Description
Madurer is the son of a great lord with untold wealth, but he is also the victim of a mysterious disease that means he cannot be exposed to sunlight or fresh air. Confined to three windowless rooms inside a palace, his doting father summons a famous artist to cover the walls of the rooms with paintings showing the world his son cannot experience for real. As the painter works on his murals, his relationship with the boy begins to deepen until they forge a firm friendship. How can he show this child the beauty of the world with only his paintbrush to work with?
About the Author
Born in 1947, Roberto Piumini is Italy's foremost living author of children's stories. His books are found in every Italian bookshop and school and have been translated into many languages across the world. He received the Rodari Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, and is nominated for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award. Glowrushes was first published in 1987 and is considered his masterpiece.
Reviews
I don't think I have read anything like this before - a tale of life, death love and beauty that by the storyteller's art makes those things true, fresh, real and important. I hope this unforgettable story finds all the readers it deserves. -- Philip Pullman
You see it, feel it, live it as you read. Lyrical, magical, tender and true, and deeply mysterious. -- Michael Morpurgo * BookTrust Best Children's Books of the Year *
Very elegantly written... A beautiful novel -- Laura Battle * Life and Art from FT Weekend *
I cry, honestly, if I even think of this book. It's truly a masterpiece and everyone has to read it. I'm just utterly gripped by the sparkling perfection of it, and while I was reading it I could think of nothing else - I just kept running back to the book -- Emily Drabble
A masterpiece about a masterpiece, for all ages... Once in a great while a book comes along that's equally enthralling for children and the people they call grown-ups - a book playful and accessible enough to hold a young person's attention yet sufficiently resonant and complex to keep a seasoned reader turning its pages, sometimes even while fighting back tears * New York Times *
A touching story of friendship... The perfect stocking-filler for thoughtful children... Beautiful * The Times, Children's Book of the Week *
A great Turkish lord hires an artist to paint his sick son's rooms for his 11th birthday, and together the boy and the painter create walls of wondrous imaginary landscapes. It turns out that you don't have to travel outside your own room to inhabit new worlds... Reminds me of The Little Prince * Spectator, Children's Books of the Year *
This elegant, moving novella is a classic of Italian children's literature, filled with understatedly exquisite, transporting prose. * The Guardian *
Half this story's beauty lies in the tenderness of the love that grows between its three central characters... The other half comes from the language. Each word is chosen and placed with reverent care, creating a rich, textured landscape that seems like the stuff of dreams given physical form. There's something utterly spellbinding about how gently, and inexorably, the story flows on toward a conclusion that's both heartbreaking and hopeful... An elegy, timeless and entrancing * Kirkus, starred review *
Unforgettable and unputdownable. Highly recommended for upper KS2 and KS3 * School Reading List, Children's Book of the Month *
As gorgeous as the cover suggests... Extremely gentle and elegant... A beautiful thing -- Clementine Beauvais, author of Piglettes
This modern Italian classic, written as a traditional fable in poetic prose, will transport readers, young and old alike, into an enchanting, magical bygone realm * Words Without Borders Best Books of 2022 *
I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down. A wonderful book about parental love, friendship, beauty, life and death. Read this one, you will not be disappointed. * ReadingZone *
I read Glowrushes last year & fell in love... 125 pgs of perfection that will make your heart feel tender
Just amazing... So beautiful -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce, The Island of Brilliant
Book Information
ISBN 9781782695134
Author Roberto Piumini
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Pushkin Children's Books
Publisher Pushkin Press
Series Pushkin Children's Classics
About the Author
Born in 1947, Roberto Piumini is Italy's foremost living author of children's stories. His books are found in every Italian bookshop and school and have been translated into many languages across the world. He received the Rodari Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, and is nominated for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award. Glowrushes was first published in 1987 and is considered his masterpiece.
Reviews
I don't think I have read anything like this before - a tale of life, death love and beauty that by the storyteller's art makes those things true, fresh, real and important. I hope this unforgettable story finds all the readers it deserves. -- Philip Pullman
You see it, feel it, live it as you read. Lyrical, magical, tender and true, and deeply mysterious. -- Michael Morpurgo * BookTrust Best Children's Books of the Year *
Very elegantly written... A beautiful novel -- Laura Battle * Life and Art from FT Weekend *
I cry, honestly, if I even think of this book. It's truly a masterpiece and everyone has to read it. I'm just utterly gripped by the sparkling perfection of it, and while I was reading it I could think of nothing else - I just kept running back to the book -- Emily Drabble
A masterpiece about a masterpiece, for all ages... Once in a great while a book comes along that's equally enthralling for children and the people they call grown-ups - a book playful and accessible enough to hold a young person's attention yet sufficiently resonant and complex to keep a seasoned reader turning its pages, sometimes even while fighting back tears * New York Times *
A touching story of friendship... The perfect stocking-filler for thoughtful children... Beautiful * The Times, Children's Book of the Week *
A great Turkish lord hires an artist to paint his sick son's rooms for his 11th birthday, and together the boy and the painter create walls of wondrous imaginary landscapes. It turns out that you don't have to travel outside your own room to inhabit new worlds... Reminds me of The Little Prince * Spectator, Children's Books of the Year *
This elegant, moving novella is a classic of Italian children's literature, filled with understatedly exquisite, transporting prose. * The Guardian *
Half this story's beauty lies in the tenderness of the love that grows between its three central characters... The other half comes from the language. Each word is chosen and placed with reverent care, creating a rich, textured landscape that seems like the stuff of dreams given physical form. There's something utterly spellbinding about how gently, and inexorably, the story flows on toward a conclusion that's both heartbreaking and hopeful... An elegy, timeless and entrancing * Kirkus, starred review *
Unforgettable and unputdownable. Highly recommended for upper KS2 and KS3 * School Reading List, Children's Book of the Month *
As gorgeous as the cover suggests... Extremely gentle and elegant... A beautiful thing -- Clementine Beauvais, author of Piglettes
This modern Italian classic, written as a traditional fable in poetic prose, will transport readers, young and old alike, into an enchanting, magical bygone realm * Words Without Borders Best Books of 2022 *
I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down. A wonderful book about parental love, friendship, beauty, life and death. Read this one, you will not be disappointed. * ReadingZone *
I read Glowrushes last year & fell in love... 125 pgs of perfection that will make your heart feel tender
Just amazing... So beautiful -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce, The Island of Brilliant
Book Information
ISBN 9781782695134
Author Roberto Piumini
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Pushkin Children's Books
Publisher Pushkin Press
Series Pushkin Children's Classics
