When banal disputes turn big. Looking at 'Una montaña cualquiera' (Any Mountain) by Fran Pintadera, illustration Txell Darne, recommended for ages 5 and up

 

A parable with simple, detailed, airy illustrations that show two different communities, one on the mountain top, the other in the valley below, that both think they live in the best place in the world. The narrator explains why both towns are very happy and why they are both right to think their town is the best. There are small disadvantages to living in both places (playing football on the mountaintop; parachuting in the valley) but that doesn't prevent its people from still feeling they are the most blessed in the world. When they both decide to celebrate their grandeur, the fireworks from below are mistakenly understood as an act of agression and retaliation starts till a full-blown war destroys both towns. The happy collage-illustrations suddenly turn grey and morose, and a grey cloud encircles the mountain.

That's not all..on the other side of the mountain, there are happy, peaceful dwellers; they looked on in surprise and shock at the two towns at war with each other - they know perfectly well that no war can decide which town is better. Besides, it is clear that their town is the most beautiful in the world! On the opposite side of the mountain, a small, happy town is of a different opinion... The ending of the story is left open

This cyclical parable can easily be adapted to the warring countries and those looking on. Is it part of human nature? Will there ever be an end? Will we never learn from mankind's mistakes? All of these questions and more are left with an open answer for the reader to decide.
The collages are cheerful and children can find additional stories and subplots in its detail. The war brings changes and destruction - the destruction is felt and seen with big stones and big sticks (trunks) so that little readers can grasp the devastation without the use of graphic tanks and other war weapons. The big split running down the middle of the mountain shows that nothing will ever be the same again, even after the war is over.

This book has been classified under 'War and Peace' for ages five and up. Although it does look at war and its effects, it is so much more than this label. It is about arrogance and not seeing or respecting other's worth; it's about individualism and patriotism and the risks of living in a bubble.