Joan Acocella wrote this long piece on Rodari, who I've never heard of. But now I'm curious.
Gianni Rodari, who has been almost unknown in English till now, united a fantastical imagination with a deep interest in education.
In Italy, everyone knows who Gianni Rodari was: one of the country’s most cherished writers of children’s books. In the United States, practically nobody knows his name. Of his thirty books, not one was published here during his lifetime. A few came out in the U.K., and you can still get a copy of one of these translations, if, for example, you are willing to mortgage your house.
Some people have asked whether Rodari’s writing, so witty and strange, is not better suited to adults than to children, but children apparently love it.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...ens-literature
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