Description
A collectable series of six mini picturebooks curated by Rūta Briede, each featuring a delightful story accompanied by colourful illustrations. The titles included in the second set are:
Secret by Jāzeps Osmanis, illustrated by Ingrīda Pičukāne. A little boy wants to tell his mother a secret, but first she has to swear to tell NO-ONE ELSE! There is also a secret hidden in the illustrations.
Publication date: 20 Jan 2020 | Paperback ISBN 9781912915491
Potato Potato by Vitauts Ļūdēns, illustrated by Ieva Jurjāne.
A fun nursery rhyme about potatoes, written across a long strip of potato peel.
Publication date: 20 Jan 2020 | Paperback ISBN 9781912915507
Mole by Vitauts Ļūdēns, illustrated by Dita Pence.
Who would imagine that a family of moles has built a metro system right under our feet – and that the little mounds you see in the fields are actually their subway train stations?
Publication date: 20 Jan 2020 | Paperback ISBN: 9781912915514
The Tall Tale of a Mischievous Mushroom Picker by Inese Zandere, illustrated by Edmunds Jansons.
A fun nonsense rhyme about a child who goes mushroom-picking.
Publication date: 20 Jan 2020 | Paperback ISBN: 9781912915521
Emil by Inga Gaile, illustrated by Anna Zvaigzne.
A love poem to Emil!
Publication date: 20 Jan 2020 | Paperback ISBN: 9781912915538
I want a little puppy dog by Ilmārs Šlāpins, illustrated by Dārta Stafecka
This man wants a dog and will stop at nothing to get it! Beautifully illustrated with embroidery.
Publication date: 20 Jan 2020 | Paperback ISBN: 9781912915545
About the authors
Jāzeps Osmanis was a writer, translator, artist and publisher who received the Latvian Association of Publisher’s Lifetime Achievement award. As well as children’s poetry, he has produced several prose anthologies for children and critical writing on the history of children’s literature.
Vitauts Ļūdēns, nephew of one Edvarts Virza, one of the most important Latvian writers of the twentieth century, was a poet and journalist with a special interest in children’s literature. He received the prestigious Ojārs Vācietis Prize (awarded every five years) for his children’s poetry, and also wrote pop songs.
Inese Zandere is a poet, editor, and publisher as well as the author of over 20 books for children. Her book of poems for children Medicine Maddy and Other Hospital Nursery Rhymes was awarded the Annual Latvian Literature Award for the best original children’s book and her poetry and theatre plays for children have been widely translated.
Inga Gaile is a poet, writer, playwright and theatre director who has published poetry for adults and children. Notably, her work has twice been awarded the Ojārs Vācietis Prize. President of Latvia PEN, she is also the founder of the feminist stand-up comedy group Sieviešu stendaps.
Ilmārs Šlāpins is a writer, translator and DJ whose projects range from editing dictionaries of Latvian to organizing concerts. He has written poetry for children and adults and produced several librettos as well as creating soundtracks for theatre.
About the illustrators
Ingrīda Pičukāne is an artist, illustrator, and a teacher in animation and comics at the Riga School of Art and Media, with a particular interest in feminist art and the portrayal of female characters. She is also the publisher of the feminist zine ‘Samanta’.
Ieva Jurjāne is an artist, set designer and one of the founding members of the Jaunā Teātra Institute, perhaps best known for her scenography and costume design for the Latvian National Opera which has received several national awards.
Dita Pence is a contemporary Latvian concept artist and illustrator whose work spans print and digital media.
Edmunds Jansons is an award-winning director, animator and computer graphic artist known also for his contribution to children’s literature. His illustrations for children’s books have been recognised by IBBY as well as winning several national prizes.
Anna Zvaigzne is an artist, illustrator and education methodologist whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is also the Head of the International Relations Department at the Art Academy of Latvia.
Dārta Stafecka has a BA and MA in printmaking from the Art Academy of Latvia. Her work has been exhibited in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia, and recognized by the Boris Berzins Award (2013) and the Brederlo von Sengbusch Art Award (2016).
About the translators
Uldis Balodis is linguist, literary translator and editor whose translation experience spans mysteries, children’s stories, and scientific articles, and children’s poetry. He holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and has studied over 30 languages including Navajo, Sanskrit, and Livonian. He grew up in Arizona, a descendant of the World War II Latvian refugee community in the United States, and is passionate about photography.
Žanete Vēvere Pasqualini works as a literary agent for the Latvian Literature platform and translates in her spare time. Her translation of Kristine Ulberga’s “The Green Crow” was published by Peter Owen Publishers, and she translated the stories “The Birds of Ķīpsala Island” by Dace Rukšāne and “The Shakes” by Svens Kuzmins for The Book of Riga, published by Comma Press in 2018, as well as “The Quarry” by Jana Egle (for Words Without Borders). Her other translations in English include: The Noisy Classroom by Ieva Flamingo (children’s poetry, published by the Emma Press), Dog Town by Luīze Pastore (a children’s book, published by Firefly).
Kaija Straumanis is an award-winning translator from the Latvian. She has an MA in Literary Translation Studies from the University of Rochester in New York, and is the Editorial Director of Open Letter Books. Her translations include works by such authors as Inga Ābele, Jānis Joņevs, Laura Vinogradova, Gundega Repše, among others. She received a 2020 NEA Literature Translation Fellowship for her work on Forest Daughters ed. Sanita Reinsone.
Kate Wakeling is a poet and musicologist. Her debut poetry collection for children, Moon Juice, won the CLiPPA in 2017 and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. A pamphlet of her poetry for adults, The Rainbow Faults, is published by The Rialto. Kate studied music at Cambridge University and holds a PhD in Balinese gamelan music from SOAS. She is writer-in-residence with Aurora Orchestra.
Biographical information courtesy of LU LFMI.
