Spiridon Vangeli

Eight of Moldovan author Spiridon Vangheli's classic stories about Guguze - a beloved child character whose name means "little guy" - are presented in this charming collection. In A Private Desk we meet the young Guguze, who longs to go to school, even though he is too young. Winter Meets Guguze sees our hero in his distinctive hat - something for which the character is known - as the snowflakes cling to him. In The Snow People, the snowmen Guguze creates demand something to do, while The Magic Hat explores some of the unusual qualities of Guguze's trademark headwear. In The Watch, Guguze longs for and eventually obtains his father's time keeper, and in His Grandfather's Walking Stick he himself provides something important to his beloved elder. Guguza sees our hero finally heading to school, where his desk-mate is a girl named Guguza. Finally, in New Year's Eve at the Forrester's Cottage, a young girl is delighted when the traditional carolers who come to various homes during the holiday season find their way to her own out of the way cottage, led by Guguze.

Translated into English by Miriam Morton in 1977 and illustrated by celebrated American artist Trina Schart Hyman, Meet Guguze is a delightful book, pairing a gentle and entertaining set of stories with lovely illustrations. Guguze himself is an engaging character, and his childlike wonder as he moves through the events of his everyday life is depicted with sympathy and sensitivity. I can certainly understand why he is considered a staple of Moldovan childhood! Some of Vangheli's tales have an element of magic - the hat that expands as needed, the snow people who come alive at night - but for the most part these are stories of life in a small village, and deal with Guguze's family and school circle. The best children's literature has a certain something - a subtle, almost indefinable feeling of "childness," of capturing the child's own perspective - and these stories have it. The accompanying artwork of Hyman, in this American translation, is likewise charming, and although created by a woman half a world away, seem to fit the story perfectly. Recommended to anyone looking for obscure and now mostly forgotten (in the Anglophone world, anyway) children's books, to fans of the artist, and to anyone interested in Moldovan children's literature.… (mehr)