The beginning

Despite the cruel and devastating effects of a war, this poetic story is a message of hope. It's told from childhood and takes us to where bombs explode with every attention to detail.
“The Beginning” contrasts tenderness with horror, imagination with terrible hardship, and the strength of close family ties with the human drama. Paula Carballeira is skilfully turns the cruel, devastating effects of war into a beautiful poem, while the hyper-realistic illustrations by Sonja Danowski take readers into the ruins of the bombardment. This sensitive story is also a tribute to books as instruments of peace, libraries as glowing beacons that fade in the shadow of violence, and the spoken word as sustenance for our souls. Despite everything, “The Beginning” transmits a message of hope: life goes on, smiles are still infectious, children’s childhoods remain intact, despite the efforts of armed conflict to snatch them away.