off during a thunderstorm, a pajama-clad father and son discuss fears by candlelight.
As this Spanish import opens, Max asks his dad if he has ever been afraid. Dad explains that fear is universal--and he acknowledges how quickly it can arise. Instantly the home is filled with black ovals of different sizes. As Dad describes various types of fears, Max vividly conjures up visuals. There is fear of the unknown, depicted as a maze of trees, and loneliness, paired with an image of a huddled Max looking at a group of partygoers. There are times when people are afraid "because the real monsters aren't under the bed after all." Planes drop black ovals over a city, causing smoke to billow. Pintadera, Sender, and Petricic explored the complexities of another emotion in Why Do We Cry? (2020); they are equally effective in developing a nuanced approach to this topic, even suggesting that "Often we're afraid of freedom." Max is not consumed by this conversation. When the streetlights come on, he wants to linger in semidarkness, because "It's the perfect night for telling stories." Scary ones. With its surreal imagery, the stylized, arresting artwork evokes fear yet also hope in the face of terror. Max and Dad are both brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A safe space to examine a powerful, often overwhelming feeling. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Pintadera, Fran: WHY ARE WE AFRAID?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743460710/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=dae75f2d. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Pintadera, Fran WHY DO WE CRY? Kids Can (Children's Fiction) $16.99 4, 7 ISBN: 978-1-5253-0477-4
A boy asks his mother a simple question and receives a not-so-simple answer.
Mario's mother lists some of the many reasons people cry in sensitively nuanced metaphors layered with emotional truths. Each spread prints one word or phrase in a slightly larger font than the rest, subtly but effectively drawing readers' attention to a particular feeling. Among the obvious are "sadness," "anger," and "happy." The more nuanced concepts include "grow," "lock," and "wall," which the surrounding text and illustrations help convey. All the while, readers see a young girl, perhaps the mother when she was young, experiencing these emotions. Encapsulating it all, Mario's mother finally says, "But more than anything, sweetheart, we cry because we feel like crying." In the backmatter, Pintadera further answers other, scientifically based questions about tears, such as "What are tears made of?" and "Why are tears good for us?" While the scientific perspective at first seems out of place in such an emotional book, it helps remove some of the stigma surrounding the act of crying. The text assures readers that tears are a natural biological function with several purposes: "Who cries?…crying is universal, just like laughter." Additional discussion activities prompt readers to make personal connections. This book, originally published in Spain, features a pale-skinned, black-haired parent and child. The textured images generate appropriate moods, providing powerful symbolic visuals for the addressed emotions. Many could hang in an art gallery as part of a surrealist collection.
This exploration of tears is reassuring and nonjudgmental. (Picture book. 3-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Pintadera, Fran: WHY DO WE CRY?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A609999095/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7abfeea4. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Why Do We Cry? By Fran Pintadera. Illus. by Ana Sender. Apr. 2020. 34p. Kids Can, $16.99 (9781525304774). PreS-Gr. 2.
Pintadera and Sender's wonderful book for inquisitive children is laced with colorful images, beautiful language, and facts about the phenomenon of crying. It paints a story of bonding between a mother and son who openly discuss their feelings. While playing in the park one day, the boy wants to know why people cry. Using poetic examples of people who shed tears from anger or sadness, loneliness or happiness, the mother helps her son understand the myriad causes for tears. The dreamlike illustrations use colors to convey both the mood and tempo of the text, casting the mother as a young girl in each proffered scenario. For instance, one spread shows the girl staring up at an expansive wall, with text that reads, "Often, we cry when we run into a wall. When that happens, we don't cry because we're hurt, but because the wall seems impossible to climb." Simultaneously accessible and profound, this book will appeal to young readers through its relatable content and engaging illustrations. The author concludes with questions, scientific facts about tears, and extension activities to further augment the book's value. Librarians, media specialists, and preschool teachers who are putting together units on self-concept and learning to express emotions will find this insightful work extremely useful.--Tiffany Flowers
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Flowers, Tiffany. "Why Do We Cry?" Booklist, vol. 116, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2020, p. 78. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616047240/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7b5c89b4. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Pintadera, Fran MADANI'S BEST GAME Eerdmans (Children's None) $17.99 10, 11 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5597-8
A celebration of a neighborhood soccer team's star player.
"Our whole neighborhood knows it: No one plays soccer like Madani does." Though he may not be the tallest or the fastest, he definitely stands out--because he doesn't wear any shoes when he plays and because there's nothing he can't do with the ball. "Madani makes the ball twirl and passes it from one side to the other. He hides it between his legs, shrugs it over his shoulders, catches it on his head ." Madani's mother is unable to come watch the games because she is a seamstress and must finish her work. But as she sews, she hears the game's cheers. Madani's teammates imagine how much better Madani could play with a pair of cleats. When he hints that he is saving money for something that will improve his game, they hope his cleats come in time before their match against a rival team. But instead, he buys something else--something that allows his mother to hear the cheers firsthand and joyfully join in. Pintadera's author's note mentions that working with immigrant families--including a boy named Madani--inspired this story. Madani has dark hair and light skin; most characters are light-skinned. Smudgy, sepia-tinged tones warm the palette of this already heartwarming story. Translated from Spanish, the lyrical text is by turns poignant and triumphant. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An unselfish gift given from the biggest heart. (Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Pintadera, Fran: MADANI'S BEST GAME." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A711906604/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=76856e09. Accessed 14 May 2023.
Madani's Best Game. By Fran Pintadera. Illus. by Raquel Catalina. Tr. by Lawrence Schimel. Oct. 2022. 48p. Eerdmans, $17.99 (9780802855978). K-Gr. 2.
Everyone knows that "no one plays soccer like Madani does." Madani is the best soccer player his town has seen--and he plays barefooted. When he scores a goal, the celebration echoes all the way up to his house, where his hard-working mother proudly hears the cheers. His teammates imagine how Madani would play even better with cleats, and they burst with excitement when the boy takes the coins he's been saving in a metal tin to go shopping before a match with a rival team. Madani and his teammates have different ideas about what would make their games "better than ever," though, and Madani's ultimate purchase delivers an uplifting message of generosity with a different goal in mind. Translated from Spanish, the well-paced and kindly first-person-plural text was inspired, per a note, by the author's work in immigrant neighborhoods. Lively illustrations, rendered in pencil, gouache, and colored pencil, make great use of white space and feature a rosycheeked, bustling community in warm sepias with smudged lines. An enthusiastic and altruistic heartwarmer.--Kit Ballenger
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Ballenger, Kit. "Madani's Best Game." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2022, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A720255888/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=311884db. Accessed 14 May 2023.