Weightless

Human beings have always had a very special relationship with the sea. The sea moves us, captivates us, inspires us, and relaxes us.
The picture book that Fran Pintadera offers us addresses, in the form of an intimate and lyrical narrative, the sensations that the sea awakens in the protagonist. When the family vacation arrives, the girl is reunited with the beach and her body is freed; she can move without constraints and feels like the owner of herself. The sea allows her to experience a full sense of autonomy, freedom, and wholeness.
With a serene and confessional tone, the book describes the transformation the narrator undergoes when she submerges herself and how she becomes part of the landscape in that space of possibility and fulfillment.
Raquel Catalina embraces Pintadera’s text with delicate illustrations of loose strokes, created using pencil and watercolor. Transparencies, expansive blues, and changes in luminosity in the images evoke the girl’s physical and emotional transition in this poetic and moving work.

Key points

2026 – Cuatrogatos Foundation Award, USA

• With an ending that surprises and moves, it invites reflection on issues such as disability, divergences, and inclusion.
• A universal work, without cultural barriers, that appeals to the emotional connection with nature.
• Ideal for publishers looking for ‘backlist’ titles with long-term commercial appeal.
• Fran Pintadera and Raquel Catalina are acclaimed authors with prestigious careers in Spain and internationally.