Witches and chocolate are two phenomena, each fabulous in their own way, that Purificación Menaya, or Puri for short, has always been very
drawn to it.
Menaya, a Spanish native, finally managed to combine the two and begin an extraordinary second career. In her day job as a controller at the Saragossa plant, she handles tasks such as bookkeeping, accounting, and cash forecasting; in her free time, the 48-year-old writes highly-regarded books for children.
“Mom came in, looked at me smiling and asked, ‘Are there monsters in here?’”: This is our translation of the first few lines from ‘Monster, Are You Going to Eat Me?’
OF WITCHES AND MONSTERS
Menaya’s success has proven her right. Her book ‘The Chocolate Witch’ (1998) was followed by ‘The Love-Struck Witch’ (2001), and ‘Dragon Seeking Princess’ (2006). But her real breakthrough came with ‘Monster, Are You Going to Eat Me?’ (2008). The book is on the mandatory reading list in Spanish elementary schools under the topic of ‘fear.’ It was also translated into French. Since then, Menaya has published the tale ‘The Origin of Unicorns’ (2012). “It would be great if my books could all be published in German and English,” she says.
Her message as an author: “I want to entertain children but I want to help develop their ability to think about themselves at the same time.” Her books try to make it easier for children to cope with fears and understand values like team spirit and friendship. She doesn’t think television and video games can do that. Storytelling, on the other hand, does just that. That’s why Menaya often makes the heroes of her books into characters that enjoy exciting stories. So, for example, the monster under the bed doesn’t eat the little children, rather, he feeds on the goodnight stories that the mother tells.
Back in the real world, it’s not only children that enjoy Puri Menaya’s work. Her lovely monsters are also popular with adults. She is especially proud “when colleagues at the plant praise my books and support me by coming to book launches and public readings.”
The hype surrounding the storytelling controller may soon grow more intense. Not only is Menaya writing her next children’s book, she is also working on a piece of adult fiction.
La bruja de chocolate
1998, Luis Vives Editorial
La bruja enamodiada
2001, Luis Vives Editorial
Dragón busca princesa
2006, BAMBÚ Editorial
¿Monstruo, vas a comerme?
2007, BAMBÚ Editorial
El origen de los unicornios
2012, story with illustrations by Alejandra Fernández, in ‘Book Collection.
4th Competition: Illustrated Stories,’ Optics magazine
El susurrode los pies descalzos
2013, short stories in ‘Anthology,’ La Microbiblioteca de Barberá del Vallés
Una noche más
2013, in ‘Short Stories: Hommage to Bukowski,’ Artgerust Editorial