Having won the 2020 edition of the prestigious Andersen Prize, the Italian illustrator recently released A Year in Fleurville, a cookbook, a mini guide to gardening, and a picture book rolled into one, celebrating the cycle of the seasons.
Sala’s passion for illustrating children’s books was a sweet discovery that came over time.
A Year in Fleurville is the sequel to Lunch At 10 Pomegranate Street, which was the first book that she not only illustrated, but wrote as well.
Published by Scribble Kids Books, it hit the shelves of Australian stores a few months ago and will be released in Italy in April.
Sala published her first book with French publisher Éditions Cambourakis and said the company had been urging her to write a sequel for a long time.
“I’d thought about it for over a year, but I couldn’t find the key to making a cookbook that started from the same building as the first book but that was also original,” she explained.
“In May 2020, towards the end of Italy’s lockdown, the idea came to me: a year of recipes in a city, from people’s houses, gardens and balconies, ending in a big picnic scene to celebrate the return of spring.”
Each double page includes a large illustration of a character, showing a variety of places and different techniques for growing delicious food, and a recipe page, presented in a very visual way.
The picture book also features six non-fiction pages, with tips and ideas for planting all kinds of fruit and vegetables.
Felicita Sala
Born in Rome, Sala migrated to Perth with her family at the age of seven and lived in the city until she completed a university degree in philosophy.
In 2007, out of a desire for change, she decided to return to her hometown.
While in the Italian capital, she discovered children’s illustration, which is considered a real art form in Europe, unlike in Australia where at the time it was still an underdeveloped field.
Having taught English in adult schools, Sala was still unsure which path she wanted to pursue and whether Europe or Australia would be her permanent home.
“As I became familiar with the publishing world in Europe, I fell in love with illustrated books,” she said.
“In Australia, I’d never seen the variety and the artistic freedom that exists in this field, especially in France, Spain, Italy and Sweden.
“I decided that this was where I wanted to work.”
Sala has now been pursuing her passion for a decade, turning it into a career six years ago.
She has illustrated almost 20 books, one of which was selected among the 10 best illustrated children’s books in 2018 by The New York Times in collaboration with the New York Public Library.
Sala is currently working on more illustrations for books by other authors.
“This year, I’ve worked on two books about the night, both written by American authors,” she concluded.
“They’re very beautiful texts that pushed me to create new and different illustrations.”
