Czech
Republic
200
Janišová, Ivana
Anka Béčko a nepodstatné detaily (Anka Béčko and some other insignificant details)
Praha : Olympia, 2002. – 145 p.
ISBN 80-7033-768-0
Girl – Holidays – Village – Boy – Hiding place – Puberty –
Adolescence
Anka spends the rainy holidays with her mother in a cottage in a small
village. Her best friend is ill and the teenage girl is convinced that she is
the most unlucky person in the world and that the sun only shines somewhere
else and for other people. But suddenly, there is this boy in the deserted
house. Without having any idea about who he is and what he is afraid of, she
helps him to hide and brings him food and medicine. This gripping teenage
novel explores how young people deal with fear and grief and search for their
inner self. With a great deal of sensitivity, the author makes her readers
empathise with Anka. She enables them to identify with the young heroine and
to find their own identity. (12+)
201
Pohanková, Jana (text)
Neborová, Anna (illus.)
Červený panáček : 366 pohádek na dobrou noc (The little red man: 366 bedtime stories)
Praha : Brio, 2002. – 206 p.
ISBN 80-86113-53-1
Bedtime story
This year, the Czech publisher Brio offers two new collections to its readers,
each with 366 imaginative and sensitive tales. In one of these books, Červeny
panáček, a little red man accompanies the child through the year with a
variety of rhymed texts. The volume contains realistic as well as fictional
stories from children’s everyday lives, tales about practical jokes, about
children’s joys and fears, and about different animals and plants. The
large-format collection is cheerfully illustrated with coloured drawings that
stand out because of their originality, simplicity, and immense
expressiveness. (5+)
202
Radovan, Pavel (text)
Gavlasová, Zuzana (illus.)
Pohádky z říše Kiwi (Fairy tales from the realm of the Kiwi)
Brno : Doplněk, 2002. – 66 p.
ISBN 80-7239-123-2
Maori – Folk tale
In the Czech republic, folk tales still make up a large part of the
children’s book production. In his second book, Pavel Radovan presents a
successful retelling of folk tales from the Maori people of New Zealand. The
exciting tales, which talk about how human beings encounter demons, fairies,
or personified natural forces, often give mythical explanations of names for
natural phenomena, focus on the fight between good and evil, and on love and
courage. The coloured pencil drawings and vignettes are inspired by
traditional Maori art. (6+)
203
Skala, Martina (text/illus.)
Strado & Varius aneb setkání s Mozartem (Strado & Varius or Meeting Mozart)
Praha : Brio, 2002. – 56 p.
ISBN 80-86113-57-4
Prague – Music – Concert – Violin – Violinist – Adventure
The first book about Strado & Varius, which won the Librarians’ Award
from the Czech Book Club of Children’s Libraries, was published in 2002. In
the second volume, violinist Strado and his violin Varius travel to Prague on
a concert tour, where they are plunged into various adventures: They meet
Papageno, in the form of an ancient owl, and, eventually, even encounter
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself. The versatile Czech artist Martina Skala (who
creates stage designs, film sets, and illustrations) leads the readers through
Prague with partly romantic, partly cartoon-like illustrations. (8+)