Could It Happen to Anyone?

Finalist at the 2011 International Latino Book Awards.

Balzo, a very restless boy, goes shopping with his mom and accidentally breaks some figurines. There is no reason to be angry ... couldn’t it happen to anyone? Balzo goes shopping with his mother and they stop by a store where boys and girls can’t touch anything. To stop himself from getting bored, he pretends to be a silkworm. But while he’s playing, he accidentally knocks some figurines off a shelf, and worst of all, he bumps his head.

Neither his mother nor the storekeeper seem to notice the lump; instead, they tell off Balzo as if he’d smashed the figurines (and caused the lump) on purpose…. On purpose? He was just playing around with his imaginary friends! Unfortunately, no one is interested in knowing his part of the story… And mom is so angry she sounds like an ogre! Once they get home, Balzo goes straight to bed when suddenly he hears this powerful sound: «CRASH!». Could it happen to anyone?