LAMBERTO, LAMBERTO, LAMBERTO

In this Italian import, first published in 1978, an elderly nobleman discovers the secret to youth…and endures the troubles that follow.

On a private island, 93-year-old Baron Lamberto abides with 24 maladies and his manservant, Anselmo. Together, the two invite six people to repeat the name “Lamberto” without cease. They are well paid and well fed but baffled by the assignment. They wouldn’t be if they could see how their efforts cause the aged baron to grow younger and younger. His greedy nephew Ottavio catches wind of the operation and schemes to get his inheritance sooner, but his nefarious plans are upended by the arrival of 24 bandits who promptly ransom Lamberto for their own purposes. While the storytelling traipses dangerously close to being more amusing to adults than children, its illogical logic more often than not transcends age. Translator Shugaar perfectly taps into the fiasco’s flavor, deftly displaying Rodari’s propensity for silliness, though his introduction makes it clear that there are political messages embedded throughout, which young readers likely won’t pick up on. Muradov’s illustrations pay homage to Bruno Munari’s abstract artwork, featured in the book’s 1980 edition, while giving the tale a gentle tone entirely of its own. Some parents or caregivers may be a bit perturbed by the images of oversize guns. Characters have skin the white of the page.

Supremely sophisticated bedtime fare, Rodari’s mildly muddled hoot revels in its own peculiar humor.