Czech
Republic
206
Doskocilová, Hana (text)
Filcík, Gabriel
(illus.)
O Mame Rome a romském Pámbíckovi : dvanáct romských prikázání, jak je
svým dětem vypravují romské maminky
(About the Roma mother and the Roma God : twelve stories as Romany mothers
tell them to their children)
Praha : Amulet, 2001. - 70 p.
(Edice bajaja)
ISBN 80-86299-86-4
Folktales/Romany - Biblical stories
In her retellings of Romany folktales, Hana Doskocilová vividly
describes the lifestyle and way of thinking of the Roma people, their idea of
God and the world. Many stories refer back to the Bible and illustrate the
particularly human image of God created by this people. It is easy to see that
the tales were collected from a culture in which the tradition of oral
story-telling is still alive. Various motifs from tales of different nations
as well as from classic mythology are borrowed, some elements are added, some
removed, and thus, with a kind of ingenious disrespectfulness, something new
is created. (6+) <>
207
Hevier,
Daniel
(text)
Brukner, Josef
(transl.)
Ríše AGORD (The land of GURD)
Praha : Amulet, 2001. - 56 p.
ISBN 80-86299-71-6
(Slovakian orig. title: Krajina AGORD)
Drugs - Other World - Drug abuse
With this literary fairy tale, Daniel Hevier has created a book that
introduces younger children to the problematic topic of drug abuse. Lucia
wants to escape her boring life and longs for adventures. When the talking
tree invites her to a journey through the land of Gurd (i.e. »drug« spelled
backwards), she accepts and strolls through time and space without actually
moving from her place. The land with its talking plants and singing stones
enchants her, the scent of the magic flower makes her fly, and she leaves all
her worries behind. Soon enough, however, she discovers the other side of the
coin: She meets a desperate boy who has become the flower's slave, hunting for
its scent in vain. In the end, Lucia leaves the land of Gurd, and thus defeats
the Evil. The surrealistic collages aptly illustrate this book. (8+)
208
Šiktanc, Karel (text)
Skála, František (illus.)
O dobré a o zlé moci
(Of the good and the bad powers)
Praha : Albatros, 2000. - 183 p.
(Klub mladých Ctenáru)
ISBN 80-00-00868-8
Myths - Fairytales
In this book, Karel Šiktanc resorts to Slavic mythology. In a clear and
rich language he narrates seven fairytales, leading us into a fantastic world
full of adventures. Within these stories, the heroes have to fight against
evil men, evil powers, and an unfavourable fate for their love, justice, and
honour. Mysterious powers, such as the Master of the Forest, the Master of the
Fire, and the Queen of the Storm, intervene in the course of events. The
romantic watercolour paintings by František Skála seem like windows opening
into the fantasy worlds of these fairytales. (6+)