The Collector of Heads

by Ana Matsusaki, Bruna Dantas Lobato (Translator)

Overview

There are all kinds of collections in this world…serious, funny, weird. Imagination has no limits! And Rosália's collection might be the weirdest yet, as she collects the heads, histories, and memories of those who have died. Ana Matsusaki's beautifully illustrated book explores the delicate and complex cultural aspects of death with great humor and invites us to reflect on the shared and unique contents inside each of our heads.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781734783988
Publisher:	Tapioca Stories Llc
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Pages:	44
Product dimensions:	9.45(w) x 9.45(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Bruna Dantas Lobato is a fiction writer and literary translator based in St. Louis. Her recent translations include Caio Fernando Abreu’s Moldy Strawberries, Stênio Gardel’s The Words That Remain, and Giovana Madalosso’s Tokyo Suite.ANA MATSUSAKI was born in São Paulo and has a degree in graphic design from the Centro Universitário Belas Artes. Since 2015, she’s worked as an illustrator and book designer. In 2019 and again in 2021, her work was selected for inclusion in the Catálogo Iberoamérica Ilustra, which features the most important names working in illustration in the region. Her work has also been selected for the 2021 Biennial of Illustration Bratislava. The Collector of Heads is her debut book, originally published in Brazil and a finalist of the 2021 Jabuti Award.

Editorial Reviews

"Oooo! You just know you’re in good hands when you see a title like that! Meet Ana Matsusaki, a debut author illustrator from Brazil. Now what is the premise of this book? I’ll show rather than tell: A little morbid? Maybe. But awfully Wednesday Addams, wouldn’t you agree? The cool trick to this book is that you can see what’s inside of each head … And don’t worry. Ana Matsusaki is also willing to put her own head on the line.”— Fuse 8, a School Library Journal blog by Betsy Bird

“Latin American author/artist Ana Matsusaki's beautifully illustrated book, The Collector of Heads is ably translated into English by Bruna Dantas Lobato and explores the delicate and complex cultural aspects of death with great humor and invites children to reflect on the shared and unique contents inside each of our heads. Original, entertaining, thought-provoking, The Collector of Heads is an unusual and highly recommended addition to elementary school, middle school, and community library picture book collections." —Midwest Book Review

“Rosália makes for an unusual picture book character, with her skull and crossbones tattoo, black cat, and collection of heads in jars. Using mixed media collages, Brazilian-Japanese artist Ana Matsusaki leads us on a visual inspection of the shelves in Rosália’s laboratory … The artwork is whimsical and wonderful, with dark blood red throughout and lots of black and pink … Fans of Jon Klassen may enjoy meeting Rosália and her macabre collection.” —Youth Services Book Review

From the Publisher

2023-10-07
A quick-witted Brazilian import asks big questions within a mildly creepy framework.

There are all sorts of things out there that people like to collect. Facts. Travels. Battles. But Rosália? She collects heads. There’s the architect’s head, which is filled with thoughts and emotions, such as “the fear of tilting her straight lines” and “the dream of living at a time when the hanging gardens of Babylon were in bloom.” There’s the child’s head, which contains “a nosy dog called Zipolite,” and a rich lady’s head with its “eight ways of forgetting her loneliness.” Somehow the book walks the tightrope between the body horror of keeping heads in jars and the sheer delight of what those heads might contain. Brought to life by art that’s a mixed-media bonanza of different styles and feelings, this illogical logic ties the narrative together, inviting children to respond to “What’s in your head?” by drawing in the book and then, inevitably, to speculate about what might be in Rosália’s. Strange and sweet, mysterious and open-ended, this is a book for introspective kids, the ones unafraid to ask the big questions. Characters’ skin tones are depicted in a wide range of vibrant hues.

Introspective intelligentsia in a clever format encourages readers to ponder what our personalities boil down to. (Picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews