Juan Muñoz Martín. A contemporary classic of children's literature

Today is International Children's and Youth Book Day. It is celebrated on the date of birth of the Danish master of the story classic Hans Christian Andersen. And Juan Muñoz Martin is ours contemporary classic of the genre. Perhaps less known by younger generations, for those of us who already have an age, our childhood cannot be understood without its pirate Tick ni Friar Perico and his donkey. This is a review to his figure and his work.

Juan Muñoz Martin

He continues to live in the Madrid neighborhood of Tetuan and it goes to the 91 years. Also keep writing. From very strict military father and little inclined to have a reading child, Juan Muñoz Martín studied French philology and it ended up being school teacher and especially writer and. Admirer of Poe, Stevenson and Dickens, whose influence is found in his work, last year there were 40 years since he won the Steam Boat Award with its characters from the Salamanca friar Fray Perico and his donkey. His adventures take more than 60 reissues. Them and him pirate tick consist of icons full Spanish children's literature from the last quarter of the XNUMXth century. All his works have sold million copies and have been translated to Many languages.

His work has also received more awards. The first was the Maid children's story, in 1966, by The three stones. After that of Barco de Vapor, in 1979; also the third Grand Angle Award of a juvenile novel, in 1984, by The mechanical man. And the Complutense Cervantes Chico First Prize of Children's and Youth Literature, in 1992.

Friar Perico and his donkey

This XNUMXth century friar that comes with your donkey Sock to a convent of Salamanca He is going to revolutionize the tranquility that his 20 companions had, starting by talking with the sculpture they have of San Francisco. There they will live all sorts of adventures with him historical background of the War of Independence against the French. In one of them, he will even meet Don Quixote?

The series consists of 9 titles:

1. Friar Perico and his donkey
2. Friar Perico at war
3. Fray Perico, Calcetín and the guerrilla Martín
4. Friar Perico in peace
5. New Adventures of Friar Perico
6. Friar Perico and Monpetit
7. Friar Perico and spring
8. Friar Perico and Christmas
9. Friar Perico de la Mancha

The Pirate Tick

With its first edition of 1982, the pirate Garrapata ended up becoming a series of several titles where this XNUMXth century pirateKnown as "the terror of London", he lived his adventures in a thousand and one destinations. With their ships, all called Mullet, He has been in China, Africa, Japan, Egypt, Roma, America and even the Luna has stepped on 16 volumes.

Of course, he has not done it alone, but with a gallery of unforgettable characters as his cronies. Chaparrete, Carafoca or El Chino, her nephew lettuce, the doctor Spoon, the chief of police Lord Chaparrete, or the admiral Whiting, whose daughter Floripondia She is the beloved of Garrapata who was previously engaged to Lord Pistolette, the villain of the stories.

The Serie:

1. The Pirate Tick
2. The Pirate Tick in Africa
3. The pirate Tick in the lands of Cleopatra
4. The pirate Tick arrives on foot to the temple of Abu Simbel
5. The pirate Garrapata is pharaoh in the time of Tutankhamun
6. The pirate Tick in China
7. The Pirate Tick in Beijing and the Mandarin Singe
8. The pirate Tick in the Forbidden City of Beijing almost lost his toupee
9. The Pirate Tick in India
10. The pirate Tick in Japan
11. The Pirate Tick in the Underground Countries
12. The pirate Tick in Rome
13. The Pirate Tick on the Moon
14. The pirate Garrapata in the Prado Museum
15. The Pirate Tick in America
16. The pirate Garrapata in Chichen Itza

Other characters

Juan Muñoz Martín also created other characters such as Cyprianus, Gladiator Romanus, Caralampio Pérez, Baldomero the gunman, or King Sisebuto, but the success of Fray Perico y Garrapata overshadowed them. However, his short story production is very extensive.