Czech Republic
199
Ježková, Alena (retell.)
Fučíková, Renáta (illus.)
Staré povĕsti české a moravské (Old legends from Bohemia and Moravia)
Praha : Albatros, 2005. – 140 p.
(Klub mladých čtenářů)
ISBN 80-00-01733-4
Bohemia – Moravia – Legend
This anthology gathers mainly legends about the settlement of the Bohemian countries by Bohemians and Moravians. The tales feature important leaders ranging from Čech, the original ancestor of the Czechs, and Libuše, who is said to have founded Prague, to the Moravian Duke Svatopluk, who played an important role in the Christianisation of the Slavic peoples. Comments and meta-texts put the legends into their historical context and thus provide readers with interesting facts about the origin of the Slavs, their mythology and religion, and about historical sites connected to the Slavic world of myths and legends. The water-colour-and-ink drawings rendered in earthy tones offer an additional glimpse into the material culture from the dawn of the Slavic peoples. (10+) <>
200
Marková, Jiřina / Novotná, Anna (text)
Votruba, Jiří (illus.)
Opera nás baví : [první kniha o opeře pro dĕti i rodiče]
(Opera is fun : [the first book about opera for children and parents])
Praha : Práh, 2005. – 155 p. + CD
ISBN 80-7252-121-7
Opera
This attractive opera guide for children stands out for its innovative layout and design. On clearly structured pages with ornaments decorating the margin, readers will find pictures of each composer and of certain scenes that visualise the plot of his opera. Thanks to the book’s varied and interesting structure, readers will naturally be tempted to look up one opera after the other. For every example included, the text provides information about the respective composer, the libretto and its source, the main characters and their part, as well as the plot. In addition, it features anecdotes from the opera world, explanations of technical terms, and many other things. (7+)
201
Žáček, Jiří (text)
Brychtová, Lída (illus.)
Kočkování : knížka pro malé
i velké přátele koček
(Catbantering <pun> : a book for little and big friends of cats)
Praha : Knižní Klub, 2005. – 65 p.
ISBN 80-242-1272-2
Cat – Poetry
This amusing picture book – a cooperation between London-based painter and illustrator Lída Brychtová and Jiří Žáček, the popular Czech poet and author of modern classics for children – contains poems about real and imaginary, realistic and anthropomorphic cats. The imaginative texts deal with dreams, picking fruit, flying kites, and a grand ball for cats; they feature the moon, a dancer, a piano player as well as Russian, French, Venetian cats, and many more. The illustrations depicting the respective environments in strong colours and clear outlines reveal a strong influence of Brychtová’s adopted country. (4+)