9 Kilometers

by Claudio Aguilera, Gabriela Lyon (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)

Overview

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List - PreK-2 (2024)
Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of the Year List (2023)
The New York Public Library Best Books for Kids List (2023)

A memorable, compelling story about the perseverance of a child and the human right to education.

The sky is still dark when a young boy leaves home for school. He has a long path ahead: nine kilometers—over five-and-a-half miles—through the mountains and rain forests of Chile. But the boy doesn’t mind. While he walks, he can count butterflies and lizards, and he can think about where the 15,000 steps he takes every morning could lead. Nine kilometers could bring the boy across ninety soccer fields, up the world’s ten largest buildings, or into a classroom at last…

Set against the lush backdrop of southern Chile, this book features one of the many children around the world who travel long distances in order to go to school. After the story, thoughtfully illustrated back matter explores the unique birds of Chile and the courage of similar students’ journeys in other countries. Striking and timely, 9 Kilometers will open lasting conversations about social inequalities, the value of learning, and the resilience of those who push past obstacles toward a better future.

The Children’s Book Council Librarian FAVORITES List 3rd-5th Grade (2024)
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Multicultural Children’s Books List (2023)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802856005
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/28/2023
Series:	Stories from Latin America (SLA)
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	448,507
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Claudio Aguilera is an award-winning Chilean journalist and children's writer. 9 Kilometers was shaped by his childhood memories of long, long walks to school and the pride his ten-year-old self felt after receiving an award for perfect attendance. The Spanish version of this book was selected for the 2021 White Ravens catalog and was named the 2021 children's category winner of the Chilean Ministry of Culture's Marta Brunet Award. 9 Kilometers is Claudio's English- language debut. Visit the book's Spanish-language website at 9kilometros.cl and follow Claudio on Twitter @CE_Aguilera_A.


Gabriela Lyon is an artist and illustrator whose books include A Small History of a Disagreement (Greystone Kids). She studied visual arts at the Finis Terrae University in Santiago, Chile, where she now teaches drawing classes. Gabriela traveled to the Chiloé Archipelago while drawing the storyboards for this book, and the region's green light and cold humidity inspired her even as she worked during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. In 2021, the Chilean Ministry of Culture honored the art of 9 Kilometers with the Coré Mention for illustration. Visit Gabriela's website at gabrielalyon.cl or follow her on Instagram @glyonb.


Lawrence Schimel has written or translated over 200 books, including Niños, Different, and 9 Kilometers (all Eerdmans). His works have received many awards, including a PEN Translates Award and the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Honor. Lawrence lives in Madrid, Spain. Follow him on Twitter @lawrenceschimel.

Editorial Reviews

★ 12/19/2022

Long before the sun rises, a nameless Chilean child starts walking nine kilometers to school, mindful en route of the activity around them. Sliding beneath barbed wire, navigating forest and field, and traveling over water by cable ferry, the narrator likes “to walk and count,” keeping track of butterflies or lizards. Throughout, Aguilera’s rhythmic lines note the distance in metric terms and via different animals’ speeds, and envision the distance in terms of buildings and aircraft carriers. Sensorial phrases speak to the child’s varying experiences of the journey: “There are days when 9 kilometers feels like a stone inside a worn-out shoe. Other days, however, the steps feel as sweet as a handful of blackberries or a ripe apple, and they pass as quickly as a shadow.” Lyon’s saturated, painterly illustrations capture the text’s thoughtful mood, visualizing the walk—and the antics of various animal and bird species—across landscapes both wide-lens and zoomed-in. Contemplating, per an end note, “the construction of a society in which education is a right and not a privilege,” this is a narrative to encounter again and again. An opening note defines imperial and metric units; back matter details various children’s long walks to school and describes birds of southern Chile. Ages 5–9. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A brilliantly illustrated account of an arduous—yet deeply rewarding—journey.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Lyon’s saturated, painterly illustrations capture the text’s thoughtful mood, visualizing the walk—and the antics of various animal and bird species—across landscapes both wide-lens and zoomed-in. Contemplating, per an end note, ‘the construction of a society in which education is a right and not a privilege,’ this is a narrative to encounter again and again.”

Booklist
“Small paintings of children from eight countries depict how they travel to school. Showing their circumstances underscores the message that these are current, not historical, conditions, and conveys the importance of education to families across the world.”

Horn Book Magazine
“Most of the story is revealed in the atmospheric acrylic paintings; for example, we see the child use a forked stick to raise the bottom of a barbed-wire fence and crawl through. . . . One particularly effective picture shows the character crossing a cow pasture, looking tiny in the expanse with the bigger animals.”

School Library Journal (starred review)
“With an overarching message that education is well worth the walk, this book is recommended for all picture book collections.

From the Publisher

★ 02/24/2023

Gr 1–2—In this empathy-building picture book, a simple first-person narration is employed to share the story of a young boy traveling on foot to school in rural Chile across the titular nine kilometers, or 5.59 miles. His walk begins in the dark and cold as he ponders math equations using his own route, estimating the number of skips it would take to cross the distance he walks, and how slowly a snail or how quickly a puma might travel the same distance. His path takes him on roads, through wooded areas, beneath a barbed wire fence, through a pasture, and across a stream. As the boy travels closer to school, the illustrations become more verdant and lush. The book begins with a helpful guide converting metric distance to imperial miles. Endpapers map the route as it would be seen from above, describe the various Chilean birds depicted in the illustrations, and share examples from other countries in which children walk several kilometers to reach school each day. VERDICT With an overarching message that education is well worth the walk, this book is recommended for all picture book collections.—Lauren Younger

School Library Journal

★ 2022-10-26
A long walk to school.

A brown-skinned child walks 9 kilometers—more than 5 miles—every day to go to school through challenging and uncharted paths in Chile. The child leaves home when it’s still dark, passing beneath wire fences, walking by wooded areas that conceal wild felines, and even traversing rivers. Although the narrator’s difficulties are many, they maintain a positive attitude and are grateful that they and their classmates can attend school, regardless of how they get there. The child’s teacher once said that it takes 1,600 steps to walk a kilometer; 9 kilometers would be 15,000 steps. The child wonders if that’s right, considering their shortcuts and leaps as well as the fact that their legs are short. Both matter-of-fact and full of musings, this Chilean import, translated from Spanish, perfectly captures a child’s experience. The painterly art relies on hues that are by turns somber and more vibrant and on many aerial shots, which make the native Chilean birds part of the story, like spectators awaiting the narrator’s arrival at school. The meticulous attention to detail in the illustrations—for instance, in the portrayal of animals—makes for an immersive experience. Backmatter describes the stories of other children around the world who walk similar paths and identifies the birds found in the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A brilliantly illustrated account of an arduous—yet deeply rewarding—journey. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews