The kids

An excellent storyteller, this activity seems to stem from an imperative that has dominated the life of Altino do Tojal, and which he reveals to us in the moving narrative that opens this book and which he titled "What a pity!..." The genesis of the writer is well-defined there. It is the dream of Aunt Emília, a distinguished teacher devoted to literature, that will make her nephew the writer she so wished to have in the family. Aunt Emília, an intelligent educator, knew how to draw attention to the beauty of things, and Language was the first of those things. She led Altino to grasp the meaning of words and to use them correctly. Under her tutelary influence, a talent of wonderful creative power emerged. Later, she fell seriously ill and passed away, but her nephew was on his way to taking a place among the greatest Portuguese writers.
The first edition of "Sardinhas e Lua" - "Os Putos" appeared in October 1964, printed by Editora Pax, in Braga, with a cover by the late artist-photographer Arcelino and notes by Prof. Óscar Lopes and Duarte de Montalegre. The message of this book has been renewed over twenty-five years, a message of tenderness and enchantment in which the reader is swept away into an ineffable state of adherence to what is conveyed to them by Altino do Tojal's enchanting prose. He truly binds us to his art as a storyteller, irresistibly drawing us, page by page, into a delightful aesthetic experience.
Egídio Guimarães