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.