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Layla in the land of the Snow King


Layla in the land of the snow king

Reinhold Messner
Illustrations by Davide Panizza



 

Love for the high mountains, the search for beauty, the discovery of silence and solitude: this is everything that the well-known mountaineer, and writer, Reinhold Messner wanted to share in his first fiction book for children.

Enriched with illustrations by Davide Panizza, it is a simple and engaging fairy tale that makes readers, small and big alike, dream.

Find out more!

LAYLA

When I was a little girl, Dad called me Layla, a name that means “the top of the mountain.”

Thus begins the story of Layla, the child protagonist of a magical adventure in the land of the snow king.

Abandoning all the comforts of home and guided by her father, Layla embarks on a journey among the highest peaks of the mountains, discovering unknown people and learning new and important values.


A magic story of nature, silence and love

A story to bring young people closer to the mountains and teach them how to live and love nature, how to respect it and establish a silent and profound dialogue with it.

“With this fable, I tried to draw children’s attention to the possibility of living peacefully and joyfully in a different world and make them reflect, so develop an ecological conscience and greater respect for nature: renunciation, not consumption, is the key to happiness. Finally, I hope that I have sufficiently stimulated the curiosity and dreams of my little readers.”
Reinhold Messner

 

 

Here are some pages of the book that have been translated into English to facilitate your evaluation.
The whole English translation of Layla is available upon request.

 


THE AUTHOR

Reinhold Messner was born in 1944 in Bressanone (Bolzano). He conquered the first 3 thousand with his father when he was 5 years old.  After briefly working as a teacher, in 1969 he dedicated himself to mountaineering, making over a hundred trips around the world, from the Gobi Desert to Antarctica to Greenland. He is the first to conquer the fourteen 8 thousands, and numerous other peaks, without technical assistance. After being elected into the European Parliament (1999-2004) he created 6 units of the Messner Mountain Museum (Juval, Firmian, Ortles, Ripa, Corones and Rite) and the MMF foundation to help the mountain populations. He has written more than 80 books and shot 3 films.