''Celia, lo que dice'' (''"What Celia Says"'' or literally, ''"Celia, What She Says"'') is the first in the series of

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

s by Spanish author

Elena Fortún María de la Encarnación Gertrudis Jacoba Aragoneses y de Urquijo (18 November 1886 in Madrid – 8 May 1952 in Madrid) was a Spanish author of children's literature who wrote under the pen name Elena Fortún. She became famous for '' Celia ...

. The novel is a collection of short stories first published in

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

s in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. The stories, which were written from the perspective of a seven-year-old girl named Celia Gálvez de Montalbán, narrated the life of the protagonist living in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

with her family. Celia, who was an extremely popular character from her first appearance through the 1960s, was characterized as a girl who often questioned the world around her in ways that were both ingenuous and

innocent Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is prior to the sense of legal guilt and is a primal emotion connected with the sense of self. It is often confused as being the op ...

. The novel was followed by several sequels through the 1930s and the 1950s, the last one published in 1987, thirty-five years after the death of the author. The first of these sequels was '' Celia en el colegio'', first published in 1932. The series were both popular and successful during the time following their publication and are today considered

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

s of

Spanish literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

. The first three novels were adapted for television in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, in a series produced by

José Luis Borau José Luis Borau Moradell (8 August 1929 – 23 November 2012) was a Spanish producer, screenwriter, writer, and film director. He won the Goya Award for Best Director in 2000 for '' Leo''. Borau was born in Zaragoza. In addition to directin ...

entitled '' Celia'', which starred Cristina Cruz Mínguez in the title role.

References

External links

Elena Fortún: Su vida, su obra
- Website dedicated to author Elena Fortún, featuring her full biography. (Spanish) * 1929 novels Spanish children's novels 20th-century Spanish novels Works originally published in Spanish magazines Novels set in Madrid 1929 children's books Children's books set in Spain Children's books set in the 1920s Spanish novels adapted into television shows {{1920s-child-novel-stub