A little square revolution

Abstract

During one of our editorial meetings, I realized that everybody was mixing up picture books with young adult fiction. I said it and Giulio Einaudi seized the moment – Why don’t you do it yourself, a picture books series? – So, I did it.These words are Bruno Munari’s, who directed the Tantibambini series from 1972 to 1978. Munari conceived a cutting-edge revolutionary template design: square-sized books, without hardcover, which kept production costs low; every cover had an oval colour spot for the author’s and illustrator’s names, and the title was written in a different type consistent with the book content, logotype and, especially, the first lines of the story. This was totally new.This article, after defining the Italian historical and publishing context of the late sixties, analyzes the paratext as an important space for dialogue with the readers. Exploring the achievements and the commercial failure of the project, the article also analyzes the ferocious critique of the series, written by Natalia Ginzburg, a fine intellectual, and the critical consciousness of Einaudi publisher. In the end, it presents a metamorphosis: a new collection started by another publisher which harked back to the shape and the idea of Munari’s project to narrate other stories.