5 Cherries

A book about two siblings who travel into the depths of their own imaginations through a simple game of make-believe with a handful of cherries.

A mother gives her two children five cherries each. One is a girl, one a boy, but they become hard to identify as the game goes on and they throw off traditional markers of gender identity—a headband, a pair of shoes—and their play becomes deeper and more revealing. The ungendered language of the imagination has full reign here as the children experiment with the cherries, turning them into everything from sleeping potions and medals on a general’s uniform to magical cures and a bouquet of flowers. Facchini’s audacious art makes this a book ripe for re-reading.

Vittoria Facchini was born in Molfetta, Italy. After studying architecture at Bari Art School, Vittoria went to Florence for Graphic Design. Later, she went on to study illustration with Emanuele Luzzati in Venice. In 1997, having worked for many years in advertising, Vittoria began to illustrate books for children.