Pezzettino

In a fable of self-discovery with much of the same graphic appeal as his first children’s book, Little Blue and Little Yellow, Leo Lionni gives colorful mosaic-like shapes human characteristics to tell his story of how the smallest of them all found his place in the world. “Pezettini” means “little piece” in Italian, a metaphor in this tale for “little child.” Originally published in 1975, it has not been available in any editon for about 20 years and is part of our on-going reissues of the best of this four time Caldecott Honor Book winner.

A classic fable about the search for identity, from Caldecott Honor winning picture book creator Leo Lionni.

Pezzettino lives in a world in which everyone is big and does daring and wonderful things. But he is small, just a “little piece,” which is the meaning of pezzettino in Italian. “I must be a piece of somebody. I must belong to someone else,” he thinks. How Pezzettino learns that he belongs to no one but himself is the joyous and satisfying conclusion to this beautiful mosaic style picture book.

Author Biography

Leo Lionni, an internationally known designer, illustrator, and graphic artist, was born in Holland and lived in Italy until he came to the United States in 1939. He was the recipient of the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was honored posthumously in 2007 with the Society of Illustrators’ Lifetime Achievement Award. His picture books are distinguished by their enduring moral themes, graphic simplicity and brilliant use of collage, and include four Caldecott Honor Books- Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Hailed as “a master of the simple fable” by the Chicago Tribune, he died in 1999 at the age of 89.