Slovak Children’s Books (review)

On the occasion of its guest of honorship at the 2010 International Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Centre for Information on Literature (Literárne InformaČné Centrum – LIC) in Slovakia published the present catalogue. With its large format, many illustrations, and superb typography/over-all design, it offers an extensive kaleidoscope of Slovak children’s literature.

Thanks to the participation of the most important Slovak children’s book institutions, the volume offers everything there is to know about Slovak children’s literature in four major sections. Experts from the LIC were joined by members of the BIBIANA, the International House of Art for Children, which partners with the renowned Biennial of Illustration Bratislava (BIB) and the Slovak IBBY section.

The catalogue opens with a series of survey articles on Slovak children’s literature, which – given the Bologna venue of its presentation – draw parallels with their Italian counterpart. The main section features detailed portraits of Slovak children’s book illustrators along with two essays on historical illustrations and the art of illustration after 1950. The third section presents contemporary children’s book authors against the backdrop of two essays delineating the history of Slovak children’s literature. The final section describes awards, activities, and reading projects in the field of Slovak children’s literature as well as the institutions LIC, BIBIANA/ IBBY (plus BIB) and the legendary children’s magazine, Slniečko. The catalogue is rounded off by an index of proper names and publishing houses and an extensive list of addresses, so readers who want to know more can seek further information.