Slovakia
212
Lencová, Bozena (text)
Piacka, Igor (illus.)
Jaskyna dávnych predkov
(Our ancestors' cave)
Martin : Matica Slovenská, 1999. - 89 p.
ISBN 80-7090-540-9
Fairytales – Cave
This volume contains a selection of seven literary fairytales in which
caves play a special role. In the story »Jaskyna dávnych predkov« (»The
small people's cave«), raiding nomadic gangs attack a small village. Despite
their fear of subterranean places and their inhabitants, the village people seek
refuge in a cave. Supported by dwarfs, who live in their own world below the
earth's surface, they manage to survive the winter. Because of the surrealistic
style and the mixed-media collages, Igor Piacka's illustrations perfectly mirror
the stories' mystical atmosphere. (6+)
213
Marec, Anton (text)
Uchnár, Peter (illus.)
Hnali sa veky nad hradbami (Centuries
passed by the old walls)
Martin : Matica Slovenská, 2000. - 191 p.
ISBN 80-7090-567-0
Hungary - Slovakia - Free city - Legends
In this book, Anton Marec, a popular Slovakian author of legends and
folktales, deals with the phenomenon of cities which were self-governing in the
Middle Ages (today situated within the borders of Slovakia). Within the context
of exciting tales and legends, accompanied by information about the history of
each of these cities, the author also offers an introduction to Slovakian
history in general. Moreover, the volume contains reproductions of historic
engravings for each of the cities. Peter Uchnár's imaginative graphics add to
the book's beautiful overall design. (10+)
214
Mokoš, Jozef (text)
Cisárik, Peter (illus.)
Vkladná knizka rozprávok a básniciek : rozprávkovanie o tebe, pre teba, s
tebou
(Treasure of fairytales and poems : tales about you, for you, and with you)
[Bratislava] : Vydavatelstvo Spolku Slovenských Spisovatelóv, 2000. - 60 p.
ISBN 80-8061-084-3
Child - Environment - Everyday life
In his funny poems, free verse
tales, and sensitive stories, Jozef Mokoš covers topics that are particularly
interesting and relevant for children. He deals with a child's fear, a baby's
birth, tells stories about the sea, about flying, analyses why a cock doesn't
lay eggs, speaks about a circus, an umbrella, and a latchkey child. The poems
and texts are perfectly complemented by Peter Cisárik's surrealistic pictures. (4+)
215
Šikula, Vincent
Anjel Gabriela (Angel
Gabriela)
Bratislava : Vyd. Spolku Slovenských
Spisovatelóv, 2000. - 102 p.
ISBN 80-8061-088-6
Slovakia - Socialism - Religion - Duplicity - Coming of age - Mother -
Illness - Death
In this novel for teenagers, Vincent Šikula (born 1936) ventures to
reappraise the socialist past of Slovakia. Gabriela's father teaches
Marxist-Leninist aesthetics and presents himself as a convinced atheist, in
public and to his family. Yet, once Gabriela overhears him praying to God. The
father's duplicity and the psychological pressure he puts on her, as well as her
mother's illness, are a heavy burden for Gabriela. On the other hand, these
events also lead her to seek confrontation and make her grow mentally. In small
episodes, written from various perspectives, the author convincingly describes
the fears and problems of a young person growing up and her analysis of the
hypocritical adult world. The fact that this novel is set in an undemocratic
society makes matters even more complicated for the teenage protagonist. (12+)