A day off is a day in French and Portuguese

Please excuse me as I “take a break” from reading about how we look at children. Here, an excerpt and accompanying images from an illustrated book I was recently given. The book is called “Le Chat Bleu du Palais Fronteira/O Gato Azul do Palácio Fronteira,” and it is written in French and Portugese. So please excuse me again as I post in a non-English language.

In French:

Elle accompagnait ses parents. Leur intérêt pour les azulejos — ces carreaux de céramique en couleur peints à la main — les menait au Portugal, de manoir en château.

À travers la grille du Palais Fronteira, ils remarquèrent un fragment de mur aux carreaux bleus vernissés. Cette vision rappelait à Iris les images entrevues dans un livre où les animaux apparaissaient bleus. . . Une couleur qui ouvrait les portes du rêve.

In Portuguese:

Ela acompanhava os pais. O seu interesse pelos azulejos — esses ladrilhos de cerâmica colorida e pintada à mão — levou-os a Portugal, de casa senhorial em castelo.

Através das grades do Palácio Fronteira repararam num fragmento de parede recoberto de ladrilhos azuis esmaltados. Esta visão lembrava a Iris as imagens entrevistas num livro onde os animais eram azuis. Uma cor que abria as portas ao sonho.

The book tells the story of a girl named Iris and her cat Féline as they wander about the Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira, in Lisbon—the private residence of the Marquesses, I believe—and watch a character from the beautiful blue tiles come to life. The story (and beautiful illustrations) are inspired by the palace’s real tiles, which have decorated its gardens since before 1673.

— Alexia Raynal, Zeteo Deputy Editor

To read more posts in the fields of children and childhood by Alexia Raynal, visit her ZiR page here.

Le Chat Bleu du Palais Fronteira/O Gato Azul do Palácio Fronteira was published by Éditions de l’Araignée in 1998. Story by Brigitte Maison; Illustratuins by Jean-Claude Debray.