Outside in World | Browse Books

Use our Book Finder to search for books by Title (or part of the title), Author, ISBN, Age Range, Keyword, or Continent/Country. Then simply click the magnifying glass to start your search.

If a title starts with 'The', leave this out as this is added to the end of the title in brackets. funny pictures funny images funny photos really funny pictures

‘We need the literature of other countries to expand our
horizons and stimulate our ideas. Without it, we are not only
diminished, we are starved’
(The Times, Magnus Linklater 29/06/05)

Please email us to sign up to our Newsletter

Piece By Piece by David Aguilar and Ferran Aguilar

Title: Piece By Piece

Author: David Aguilar and Ferran Aguilar

Translator: Lawrence Schimel

Illustrator:

Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids

Date Published: 2022

Format: Hardback

Genre:

Book Category: Non Fiction

Age Range: 12+

Original Title: First published in Spanish as Pieza a pieza, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, Spain, 2021

Country of Origin: Spain

Piece By Piece

by David Aguilar and Ferran Aguilar
Age Range: 12+

David Aguilar was born missing part of one arm as a result of Poland syndrome, something which he discovered seemed to define his life. His path to acceptance isn’t easy but this heartfelt memoir full of humour and candour doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable or difficulties David has to face.

David provides a straight-talking narrative of his thoughts, memories and how he feels about the world and Lawrence Schimel’s excellent translation captures all the nuances, and stream of thought processes which move at a swift pace as David recounts his experiences.

Full of excitement and anticipation on his first day at school David searches like crazy to find someone like him but the only consolation is to be found in his own reflection. His desire to fit in is described so eloquently when he explains what happens when he introduces himself for the first time. The usual chitchat of what your name is, what you are studying, what grade you are in or classes that you have in common don’t seem to matter – “The missing arm always seems to matter more than my own name.” And he makes some powerful and heartfelt observations – “Calling what’s different a disability doesn’t do more than give anyone who is different nothing to live for. But I learned this only by traveling down a different path.”

When David’s father Ferran adapts a bike for him, he recaptures his love of cycling feeling like he could “change the world and help break and destroy the stigma of disability. Because we’re not disabled, just differently abled. Diff-abled.”

David describes the bullying he experiences from a classmate and the rejection of Marta, a girl he is keen, on with a palpable rawness. Marta decides to end their friendship because he is different – his missing arm gives her the creeps and her friends laugh at her. There are further setbacks when his beloved grandmother (Abuela) dies and David struggles with his school work. However, throughout it all the deep love of his family is his constant support.

“Each of these experiences was a cable that connected my self-confidence and courage to a lever I struggled not to press. The fortress my entire family had helped me construct, and that I had made my own, trembled in front of me, making me lose my balance until I fell on the detonator …” Luckily David knew he was good at building things and that little by little he would his fortress again.

Having always had a love of LEGO David was nine years old when he built his first prosthesis from LEGO bricks. His inventiveness culminates in his building of a functional prosthetic arm using LEGO bricks fuelled by a desire to build a better life, bring about change by helping others and create a better world – piece by piece.

Throughout the narrative David’s wit is never far away making this a powerful memoir, that is by turns heartbreaking and incredibly uplifting.