childrens books Archives

The Sneering Bird

~~16,00 €~~ 13,60 €

Illustrating a fable about a parrot run away from the ZOO who meets various animals and finds all of them for some reason ridiculous until a fox teaches it a lesson, the artist Ivana Pipal finds ingenious ways of representing basically the same situation: the parrot and another animal. Giving each protagonist mood and personality, and creating at the same time deeply pleasant green world of the woods, she turns the tale about understanding and accepting others into rich visual pleasure.

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Serna and Mack in Pursuit of the Frightened Month

~~15,00 €~~ 12,75 €

Josip Čekolj

In his first prose text the young author uses patterns of traditional storytelling to speak about the contemporary problem of climate change. January disappeared, frightened by the absence of winter; a girl and a household spirit set off on a journey through the world of calendar, trying to find him and persuade him to come back. Adroitly following the spirit of the text, the illustrator uses elements from traditional book illustration, blending them with modern technique and expression.

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Safe Journey

~~14,00 €~~ 11,90 €

Beatrice Masini

Beatrice Masini and Gianni De Conno, the award-winning Italian tandem, communicate in this picture book the artistic and emotional experience of travelling. The combination of magnificent oneiric images and the poetic prose takes us on a journey into the unknown: sometimes the destination is known, and sometimes the trip is just aimless wandering; sometimes we encounter obstacles and surprises, sometimes “treasures we don’t know yet of.” Every journey is a unique experience; and the insights we gain, the feelings we go through, and the memories we create are its precious consequences. Attractive illustrations and suggestive short sentences stimulate imagination and their dreamy quality has won numerous readers; in 2018 Beatrice Masini and Gianni De Conno received the most prestigious prize in the field of children’s literature “SuperPremio Andersen”. For the great Gianni De Conno, this picture book marked the end of a life’s journey; it is the last and farewell gift he left us before his untimely death.

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

We, the Mice

~~12,00 €~~ 10,20 €

Pika Vončina

“We, the Mice”, a new picture book by Pika Vončina, is a sequel to her series of picture books about a fantastic animal world. Four stories about a harmonious family of mice are told by Erik the Unstoppable, the mouse who got his nickname because he constantly asks curious questions. His family does not live in “holes” but in nice and comfy dwellings, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables (sometimes even cheese!), loving music and gardens…

The text is handwritten in large block letters, which allows younger children to read it on their own, and helps them as an additional motivation in the process of learning to read and write. The diversity of characters and settings stimulates the development of children’s imagination and deepens their perception and emotional intelligence.

Ages 4-7

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Six Walks of Slava Raškaj

~~15,00 €~~ 12,75 €

Sanja Lovrenčić

This picture-book is the first within a series with which Mala zvona introduces works of great Croatian visual artists to children. The famous Croatian impressionist painter S. Raškaj was deaf – and very sensitive to nature. Therefore, the writer of this picture book chose to represent her life and work in six walks with easel in different surroundings: the garden of her childhood, parks in the city where she learned to paint, winter woods and summer meadows where she made her best pictures. The illustrator did not copy the style of watercolors made by S. Raškaj, but gave the adequate transparence and lightness to his own.

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Once

~~12,00 €~~ 10,20 €

Igor Rajki

In this extraordinary picture-book the story keeps returning to its beginning. At every page, Igor Rajki starts out with the classical formula “Once there was a…”, only to interrupt the narration and turn to something else. The little sketches created in this way as well as the reasons the author offers for never finishing any of his stories finally build up to a hilarious mosaic of anecdotes while constructing a somewhat nervous but highly entertaining narrative voice. The visual artist Krešimir Zimonić responded to the fragmentary narrative style by using techniques of collage which combine drawings, photographs, graffiti styled writings and “ready-made” visual material. Once is, for this reason, a thoroughly sketchy and incredibly rich little book.

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Cats

~~12,00 €~~ 10,20 €

Pika Vončina

In Cats, the author offers several connected tales: a brave cat Mortimer goes to the sea to see the great white shark (meeting on his way the dangerous mister Darkly); a company of wandering acrobat-cats falls apart because of a very strange problem; Zigfrid and Zelda, brother and sister, practice the skills of measuring and sewing in their own way; and cat chefs, Leonard and Edgar are making pancakes for all of them.

Age: 4-6

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

The Voyage of Aunt Hilda

~~10,00 €~~ 8,50 €

Pika Vončina

Hilda is an adventurous chicken (rare thing in a chicken house); she embarks on a long journey, searching for the river Limpopo. Her adventures are told in words and pictures, in a series of postcards that she sends to her friends who have stayed home (as a normal chicken should). Her postcards are never just landscapes; the picture always shows someone she met on the road: two ladybugs who lost their sister, a pig prince, a walking hill, a cat teacher teaching only the letter A, and a number of other characters whose stories she tells in just a few words. They make a pleasant reading, full of little surprises that excite wonder and laughter.

Age: 4-6

Add to wishlist

The Story of Golem

~~13,00 €~~ 11,05 €

Drawing on the Jewish visual and literary tradition, Melita Kraus rewrites the legend of Golem of Prague, highlighting its fantastic and amusing side: funny episodes, caused by the fact that Golem’s creators succeeded in making him alive and strong, but not very bright, make the story lively and full of surprises. Placing the frame story (about a little boy who gets lost in the old Prague) in the present time, and narrating in a simple and contemporary language, Melita Kraus establishes a close relationship with the young reader, and draws her/him into the world of her imagination.

Age: 6-8

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Lili

~~10,00 €~~ 8,50 €

Melita Kraus

Playing with the motives of Andersen’s “Little girl with the matches” Melita Kraus tells the story about a little she-dog named Lili, whose old master got ill and had to go to the hospital – on the Christmas Eve. The little dog is left alone and tries to win someone’s attention, but nobody cares for her. Very tired and hungry she rambles through the town, until she is too exhausted to continue. She lies down and sees – in a dream – her dog-parents. They give her advice – to knock at the door in front of which she is lying…

Simply told and emotional, ideal reading for the young children (+3).

Add to wishlist

A Dream About Circus

~~10,00 €~~ 8,50 €

Sanja Lovrenčić

How to choose a profession? This fundamental question is treated in quite an unusual way when a girl decides to be “a girl from the circus” – and gives good reasons for her decision. The girl’s mother gives examples of professions with the same advantages, but Irene finds a way to follow her dream.

Add to wishlist