Synopsis
As a very hot day in a Spanish village by the sea draws to a close, the children have grown bored and quarrelsome. They turn to their uncle to amuse them. He, too, is ready for a break from his work and tells them a story they love to hear.
Once he had grand dreams of seeing the world, but now he is known as “Tapicero Tap Tap,” after the sounds that come from his humble furniture workshop. The war robbed him of his dreams of travel and he stayed in his small Spanish village making fine sofas and chairs.
But Tapicero Tap Tap is far from bitter: he has found and shared the treasures of a productive life lived among family and good friends. And besides, it’s never too late to travel.
Warabé Aska’s stunning art and moving text combine in a story that transcends time and place.
Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D. - Children's Literature
Warabe Aska, an internationally renowned artist, paints a story that will remain in readers' imaginations long after they close the cover of this book. Tapicero Tap Tap takes place in a sleepy Spanish village by the sea. One day the children turn to Grandpapa, Tapicero Tap Tap, for entertainment. They follow him to the workshop where he builds a great sofa. There, his words take them back to a long ago childhood. As a boy, Grandpapa dreamed of traveling around the world, seeing far-off places, and meeting people. His dream ended with the economic realities of a war, but Tapicero Tap Tap discovered a world of treasures at his fingertips. Among kin and friends in his hometown, the world comes to him. At the end of the story, Grandpapa begins a journey around the world. Readers end their imaginative trip through the beautiful landscape that only a master artist and writer can create. 2006, Tundra Books, Ages 4 up.