Slovenia
211
Štampe Žmavc, Bina (text)
Sottler, Alenka (illus.)
Cesar in roža (Emperor and Rose)
Dob pri Domžalah: Miš 2009. – 76 p.
ISBN 978-961-272-003-2
Fairy tale – Literary fairy tale – Parody
Fairy tales yet again? Yes, but there is a lot to them. True, the well-known
fairy-tale components are gathered here, too: princes, witches, roses, frogs,
tests; yet these alone would not make this award-winning book special. Bina
Štampe Žmavc’s witty and ironic view of the fairy-tale genre, which she
imitates and comments perfectly, becomes evident in elements such as the
text message from a royal mobile, or the princess who immediately takes the
frog as her husband because she knows from reading fairytales that he will
turn into a prince. At first glance, Alenka Sottler’s illustrations resemble
precious textile wall papers or heavy woven carpets; yet they often depict
modern everyday objects like price tags or bottles of washing-up liquid and
thus offer a tongue-in-cheek comment on the time-honoured genre of fairy
tales. (Age: 7+)
212
Stepančič, Damijan (illus.)
Zgodba o sidru (The tale about the anchor)
Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 2010. – 61 p.
(Series: Zbirka Velike slikanice)
ISBN 978-961-01-1159-7
Anchor – Ship –Sea – Maritime traffic
No words, only pictures: A boy living in a seaport reads about a ship’s
unusual journey – which the reader witnesses as a story within a story. When
the captain of that ship suddenly materialises in the boy’s bedroom, both
realities intertwine. It becomes obvious that the town’s monument of an
anchor is actually part of the boy’s nautical book and belongs to the
captain’s ship. Damijan Stepančič creates a profound maritime atmosphere in
a book, full of details and with multiple zooming in and out among the
various narrative levels; rendered in a historicising yellowish shade and
black ink, the pictures are reminiscent of ancient drawings and nautical
maps and offers readers new discoveries with every reading. (Age: 3+)
213
Svetina, Peter (text)
Štepančič, Damijan (illus.)
Modrost nilskih konjev (The hippos’ wisdom)
Ljubljana: DZS, 2010. – 60 p.
ISBN 978-961-02-0103-8
World – Knowledge – Nonsense – Pun
How do you measure a summer’s length? How to best explain the rainy season?
What are the appropriate manners when meeting a kangaroo? How do you fill a
skunk’s garden with water? Marcel and Hubert, two hippos who love to sit
under the sycamore tree and ponder while they throw mud balls into the river,
have a ready solution for every problem – be it constructing a tape measure,
using onomatopoeia, behaving correctly, or creating flood waves. In
entertaining, partly absurd episodes, Peter Svetina has the sedate, and
slightly clumsy and slowcoachy protagonists transform into helpers and
world-explainers without them even realising it. And because Marcel and
Hubert often take things literally, their stories are great fun to read.
(Age: 7+)