Miyase Sertbarut
What if a phone booth could connect you to the other side of the world… or to another time?
İlhami thinks reading is boring—until he discovers a red phone booth that tells magical stories. Hooked by the tales, he begins to pretend they’re from a real book by a mysterious Chinese author named Yuan Huan. As İlhami delves deeper into the mystery of the phone booth, he also uncovers something unexpected: his own passion for reading.
This title offers an exciting narrative that stretches across time and space, seamlessly blending the local with the universal, and the traditional with the digital.
KEY NOTES:
– Yuan Huan’s Phone Booth is a best-selling book both nationally and internationally. Total number of prints in Turkey is 208.000 copies. Sold 60.000 copies in two months.
– A spellbinding mystery blending magical realism with contemporary adventure.
Rights sold: Albanian, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Complex Chinese, Czech, Italian, Korean, Kyrgyz, Portuguese (Brazil), Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Ukrainian
Awards:
-Winner of the Premio Rodari Award for Best Children’s Novel of 2024.
– Selected for IBBY 2022 Honor List.
– Nominated for Premio Strega Award and Premio Bancarellino Award.
Quotes:
“I recommend this book to the little ones, but also to adults who are looking for an original and captivating novel that makes them dream, but above all reminds us how wonderful it is to read.”
— Dalla Carta allo Schermo, www.dallacartalloschermo.com
“A metanarrative novel that echoes One Thousand and One Nights and The Decameron in spirit and that, without being didactic, tells of the effort of reading and the love for stories.”
— Tre Libretti sul Comò, www.trelibrettisulcomo.it
“La cabina telefonica di Yuan Huan reminds us the tone and atmosphere of Gianni Rodari’s works.”
– The Jury of 2024 Premio Rodari Award.
English and French translation is available.
Themes: Mystery, Magical Realism, Time Travel, Friendship
10+ Novel, 136 pages, 13.5 x 19.5 cm