Carla no habla

Una novela gráfica para aprender español. Escrita por Veronica Moscoso y ilustrada por Olivia Chandler.  

Carla no habla is a full-color graphic novel about Carla, a very shy 14-year-old girl who moves to a new city and starts at a new school. After a triggering event, she develops selective mutism and suddenly finds herself unable to speak at school.

As the year goes on, Carla faces the challenge of fitting in along with other difficult changes in her life. Feeling isolated, Carla’s world begins to change when a kind classmate reaches out. She finds the bravery to reply by writing, and little by little, thanks to this new friendship, Carla starts to take small steps toward feeling comfortable again.

Set in Quito, Ecuador, the story weaves in cultural traditions like the quinceañera and introduces readers to the amazing Galápagos Islands. At the same time, this story highlights themes of inclusion, understanding, and the impact of peer support, making it a meaningful read.

Will Carla ever speak at school? Will her classmates help her feel like she belongs? Can one friendship make a big difference?

Designed for beginner Spanish learners, Carla’s story includes abundant repetition of basic vocabulary and easy-to-follow sentences in the present tense, featuring 261 illustrations. Challenging vocabulary is highlighted and accompanied by footnotes with translations on the same page, and a full vocabulary list is included at the end. The goal is to make learning Spanish fun and effortless.

With approximately 170 family words and 40 cognates, this graphic novel weaves a captivating 3,200-word story.

Paperback, 72 pages.