An autobiography of war-time Bitola

Thanks to my dear friend Jim Hlavac from Australia I have recently receieved the English edition of Akchilnica (which literaly translates in little restaurant) by Vera Buzarovska. The English translation done by Paul Filev is titled The Last Summer in the Old Bazaar. The English translation is published by Saguaro Books, Arizona in 2015.

This semi-autobiografical novel talks about live in Bitola, right before and during the Second World War, under German and Bulgarian occupation. It describes the ethnic diversity of the town before the deportation of the large Jewish community to Treblinka. We see all these event through the eyes of an eleven years old girl. She works at a small restaurant in the Old Bazaar together with Sami, who is Albanian and Leon, who is Jewish.

Listen to Jim and Paul talking at the Melburn promotion of the book here.

Hedgemond the Hedgehog in Hong Kong

Little Hedgemond the Hunter from the story "Hedgehog's Home" (Ježeva kućica, Branko Ćopić) landed in Hong Kong and had a great fun with some 5-7 year old studens, who enjoyed the forest advantures of this brave and modest hedgehog, translated in English by Susan Curtis, published by Istros Books.

Hedgehogs are not a very common sight in Hong Kong, and some kids thought that hedgehogs' spikes can be poisonous and deadly. However, all the kids immediatelly fell in love with little Hedgemond.

Little Hedgemond (Ježurka Ježić) also told kids about his native home in the forests.

Looking forward to 2015

Many will use the last month of this year to summerise the year that passed. There will be lists of the best of 2014, best books included. I decided to do something with a more forward look in mind. I decided to conclude this year of Western Balkan books in translation with offering my view on the best in Western Balkans literature for children and young adults. These are my recomndations for books that should get their translations into English.

I will start with my all time childhood favourites:

1. Пријателите Бон и Бона [My Friends Ken and Dee] by Olivera Nikolova (1974). A little lonely girl gets two new friends when her candy suddenly transforms into two  funny looking and advantourous little people who could fit in her pocket.

2. Самовилското коњче [The Fairie Horse] by Dushko Nanevski (1978). This book is a collection of contemporary retellings of some of the most loved Macedonian folk tales.

There are some contemporary authors and books that take the folklore as the inspiration for their works of fantasy:

3. Deca Bestragije [Bestragia Children] by Uroš Petrović (2013).  A beautifuly narrated novel packed with adventure based on Serbian mytology. "In those days the Balkan was a bleak windy land. Borders were wild, fragile and porous, and all kinds of human and non-human beeings were wondering through the secretive paths of the pictouresque peninsula, spreading around the seeds of all sorts of curses and miracles ..."

4. Sjeverozapadni vjetar [The Tales of the Wind] by Zdenko Bašić (2011). Another fairly new fantasy book of fairies and other mitical forest dwellers from the Croatian regions of Medvednica and Samoborsko gorje. The author of the stories is even more famous as an illustrator, and he promises we will soom see these stories in a movie format as well.

And last but not least, maybe not for children, but more for young adults, a book am attempting to translate into English, still looking for a publisher interested to take on this project:

5. Невестата на змејот [The Dragon's Bride] by Vlada Urošević (2008). Based in the Macedonian folklore, this is a tale of the travels between the worlds of Low-land and High-land, a quest of a brother to find his lost sister, who is said to have been kidnapped by the dragon.

And the secret is out - I love a good fantasy adventure :)

Stories of Old

Folklore and folklore scholarsip has been see as one of the ways to promote and develop national identities in the new independent states. They are also a link between the diaspora and their native culture. Thus many of the books on this blog happen to be translatios of folk tales.

Some Great Old Stories From the Old Country is a small book, only 35 pages, published in 2006 by Nettle Hollow.  The stories in this book are old stories from the oral folk tradition of Macedonia. They are fun to share with both young and old. 

The translator and illustrator is Michael Seraphinoff, is a scholar with degrees in anthropology and an M.A. in Slavic linguistics. In addition to this latest publication, Seraphinoff has written some academic books and papers, and has translated Silyan the Stork. 

You can buy this book from the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society and Amazon. 

Children's Novels

The project of the Macedonian Government for translating "130 volumes of Macedonian Literature" into English has finished and the books have been distributed to major National Libraries throughout the world. I had the pleasure of translating the Anthology of Children's Short Stories, edited by Petre Dimovski. There are three more books for children in the whole Project: two books of children's novels and one anthology of children's poetry. 

Children's Novels 1

Children's Novels 2

The cover was created by Kočo Fidanovski.



In this post I will present the two books of novels. The editor of Children's Novels is Svetlana Hristova Jocikj and the translators are Aleksandra Koceva and Marija Dimovska.

Check out if the library near you can provide these books and here is a quick link to the Library of Congress.


The books include pieces by authors:

The magic saddle / Vančo Nikoleski ; 
Bojan / Gligor Popovski ; 
Milosija / Kata Misirkova-Rumenova ; 
The white gyrsy boy / Vidoe Podgorec
Big and small / Boško Smaḱoski ; 
Salad days / Velko Nedelkovski ; 
Marta / Gorjan Petrevski ; 
The girl with two names / Jadranka Vladova ; 
The monastery bells / Kiro Donev

Even more folk tales

If you liked Tales from Long Ago here is one more book of fairytales from Croatia. Published in 2011 by Leykam International Zagreb, this book contains eleven folktales selected and adapted by Sanja Lovrenćič. The stories have been translated in English by Karen Butler, and the book is illustrated by Ivana Guljašević.

The book includes the following tales:
The cat and the fox
And the third son was a real bandit
The glutton
How a soldier became king
The rabbit, the bear, the man, and the fox
The servant changed the master
The rooster's company
The young man and the devil emperor
The little frog girl
The bridman and the black crow
The little fairy

If you want to check this book it's available from the Balkan Bookshop.

Life Wisdom from Croatia

graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Mate Lovrić, in Croatian, Alfa, 2013

The Wild Horse (2006) by the Croatian writer Božidar Prosenjak has been compared with The Little Prince and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull. This novel was published for the first time in Croatian in 1989 and has since had numerous editions is Croatia, winning two of the most distinguished state awards: "Ivana Brlić Mažuranić" in 1989 and "Grigor Vitez" in 1989. It was received warmly by both the public and critics and entered school textbooks and required reading lists. In around 240 pages the author tells a story about a noble animal that learns true values. It a story about growing up and overcoming problems in life. The translation in English was done by Laura Gudim. For your copy of the book you can check with the publisher Academia Cravatica.

E-books for all ages

My latest discovery is this wonderful e-book publisher of translations for children by authors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Style Writers Now. The translations are mostly in English, with some are in Spanish and in German. There are more than 20 authors, and about 50 books you can get for just 1 to 3 US$. Most are picture books, but there are collections of short stories and novels. My personal favourite is Sirenoteka Fairy Tales and Rujana.

The driving force of the publisher is Marija F. Sullivan, who is also one of the authors and translator of some of the stories. Her book The Mermaid's Dream has first been published in Singapore (1995) and then in Sarajevo (2003). Adrian Mitchel compared this collection of original children’s stories to Andersen’s fairy tales. You can download a copy for free and play with the lovely little Mermaids.

You can also find Marija's books in paperback on amazon

Celebrating Spring

Another book from Montenegro comes from the editor of the anthology of short stories for children by Montenegrin authors. But this time it is a bilingual book of short stories by Dushan Djurishic as an author himself. The book was translated into English by Dragan M. Vugdelić, and illustrated by Abdulah Kozić. It was published in Podgorica by the Association of Literary Translators of Montenegro in 2008.

Dushan Djurishic (Dušan Đurišić) is one of the most prominent Montenegrin authors for children. He has received many awards and in 2010 he has been shortlisted for the Little Prince Award. His poems and short stories have been translated in about forty languages.

The book can be found at several libraries in Podgorica.

The book and the movie

After the big success of Igor Kolarov's novel Agi and Emma (2002), it was adapted for the big screen (2007) by director Milutin Petrovic. The novel tells the story about the strange, yet beautiful friendship between Agi and Emma. Agi is a 9-year-old boy, who lives in a modern family, with parents who are always busy and who move around very often. His life changes when he meets Emma, an elderly but very lively women. Ema is his only friend. Together, they create their own world, a world of friendship, imagination and creativity, full of all kinds of interesting mischief.

While teh movie was still in the making, the Serbian Company Limited from Toronto published the English translation (2006) by Irina Sutulov, with a foreword by Milutin Petrovic.

After reading the book, you can also enjoy the movie on a DVD with English subtitles

Petrlik Huseinović in Japan

         

Although my goal here is to collect English translations of Western Balkan literature for children, my recent trip to Japan inspired me to write this short post. While in Tokyo I visited the Chichiro Art Museum, dedicated to Chichiro Iwasaki, Japanese illustrator and author for children. The Museum also contains a collection of world renown illustrators for children. Among them are the works of the Croatian illustrator Andrea Petrlik Huseinović. She was awarded the Grand Prix OBI in 2004 at the Oita Biennial of Illustrations for her picture book Ciconia Ciconia, which was published in Japanese translation by Yoshie Okada in 2009.

Winter reading

The holidays are over and I am back with another wonderful collection of fairy tales. I don't know about you, but for me winter is always about snuggling up in cozy chair, soft blanket and a fairy tale book. So here it is a book of Serbian Fairy Tales published in 2013 by Flying Fish Publications. The collection contains 20 stories, selected and translated by Jelena Ćurčić, edited by Sam Quinn and featuring illustrations by Rosanna Morris. It is part of a larger project  supported by Arts Council England and Serbian Council of Great Britain.

Here is part of the description offered on their internet site: "Serbian fairy tales were first compiled in 1821 by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, 'father of the study of Serbian folklore', who was a collaborator, friend and a well-known contemporary of Brothers Grimm and Goethe...The book also contains a wealth of information about the origin of the tales, about Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Serbian folk lore and mythology and Serbian language, shining a light on the material previously not available in the UK."

And this is part of a review published on amazon by a reader: "the translation is easy to read, which makes the decision to leave key elements of Serbian folklore untranslated (Vila, and Zmaj, and Azdaja, and even Tzar) a gentle reminder that these are not English fairy tales, after all!"

Musicals

children's opera, Conway Hall

musical, Tabernacle Theater

Copić's little hedgehog really enjoys his stay in the UK. After being translated in English by Susan Curtis and published as a beautiful picturebook titled Hedgehog's Home, the story about the modest hedgehog will soon be performed in English as a musical for a second time. 

The first UK musical adaptation was done in a form of an opera with music by Emily Leather, in cooperation with the soprano singer, Elinor Moran. The premiere performances took place on 9 November 2012 at Conway Hall. In this show the professional musicians were joined on stage by the pupils from Fitzjohn’s Primary School in Camden.

On 15 December 2013 at the Tabernacle Theatre in London you can attend the premiere of a new musical. This is the first project of Honeybear Youth Theatre, part of Honey-tongued Theatre Productions Ltd. Honey-tongued Theatre Productions wishes to help transform the cultural perception of South-Eastern Europe.

Of spiders and winds

One more picture book you can read online from the International Children's Digital Library is Otto the Spider (2004) by author and illustrator Manuela Vladić-Maštruko, translated into English by Tamara Budin.

This book was awarded The Best Picture Book in 2005 at the Croatian Interlibera. Just three days ago Manuela Vladić-Maštruko has received the 2013 Best Picture Book again, for her tenth picture book Mauro - the blue whale. This is Manuela's third award for best picture book.

Manuela Vladić-Maštruko has organized art workshops for children in museums and galleries, she illustrated the German magazine for children and adults "Vorhang auf". She lives with her family  in Zagreb, Croatia.

For little naughty princesses and princes

The Tale of Sigismunda and Krpimir is written by Sanja Lovrenčić, translated in English as a joint effort of the author and Peter Carrier, and illustrated by Pika Vončina.

This tale is about princess Sigi, the baker’s apprentice Krpi and the two rival kings, Muk and Mrachak. The last two try to win Sigi's hand in marriage and are eager to make war to show who's best. But violence is not the way to make a princess like you, and it can be expensive too, especially if you use elite water dragons. After all, princess Sigi really only likes Krpimir.

This is another book selected for the White Raven list  for 2004 and won a prize as a theater play.

Once upon a time...

A selection of twenty two Albanian folktales translated by Robert Elsie are free to read from his website. Most of the tales are translated as they appeared in Albanian language in Folklor shqiptar 1, Proza popullore (Tirana 1963). Together with about ten legends and an introduction by the translator they have been published in a book format first by Naim Frashëri Publishing Company, Tirana (Albania) in 1994; and than again by Dukagjini Publishing Company, Peja (Kosova) in 2001.

The stories in the collection are not necessarily written for children, but as in other folktales and adaptations children would find much pleasure in the fantastic world of the tales. As the translator and editor of the book states in his introduction: "The fundamental theme of Albanian folk tales, as no doubt of folk tales everywhere, is the struggle between good and evil, a reflection of social values as we perceive them. The cautious reader may rest assured ... that in the fantastic world of Albanian folk literature the good always win out."

Discovering little secrets

Another e-picturebook free to read online is Secret's Secret written by Dragana Kršenković Brković and illustrated by Suzana Pajović Živković. The book was published by the School of Fine Arts, University of Montenegro [Fakultet likovnih umjetnosti, Univerzitet Crne Gore] in 2011 and nominated for the 2011 Biennial of Illustration Bratislava (BIB) award.

One of the most prominent characteristics of Dragana Kršenković Brković's writing is her love for innovation based on mythology, legends and fairy-tales. One of her other books for children The Genie of the Manito Lake, unfortunately not yet translated in English, was selected for the 2011 White Ravens list for books that deserve wider reception due to the innovative artistic and literary style. She also won the best children's play award for The Marvelous Star (1990).

Dragana Kršenković Brković and her husband established the first children's puppet theater in Montenegro, Blue Lagoon.

Where is home?

Andrea Petrlik Huseinović is a writer and illustrator for children. She has received the 2014 GRAND PRIX at the Oita Biennial of Illustrations, Japan and the 2003 BIB GOLD PLAQUE in Bratislava. Her two most awarded and most read books are The Blue Sky and Ciconia Ciconia, translated into English by Ludwig Bauer.

Andrea Petrlik Huseinović wrote and illustrated Maleni in English and Croatian. Together with her husband Kašmir Huseinović they created Oscar, Hector and A Tale of Snowman. She also wrote and illustrated adaptations of the famous children's classics Little Red Ridding Hood and The Three Little Pigs.

The Digital Children's Library is a great source of free multicultural e-books for children. And if you have time you can put your translation skills to great use and translate the books in as many languages as you know. It is my favorite translation volunteer  work.

If you check the web site of the publisher Kašmir promet you may find more of their books available in English, and other languages too.

Another folk story

Theater for Children and Youth Skopje

After the Croatian folk tales, you can also check the translation of an old folk story from Macedonia, Silyan the Stork translated in English by Michael Seraphinoff.

The story comes from the collections of folk tales recorded by Marko Cepenkov (or Tsepenkov) (1829 - 1920). A selection from the collection is also available in English edited by Dr. Ilija Casule, translated by Fay Thomev and published by Macquarie Univerity, Sidney.

The Macedonian language children adaptation of the story can be found at the Digital Children's Library.

Tales from Long Ago

illustration by Vladimir Kirin

And now something for the fantasy lovers. Probably most of the translated text for children from the Balkans are traditional folk tales. But this book offers a twist to the folk tales from the Croatian Tolkin. Croatian Tales of Long Ago were written by Ivana Brlić Mažuranić in 1916 in Zagreb. It was translated in English by F.S. Coperland and published in 1922 in New York and 1924 in London, with illustrations by the Croatian artist Vladimir Kirin. The six (or eight) stories included in the collection will also give you an insight into Slavic mythology.

Recently, the tales have been given a new look in a wonderful animation project by Helena Bulaja.