Cuca Canals

Quinientas mil historias de amor - 2005

Andrea Labrador is a young dreamer. Born in the Isle of Salmon, she lives at the foot of the Black volcano, on the side of which she will enjoy the short-lived, passionate love of the mysterious Mauricio Septiembre. When Andrea makes her romance known on television, she will become a public figure, esteemed by the nation. On the island a ‘collective romanticism’ will be unleashed which will make of love a religion and bring unforeseeable consequences. This is an incredibly original tale about a world ruled by the commercialization of feelings.

Llora, Alegría - 1999

Alegría’s mother spent her pregnancy crying because of the way her husband kept beating her. For this reason, she thinks she has stolen all of her daughter’s tears. Only Nicolás Delfín, a young man who dreams of selling Moon stones, is able to shine some light on the sad existence of the protagonist. Alegría will shed her first tear after the death of her mother. However, it will not be a normal tear, but a solid tear, made of pure gold. In a world dictated by greed and materialism, this extraordinary ability will soon turn into a source of misfortune.

La hescritora - 1998

The heroine writes a novel whilst she dreams of meeting the love of her life. When she does, reality and fiction will fuse into one. The hescritora is a homage to imagination, literature, words and feelings.

Berta la Larga - 1996

Whilst it may seem implausible, this novel contains thousands of tears, a great love story, two enemy villages, blue eyes, a flood, a war, spilled blood, Christmas, marvellous clouds, young people in love, a united family, a fatal destiny, a postman, a miracle, two colourful rivers, a promise, irony and above all, passion, lots of passion. It has been adapted for the theatre in French and English.  

Buscando a D - 1998

The main character of this story seeks to give life a new meaning.

Dan Quijote - 2025

When imagination becomes a superpower, even the most forgotten village can be filled with adventures.

Daniel Quijada’s life changes radically when a fire destroys his house and his mother falls into a coma. Daniel and his father must start from scratch in a town in the emptying Spain. Bored without his video games, Daniel distracts himself by staring at the stains in his new, rundown school. His teacher notices his vivid imagination and calls him Dan Quixote of La Mancha. When Daniel learns that the famous knight was a justice fighter, he decides to imitate him. Imagination will become a superpower. Thus, Dan Quixote will begin working for a fairer world. His first case will be to find an elderly woman who has gone missing.

Filo & Sofia 5: Siete misterios y medio - 2024

The orphans who are part of the Academy, led by the young Sofía Hipatia, use a revolutionary way of thinking, based on philosophy, to find new clues that will help catch the most wanted criminal. The disappearance of several elderly people leads the members of the Academy to suspect that the cases are connected. However, the police do not believe this and dismiss these absences as unimportant, until the discovery of a corpse on the beach supports the theory that there is a ruthless elderly killer in the city.

Filo & Sofia 4: Los asesinatos del origami - 2023

The orphans who are part of The Academy, led by the young Sofia Hipatia, employ a revolutionary way of thinking, based on philosophy, to uncover new clues that lead to the most wanted criminal.

An unsettling paper figurine made with the origami technique is found next to the body of a ship captain. However, the body shows no signs of violence, and the police dismiss the case as a homicide. Only the thinkers at the Filo&Sofía agency consider the incident suspicious. Tragically, their suspicions soon become reality...

El joven Poe 10: Los cuervos también lloran - 2022

Young Poe returns to his hometown in Boston, disappointed as he wasn’t able to find his real father in Dublin. However, due to his friendship with the famous inspector, Auguste Dupin, he is soon immersed in the investigation of a gruesome murder case. Nothing more and nothing less than finding out the identity of the man known as the murderer of hearts.  An adventure which will change everything.

Filo & Sofía 3: El curioso caso del pianista sin cabeza - 2022

Orphaned at the age of four, little Freddy Nietzsche also loses his father, who is murdered after being kidnapped. His case is still unsolved when Freddy receives another blow from life: his piano teacher and friend is beheaded. Luckily, he is now part of The Academy and is not alone in solving the crimes he faces.

“Delightful. A really enjoyable way of learning. I highly recommend these books because they teach children to think.” Pablo d’Ors 

Filo & Sofía 2: El caso de la fábrica de la muerte - 2021

After the supposedly accidental death of a worker in an important factory, the Filo&Sofia detective agency investigates the disappearances of various employees as well as their working conditions, thanks to the commitment to social justice of Karlitos Marx.

‘A wonder. A beautiful way of learning. I highly recommend these books because they teach you how to think’ Pablo d’Ors

El joven Poe 9: El viaje maldito - 2021

Thanks to his friendship with Inspector Dupin and with the governor of Massachusetts, the highest authority in Boston, Young Poe has acquired enough money to travel to Ireland with his two siblings. They want to find their real dad, who, based on leads they have, lives in Dublin. What they didn’t expect when they began their journey full of hope, was that their journey by boat would turn into a dangerous adventure, with a robbery and a murder included.

Filo & Sofía 1: El asesino de los ositos de peluche - 2020

Filo&Sofia is an agency of young detectives who solve mysteries with a revolutionary method: using philosophical thought. 

Rinus is going through a rough time after his parents' death, when he is taken in by his horrid aunt. Luckily, he is soon invited to go live at an orphanage where free thought and a love of philosophy are the order of the day! There he makes new friends: Charlie Marx, Freddy Nietszche, and Confucius Jr. 

Cuca Canals, with her Filo&Sofia collection, reveals how philosophy is not only necessary, but can also be exciting. Focusing on ways of reasoning that come naturally to children, the author shows how similar they are in many ways to philosophical thought. Both children and philosophers go through life posing questions without presumptions or prejudices, and with a certain degree of innocence. Rinus Descartes, Fredy Nietzsche, the young Confucius, Dave Hume, Charles Marx and Socrates Jr are a group of children from 10-12 years that have in common being orphans and great thinkers. Despite their age, they have a philosophical vision of life. They are young people gifted with an extraordinary curiosity, who question everything and seek answers that sometimes are new questions.

“Delightful. A really enjoyable way of learning. I highly recommend these books because they teach children to think.” Pablo d’Ors 

El joven Poe 7: El reloj de la muerte - 2020

Young Poe receives an invitation to go to a costume party organized by governor Huge in his castle, all due to his friendship with inspector Dupin. Only a very exclusive group of Boston can attend this function that promises to be an unforgettable night. What Poe didn’t expect, and much less his sister Rosalie, who comes disguised as a young detective, is that the castle will soon become a lethal trap. There is a murderer among the guests

And it could be anyone….

El joven Poe 8: El circo del terror - 2020

This time, Young Poe will narrate a terrible case: the murder of a 17-year-old boy. As on other occasions, Inspector Dupin will need Poe’s help to solve the case. The weird thing is that this crime took place on the 2^nd of May at 22:00 in Boston. There are two suspects, who happen to be twin sisters, whom Poe had met just two weeks before the murder was committed.

El joven Poe 6: El caso del gato negro - 2019

Young Poe is used to being around the dead. His stepdad has an important funeral home in Boston, and he often punishes him by making him sweep up there. However, recently, death seems to directly haunt this young man. Everything started when he was 12. Various signs make him think he is in danger: a one-eyed black cat, an evil tarot card of a hanging man... Are they just superstitions, or is his intuition warning him of a terrible threat?

‘A wonder. A beautiful way of learning. I highly recommend these books because they teach you how to think’ Pablo d’Ors

El joven Poe 5: El acertijo del escarabajo de oro - 2018

The Young Poe and the inspector Auguste Dupin will be involved in the search for a pirate treasure that is hidden on the coast of Boston. To find it, Dupin and Poe will have to use all their ingenuity to solve some enigmatic clues. And time runs against them if they want to prove Legrand's innocence: an old friend of the inspector accused of murder.

El joven Poe 4: El enigma de la carta - 2018

In the fourth installment of the collection "The Young Poe", a letter has disappeared, and if it falls in the hands of the wrong person, it can compromise its powerful owner.

Faced with the impossibility of finding the letter, the police entrust the case to the renowned researcher Auguste Dupin, who once again collaborates with his young and insightful assistant, Edgar Allan Poe.

A new book full of intrigue and suspicion that reaches a totally surprising outcome.

El joven Poe 2: El extraño crimen de Mary Roget - 2017

The Young Poe Series, vol. 2

Edgar Allan Poe is 11 years old. He lives with his adoptive parents, and with some crows that are his pets, in the Morgue Street, in Boston. The young Poe wants to be a writer when he grows up, but for the time being, he is ok with earning an extra money selling a fright and torture catalogue that he describes. Moreover, in his free time, he helps the Police officer Auguste Dupin to resolve his most difficult and mysterious cases, and he is very talented at resolving

Booktrailer El joven Poe

El joven Poe 3: La mansión de los horrores - 2017

The Young Poe Series, vol. 3

Edgar Allan Poe is 11 years old. He lives with his adoptive parents, and with some crows that are his pets, in the Morgue Street, in Boston. The young Poe wants to be a writer when he grows up, but for the time being, he is ok with earning an extra money selling a fright and torture catalogue that he describes. Moreover, in his free time, he helps the Police officer Auguste Dupin to resolve his most difficult and mysterious cases, and he is very talented at resolving them!

El joven Poe 1: El misterio de la calle Morgue - 2017

The Young Poe Series

Edgar Allan Poe is 11 years old. He lives with his adoptive parents, and with some crows that are his pets, in the Morgue Street, in Boston. The young Poe wants to be a writer when he grows up, but for the time being, he is ok with earning an extra money selling a fright and torture catalogue that he describes. Moreover, in his free time, he helps the Police officer Auguste Dupin to resolve his most difficult and mysterious cases, and he is very talented at resolving them!

The Morgue Street Mistery  

In the Morgue Street, two blocks away from where Edgar Allan Poe lives, two women have been terribly murdered. When one of his neighbours is blamed unfairly, Poe goes to the police and proves his innocence. The inspector Auguste Dupin gets impressed by this eleven year old kid’s audacity and asks him to help him resolve the case in exchange for a reward.

La profesora que hacía faltas de Hortografía - 2014

The teacher Amalia Zapatero started her new life in Gastón on the wrong foot. Gastón is a remote village affected by the economic crisis. Even so, Amalia didn’t expect to find the worst students she had ever had. Nothing seemed to motivate them, until she had an idea. She would arouse students’ attention!

Cover illustrated by José Castro.

En pocas palabras - 2008

This is a homage to music, film, literature, and art… It is a book to read and reread, to observe and reobserve. A book full of irony, irreverence, transgression and, above all, it is very visual. 

Feliz cumpleaños: Libro de deseos - 2005

Everyone wishes you a happy birthday: an aviator, a dog, a Spanish student of English, a telegrapher, a teetotaller, a firefighter, an egocentric Englishman, a Chinese man, a graffiti artist, a medium, a Spanish teacher, a greengrocer, an Aussie, a mathematician, a pain in the neck, 867 ants, a mobile, a sex fanatic, a pessimist, a German, an optimist, a musician, a typographer, a kid, a millionaire, an optician, a scatterbrain, a polyglot, a good friend…

Happy birthday!

Cien piezas únicas - 2004

Using the suggestive power of words, Cuca Canals appeals to the imagination and strives to engage her readers, appealing to their complicity and active participation. Packed with images and words, these one hundred unique pieces make up a series of novel discoveries which surprise at first sight and invite you to savour their delicious intricacies. In brief, a hundred unique pieces for a unique book.