Candido and Everybody Else

This is Cándido. He’s not like anyone else.
Sometimes, he feels different. Misunderstood.
Other times, he’s the one who doesn’t understand anything.

We’re all different. And this is how Cándido is presented to us: a peculiar person with
a great need to express himself to the world around him, to be understood and accepted.
Rarely has such an apparently simple text promoted such a profound and necessary
reflection of a complex society as this. The main character feels odd; he shares his
feelings towards those around him with the readers, while we discover what others think
about him. Oblivious to the faceless crowd that follows changing fashions, Cándido feels
out of place, but tries to go unnoticed; he’s aware of the sense of insecurity and
loneliness comes about as a result of being ignored. And although the world has become a
hostile place to nature and people, the positive thing is that there is always a meeting
point that unites Cándido and everybody else. Well, not all of them. But that’s another
story.

Key points

2019 – National Award for Best Edited Books
2018 – XI International Compostela Prize for Picture Books

• Minimalist story in text and illustrations but with a very powerful content, since it
talks about the perception of oneself, the isolation in a cold and standardized society
like the present, and how we are all a little bit different.
• The schematic and flat figures, sometimes with an abstract touch, perfectly convey the
complex essence of the work without leaving aside the humor.

Fran Pintadera

2024-2016 – Eight times awarded by Cuatrogatos Foundation, 100 Recommended Books
2024 – IBBY Belgium, Best Translation Award
2023 – IBBY Mexico, Children and Young Adults Book Guide
2022 – Banco del Libro de Venezuela, Best Books for Children and Young People Award

Christian Inaraja

2022 – IBBY Honour List
2022 – Selected in Sharjah Exhibition For Children’s Book Illustration
2021 – Cuatrogatos Foundation, 100 Recommended Books
2017 – Selected in Bologna Children’s Book Fair
2017 – IBBY Colombia Award, Highly Recommended Book