

Magic candies
Dong-Dong is always playing by himself. No one ever invites him out and he finds very difficult to make the first move. But he likes marbles a lot. So, one day, he decides to buy some new ones, without realising that they're actually sweets – very special sweets, as a matter of fact. Each one has a different flavour (the Scottish one tastes like peppermint, the spotty one tastes like his dog). Each one, as he enjoys it, allows him to hear the true voice of things and people: that of his dog, the sofa, and even that of his father...
One sweet leads to another and, little by little, Dong-Dong starts seeing the world through different eyes, interacting, feeling new emotions and finally he even ends up making friends with other children.
Le caramelle magiche by Heena Baek, which was also awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2020, was created using a very particular technique: the characters seems moulded by hand with clay, in settings fit for a stop-motion feature. The great expressiveness of their faces, the accuracy of their clothing and backgrounds succeed – also thanks to the playful use of light – in recreating the atmosphere of a cinema set while always keeping the protagonist's feelings on the foreground.
Relationships with his peers, his pet, his father, his grand-mother who had passed away, follow one another within a fantastical and ironic frame, and little Dong-Dong learns to relish these relationships, getting closer to others, approach them with earnestness and sincerity.
Ironic, delicate, touching, with a simple yet essential message: to find our voice, we first need to listen to that of others.
Premio Andersen's critical argument for Le caramelle magiche as Best Graphic Novel: For its fantastical narration suitable to children, which amuses and touches, and where magic becomes the chance to wonder about the words we exchange every day, the relationships with those around us, those who are no longer there, and those who we have not yet met. For its original images, veritable worlds created by the author so that readers can immerse themselves into a tale of friendship, enchantment and courage.
Le caramelle magiche (Magic candies)
by Heena Baek
Terre di Mezzo, 2022