HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

A curious mind leads to many paths.

Sofía is an inquisitive child full of questions about the world. The teacher, though, thinks that Sofía isn’t attentive enough: “You must see so many birds with your head in the clouds!” An appealing image depicts several birds atop Sofía’s head. One day, instead of listening to the teacher’s lesson, Sofía decides to ask the questions that matter the most. The inquiries range from silly and childlike (“Does a cow’s baby know I drink its mom’s milk?”) to the accidentally profound (“Can I be good and happy at the same time?”). Yet Sofía’s teacher isn’t amused and responds, “When there are many paths, I always pick the same one.” So Sofía gives her a gift (“This little bird is for you. I see lots of them”) in the hopes that she’ll learn to think outside the box. Araya’s mixed-media art beautifully captures the controlled chaos of the mind of a child along with text, translated from Spanish, in a font that looks like scribblings. The spreads where Sofía asks a multitude of questions are infused with color—a drastic contrast to those featuring the teacher, rendered in dull grays and plain, neutral backgrounds that highlight the sometimes monotonous nature of adulthood. Characters have skin the color of the page.

A graceful look at the power of harnessing the limitless possibilities of life.