Mafalda - (Mafalda and Friends) by Quino (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Introducing the South American comic sensation starring a hilarious 6-year-old whose spunky self-confidence will inspire budding activists and curious middle grade readers along with adult fans.

Mafalda may be small--but her hopes for the world are as big as her heart!

Six-year-old Mafalda loves democracy and hates soup. What democratic sector do cats fall into? she asks, then unfurls a toilet paper red carpet and gives her very own presidential address. Mafalda's precociousness and passion stump all grown-ups around her. Dissident and rebellious, she refuses to abandon the world to her parents' generation, who seem so lost. Alongside the irascible Mafalda, readers will meet her eclectic group of playmates: dreamy Felipe and gossipy Susanita, young-capitalist Manolito and rebellious Miguelito. Quino's bright irony and intelligence bring the streets and neighborhoods of Buenos Aires to life.

You can clearly see Mafalda is small, but her hopes for the world and her heart are huge and as sincere as can be. Generations of readers have discovered themselves in Mafalda, and learned to question, rebel, and hope.

Since Quino first drew her in the early 1960s, Mafalda has captured public imagination in Latin America and beyond. Her wit and empathy have made her an enduring favorite.

Review Quotes

"Mafalda is a hero of our time." --Umberto Eco

"Each Quino book is happiness." --Gabriel García Márquez

"Quino's cartoons made sense of the absurd details of life and society. Each lesson is a wink of silent laughter turned to pure philosophy, social criticism, expressive gestures, and the most refined humor. What a great companion Malfalda has been." --Ana Merino

"I can't imagine Mafalda except as the witty girl she was, is, and always will be. Comic characters have that privilege (like Peter Pan) of never aging." --Roberto Fontanarrosa

"The real Little Prince was Quino." --Miguel Rep

"I don't believe humor can alter anything. But sometimes it can be the little grain of sand that acts as a catalyst to change." --Quino

"Mafalda was a heady mixture of irony and sweet naivete. Filled with subtle references, thinly veiled political debates, and ellipses . . . Quino's characters formed a community of belonging--a progressive, left-wing, and rebellious sensibility that readers around the world could identify with. Quino's Mafalda thus became a contemporary myth, a way of giving meaning to modern social existence." --Isabella Cosse, Jacobin

About the Author

Quino (Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón) was an Argentine cartoonist whose beloved Mafalda comic strips were first published in 1964 and ran until 1973. Quino created Mafalda and the stories of his rebellious character have been translated into twenty-six languages and published in newspapers and magazines worldwide.

Frank Wynne is literary translator from the French and Spanish whose authors include Despentes, Modiano, González, Allende, and Houellebecq. He worked as a bookseller in Paris in the 80s, and also translated and published comics.