The Capybaras

A charming and hilarious tale for kids ages 4-8 about how accepting others can enrich us all—featuring capybaras, the beloved animal sensation capturing hearts around the world. 

In this beautiful and simple book, hens and their chicks are living safe and secure in their coop, or at least it seems that way. They are happy with life as it is, and each hen knows her job. They don’t even seem to notice when one of them is carried off from time to time. 

Until the day the capybaras appear. To the hens, they are too hair, too wet, and too big. They don’t even follow the rules! But it’s hunting season, and the capybaras need refuge. 

As time passes and days change, minds begin to open and new possibilities appear. Can the hens accept the capybaras after all?

This delightful story teaches readers about the importance of caring for each other, no matter our differences.

ALFREDO SODERGUIT is an award-winning author and illustrator with more than forty books published throughout Latin America, Spain, France, and Italy. He also makes animated films with Palermo Estudio, a collective, which he founded with other illustrators and animators. His prize-winning animated film, Anina, is available on HBO and YouTube in English and Spanish.

[A] gem... Soderguit's beguiling picture book offers a direct-enough message: find community in embracing others--even those that seem unfamiliar at first.... Purely exquisite."
--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

"A call to love and welcome each other, no matter our differences."
--Booklist

"Soderguit's work makes adept use of illustration and design elements to convey meaning, truly honoring the picture book form. Featuring a cast of adorable, expressive animals, this is a simple but multilayered tale of overcoming prejudice, learning to question the status quo, and creating community."
--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"The understated narration pairs brilliantly with the simple but expressive illustrations. Soderguit draws in shades of black on cream paper with accents of red to tell a gentle but subversive story of a community of animals coming together to survive."
--Horn Book

A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids 2020

"A heartwarming story of acceptance and friendship. The simple line drawings lend a sense of innocence to the story, and young readers will learn that caring for others is just as important as caring for themselves. Recommended."
--School Library Connections

"The spare text of this title by Uruguyuan author/filmmaker Soderguit provides a quiet parable on the immigrant or refugee experience, avoiding overwrought browbeating, and the delicate art."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, STARRED review