13 Hungarian Children’s Books

A publication of the Hungarian Books and Translations Office - PIM, 2014

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introductionThe present publication contains suggestions compiled by a panel of experts containing books for children and juveniles published in Hungary during the recent past. It is meant to target those foreign publishers who are interested in a wide spectrum of children’s publications, are curious to read about the best Hungarian offerings, and would welcome signposts to help them along the way.

When compiling our list of offerings, our primary consideration was quality. At the same time, the panel has kept in mind the need for easy translatability and ease of comprehension. Consequently, our list of offerings does not contain works of obvious merit that would fit into a wider literary and cultural environment only with difficulty, if at all.

The publication has also attempted to go beyond giving the usual brief synopsis for the books being offered by providing a sampling of the illustrations that, it is hoped, will convey the mood alongside the storyline.

With view to the above, we hope that this small brochure will not only prove to be a useful guide but entertaining reading as well for all our partners.

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contentsTHE FAIRY WHO COULD SEE IN THE DARK A sötétben látó tündér

TRANSFORMED CHILDREN Átváltozott gyerekek

DRAGON ON THE STAIRS Sárkány a lépcsoházban

MARVEL AND LOLLOP Csoda és Kósza

CAPTAIN AND ORANGE FISH Kapitány és narancshal

LENKA, PATRICK Lenka, Palkó

LOUIS FAT’S IN TOWN Kövér Lajos színre lép

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THE GIRL WITH BLUE HAIR A kék hajú lány

THE HOUSE OF THE STONE MONKEYS A komajmok háza

WHAT SORT OF BIRD Milyen madár

POOR JOHNNY AND ARNIKA Szegény Dzsoni és Árnika

I THINK WE SHOULD ALL STAY HOME ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON Szerintem mindenki maradjon otthon vasárnap délután

FREEFALL Szabadesés

WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS

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László Bagossy THE FAIRY WHO COULD SEE IN THE DARK [A sötétben látó tündér]

László Bagossy’s book was originally written for the stage, which is understandable, since the author is a playwright and director.

The story relies heavily on Hungarian (European) children’s story tradition. Its characters are fairies, kings and princes, magic mares, and the like. But this time we are told the story from the point of view of a young fairy child who is battling with the same problems of self-appreciation as any human child. What’s more, the protagonist is an underprivileged fairy who has no magic powers at all, though as his

mother gradually makes him realize, he does have one: he can see in the dark. And what he sees are stories. His special gift is that the stories he sees in the dark actually come alive.

The story is related by the fairy in the title so convincingly, that by the end of the book, we are convinced ourselves that we, too, are fairies who can see in the dark.

The book has been awarded both the IBBY and Beautiful Hungarian Book prizes.

“Nearly every page of this large format child-ren’s book contains large, full-page illustra-tions that will appeal to our children, while the onrush of events sweeps along both the reader and the listener. But take fair warning. You won’t find many spots where you can stop reading and say, ‘We’ll continue where we have left off tomorrow!’, because you will have to read the whole thing in one go – and not only for the sake of the child.”Éva Csoma, www.fszek.hu, 2013

PUBLISHER: Pagony Kiadó

PAGES: 64

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2009

ILLUSTRATOR: Mari Takács

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Borbála Szabó TRANSFORMED CHILDREN [Átváltozott gyerekek]

PUBLISHER: Pagony Kiadó

PAGES: 102

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2012

ILLUSTRATOR: Nóra Rácz

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Made up of five relatively short stories, the book takes the everyday lives of a family with three children into the world of tales. With an audacious leap, each story thrusts the most banal situations into the world of fiction, so that when we return to reality, we do so with simple yet worthwhile lessons in our bags.

An eight year old boy who is transformed into his father and a five year old girl who is transformed into her baby brother, toys that come alive during the night, a jail for picky eaters made out of food that children hate, and the story of Cinderella as performed by the family with Barbie dolls – Borbála Szabó has compiled these and many more simple but brilliant ideas to make people of all ages laugh good heartedly.

The author is a dramaturge by profession, which has left its mark on the precise and innovative structure of the dialogues. Full

of action, her stories present the absurd situations that arise between parents and children, children and children, or else parents and parents, so that young and old readers alike will recognize themselves and their families in them.

“In keeping with adventure stories, the storyline relies on sustaining suspense and tension, accidental coincidences, mysterious letters from an anonymous sender, and surprising transforma-tions that move the events along. And in the meanwhile, there emerges the picture of a lovable family made up of flesh and blood people.”Fanni Kucserka, Meseutca.hu, 2012

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PUBLISHER: Naphegy Kiadó PAGES: 80DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2008ILLUSTRATOR: Fruzsina Kun

The book contains seven short, lyrical tales about the life of Johnny, a five-year-old boy. It begins with a New Year’s Eve celebration and continues to the end of the year, and meanwhile life goes on – kindergarten, Easter, play, adventure. But life goes on on another track as well – Johnny’s parents are getting a divorce, grandmother dies, and the owl is very scary. This darker side of life, however, is present in the book in a less obvious way. For instance, his father is missing at Johnny’s birthday party, while grandmother is taken up to the sky by a paper kite.

The stories rely heavily on the depiction of mood and the little boy’s point of view, which is always at the heart of the stories. We see the world through

microcosms, through the filter of playing and the child-mother relationship. These emotional and atmospheric elements and the child’s perspective are enhanced by the excellent illustrations.

While children will be captivated by the world of the colorful illustrations as they are guided

through the stories along their mysterious paths, their parents will feel renewed nostalgia for their own childhood and will be absorbed by the more profound repercussions of the texts.

“If I were to be asked to summarize the book in a single sentence, I would say, it contains episodes from the life of a little boy. But these gentle, melancholy stories have more to offer. They delve deep without heaping word on top of word. They touch upon subjects difficult to talk about, even for a grownup – divorce, death, loss, and anxiety.”Gabriella Rácz, Gyermekirodalom.hu, 2012

Lídia NádoriDRAGON ON THE STAIRS [Sárkány a lépcsoházban]

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The two horses Marvel and Lollop live peacefully on a farm at a short distance from Budapest. Lollop is a stallion with very little brains, who acts first and thinks afterwards (if at all). Marvel is just the opposite. His major concern and preoccupation is to set right the mischief that Lollop inadvertently causes. They are the Laurel and Hardy of Hungarian farm life or, better yet, the Asterix and Obelix of horse breeding on the Great Hungarian Plain. Still, they have precious little to do with their original environment (the farm). They are much more apt to make an appearance in a pizzeria, a museum, on the planet Mars, or even, surprising as it may sound, the primeval world of dinosaurs. For these two horses, nothing is impossible.

As they go from adventure to adventure, we can’t take them seriously, and yet what happens to them touch upon very basic problems. In the book, Zoltán Czigány, who died at the age of 46,

treats fundamental moral issues without every being didactic. The profound and often thought-provoking content, dressed in light, entertaining and seemingly frivolous robes, will hold young and mature readers equally in thrall.

Marvel and Lollop was awarded the Hungarian IBBY Children’s Book of the Year distinction in 2008.

“Lollop generally manages to cause quite a stir around himself, but it’s not the kind of situation like when someone bangs against the kitchen table and knocks over the tea kettle. No. Lollop would knock down the kettle only to see what’s inside, and then would simultaneously cry out, wow, it’s so hot, and also, wow, wonder why it’s so hot? Marvel is a really good brother to him who is always at his heels, trying to get him out of the mess he’s caused. He’s not much more experienced than Lollop, as far as that goes; on the other hand, perhaps he’s more sober-minded.”Anna Miklya, Magyar Narancs, 2008

Zoltán Czigány MARVEL AND LOLLOP TRILOGY [Csoda és Kósza trilógia]

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MARVEL AND LOLLOP [Csoda és Kósza]PUBLISHER: Pagony KiadóPAGES: 104DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2007ILLUSTRATOR: András Baranyai

THE WORLD AROUND MARVEL AND LOLLOP [Csoda és Kósza körül a Föld]PUBLISHER: Pagony KiadóPAGES: 104DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2009ILLUSTRATOR: András Baranyai

THE OLDEST ADVENTURES OF MARVEL AND LOLLOP [Csoda és Kósza legrégebbi kalandjai]PUBLISHER: Pagony KiadóPAGES: 104DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2011ILLUSTRATOR: András Baranyai

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Angi Máté CAPTAIN AND ORANGE FISH [Kapitány és Narancshal]

The captain who loves giving orders once goes on dry land to see what the world is like beyond his kingdom beyond the seas. But no sooner does he leave his ship behind and is away from his obedient sailors, he has no one to give orders to. In fact, there are no orders to give. This puts his view of the world in a new perspective, and he realizes that he has much to learn. Then one day Orange Fish, his only friend who lives in a jar, disappears, and the captain’s log of things to learn is lengthened with searching for him. He searches and

he learns. Thanks to various meetings and exemplary tales, he comes up with a new philosophy of life and finds his way back to his friend who, as it turns out, has had surprising and amazing adventures.

With its emphasis on the lyrical, Angi Máté’s book takes us into a hermetic world of fantasy where a street sprinkler and a chair that eats apples, a crab and a balloon moon make for easy companions. This unique world of images is beautifully illustrated by Kinga Rófusz’s series of full-page illustrations that, both in length and content, make up more than half of the book.

Both the author and illustrator have received IBBY prizes for their previous books.

“A tale that is open to a number of interpretations, a tale for which we can invent numerous endings, a tale that floats on the deep sea of philosophy like a small paper ship – at times this tale makes us laugh, and at times our eyes grow moist as we read, because it is so very true.”Ildikó Wittmann, Gyermekirodalom.hu, 2012

PUBLISHER: Magvető Kiadó PAGES: 50DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2012ILLUSTRATOR: Kinga Rófusz

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Katalin Szegedi LENKA, PATRICK [Lenka, Palkó]

PUBLISHER: :CSIMOTA KIADÓ

PAGES: 32

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2010, 2013

ILLUSTRATOR: KATALIN SZEGEDI

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Twin books are a rarity, especially in children’s literature. Lenka and Patrick are two separate stories with a shared ending, the story of the meeting between a chubby little girl and a skinny little boy. They are suffering from the same thing – being cast out of the community of “normal” children. Their physical imperfection is the cause of their psychological problems, but only until the two meet and become friends.

These two books, published by Csimota Kiadó, form part of the Tolerance Series, which deals with subjects that will encourage children to show tolerance toward each other. The story of Lenka and Patrick shows children from the inside what it is like to be ostracized by their peers.

In the twin volumes, text and illustration are closely bound. The illustrations not only show readers what is happening, they take a part in the story telling itself.

Katalin Szegedi has been included in the IBBY Honour List and was a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

“The two books, which tell the story of the develo-ping friendship between the two children and the fantastic experience of finding each other, harmo-nize and complement each other even in their co-lor. Reaching across the volumes, the two hearts beat to the same rhythm only to continue beating as one in perfect understanding.” Katalin Szabó-Tasi, Könyvmutatványosok, 2013

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Louis Fat is so fat, he lives along the entire street, which is why the street was named after him. In wake of the grotesque upbeat follows the even more grotesque continuation. The very fat man can hardly move at all, so he needs help from his friend, Louis Slim. Slim helps him with the household tasks and with getting around town, and also, with eating and dressing. Slim picks his obese friend up so often that after a while he becomes strong and muscular, and he even wins a world weight lifting championship. The simple friendly assistance turns into a real sports venture.

The two volumes contain a chain of amusing stories whose protagonists have to face different problems and who, despite their problems, manage to preserve not only their openness and

tolerance, but their love for others as well. They never do anything to hurt anyone, and always strive to overcome the difficulties they or their friends face. Is this an example to emulate or an idealized world? Who knows. In any case, it feels good being inside it, and it feels good being able to share the characters’ happiness.

The author, the father of five children, was awarded an IBBY prize for Louis Fat’s Golden Hand in 2008.

“Pál Békés has said that one of the most interesting things about the book is the way it turns a simple street into a ‘magi-cal world’ and the way the author places ordinary people into it. This story-land, however, is not all that distant. It is not beyond the seven seas; it is the gentle world we all know, and the places where the stories unfold are familiar to us all.”Betti Varga, Prae.hu, 2008

PUBLISHER: General Press Kiadó PAGES: 88DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2007, 2008ILLUSTRATOR: Jacqueline Molnár

János Lackfi LOUIS FAT’S IN TOWN [Kövér Lajos színre lép]

LOUIS FAT’S GOLDEN HAND [Kövér Lajos arany keze]

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Péter DókaTHE GIRL WITH BLUE HAIR [A kék hajú lány]

The setting is a hospital. The main protagonist is Oliver, who falls off a tree and fractures his arm and ribs, but does not suffer more serious injuries. In the hospital ward he meets children with lives very different from his own, but what is much more exciting, while he is having lunch, a girl shows up. She is in a wheelchair and has blue hair, and Oliver can’t think about anyone else but her.

Simple yet lyrical, the book is an adolescent love story on whose every page there hovers the oppressive shadow of sickness and death. Love and death - the protagonist, who is weighed down by the search for identity typical of puberty, must also learn to grapple with these two aspects of life. The text is strong and focused, and relies often

and with a sure hand on the empathy of children. It does not offer a recipe for living through problems and surviving them, it does not provide a didactic ending. It gives, instead, sufficient space for young readers to imagine the unfolding, each according to his or her personality. Instead of explaining anything, it prefers to provoke reflection.

The illustrations were made by István Lakatos, who was awarded an IBBY prize in 2011 for his own children’s book.

“Though Péter Dóka’s story for children is about the love (or whatever) that stirs the hearts of young teens, it is not at all romantic. Set in a hospital, it consistently reflects a realistic child’s view of the world. But the sparing prose style, the refined spirit and easy to follow storyline will make it appealing to more mature audiences as well.”Lilla Proics, Revizor online, 2013

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PUBLISHER: Móra KönyvkiadóPAGES: 88DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2013ILLUSTRATOR: István Lakatos

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István Tasnádi THE HOUSE OF THE STONE MONKEYS [A komajmok háza]

PUBLISHER: Pagony Kiadó PAGES: 88DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2012ILLUSTRATOR: László Herbszt

The action proceeds along two tracks and two time frames, and yet one feels that the book is relating the alternative lives of one protagonist.

We meet the boy, who lives with his mother in a Budapest apartment house, in the summer of 2012. He is Cornelius. He is suffering from asthma, and so is left out of many good things, such as playing soccer. His father is not with him; in fact, he doesn’t even remember him.

Another boy is spending his vacation with his grandparents in the same building in the summer of 1982. He is George. He is the typical bad boy – he wanders off, sneaks into the movies to see “The Empire Strikes Back”, and disturbs the quiet of the peaceful apartment house.

The house unveils its mysterious secret to both of them, for it turns out that it is inhabited by magicos being threatened by the murderous peritons, and their only protection is provided by the two stone monkeys standing guard above the main entrance. It further turns out that the little girl next door is really a salamander, her grandmother is a fairy, and Uncle Dragoman upstairs is, as his name indicates, a dragon.

The often sad reality clothed in the garbs of tales has a profound effect on both children, and at the end of the story, things come to fruition with George and Cornelius, father and son, finding each other.

The book was awarded the Children’s Book of the Year prize in 2012.

“Cornelius, who is living with his mother, is looking for an explanation for why he doesn’t know his father, while George is wondering why he can’t do anything right. These subjects could hardly be treated more simply and with more clarity and beauty in a children’s book than it is treated by Tasnádi, who avoids providing the answers that grownups might give.”Bálint Kovács, Magyar Narancs, 2012

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Árpád Kollár WHAT SORT OF BIRD [Milyen madár]

PUBLISHER: Csimota Kiadó PAGES: 62

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2014

ILLUSTRATOR: Norbert Nagy

Out of the mouth of babes and in-depth analysis, child psychology and grownup psychology, or a simple, intent gaze at the world from above and from below, the book offers all of this at the same time. The poems that comprise it are reminiscent of prose, yet are bona fide poems. The subject of most of them leaves traditional children’s topics behind to take readers of all ages into areas that will make them wonder why no one has treated these obvious problems before.

The volume is the taking of accounts through poetry. On the one hand, it offers an inventory of the world of children, the body, the objects they own, the things they like or dislike, their fictitious and real environment,

their families and acts and, on the other, it is the depiction, through surprising metaphors, of a very special universe that exists in the fantasies of children as well as those grownups who have retained their childhood fantasies.

The poems are characterized by a certain inner hesitation, thereby placing the child’s as yet wobbly world view into a brand new perspective, and through their special use of language, they bring to the surface mental processes that traditional poetic and syntactic structures are not sufficient to handle. This is what gives the poems in the book with their refreshing quality and sense of novelty.

“Árpád Kollár’s progressive and in no way overly lyrical book, What Sort of Bird, became a cult item even before its publication.”Boldizsár Nagy, Litera.hu, 2014

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Ervin Lázár POOR JOHNNY AND ARNIKA [Szegény Dzsoni és Árnika]

The book, which was made into a movie in the eighties and is on the reading agenda of elementary schools, is a contemporary classics of Hungarian children’s literature.

The basic situation is as follows: the father is relating a tale to his daughter, but the daughter contributes the characters. Poor Johnny is a free-as-can-be young itinerant journeyman who is a stranger to constraint and is very happy, while Arnika is a beautiful princess who is brought up in a liberal family environment. What’s more, she is even allowed to choose a husband for herself. The moment the two meet, they fall in love. The trouble is that there’s a wicked witch who puts a curse on them, and they are turned into ducks. Actually, only one of them is turned into a duck, and to add insult to injury, they can turn back into a human being any time, except there’s a catch – this can happen only if the other one is turned into a duck instead.

In order to find a remedy for the curse, the two embark on a journey to ask the Seven Headed Fairy for help. On the way they meet strange figures, a bit like the Little Prince,

who encounters typical human problems as he travels from planet to planet. They are confronted with the problems of highwaymen who in their effort to improve have formed a soccer team, the man whose feelings are always hurt, and twelve brothers who can feel each other’s pain. Luckily, the two are often able to provide a remedy for the problems of the characters they meet.

The story of Poor Johnny and Arnika borrows its building blocks from the world of folk tales, but when all is said and done, the stories are very much of today and contain lessons for today’s reader. Between episodes, the father, who is telling the tales, discusses the ethical problems posed by them with his children, but it is part of Ervin Lázár’s exceptional talent that he presents these dialogs without ever erring on the side of the didactic.

“The system of values based on love, familiar to readers of The Seven Headed Fairy series, is given a new dimension in Poor Johnny and Arnika, which shows us that loving well means responsibility, and that freedom comes with a price.” Zoltán Pompor

PUBLISHER: Móra Kiadó PAGES: 102ILLUSTRATOR: László Réber / Jacqueline Molnár

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A short and absurd yarn about why it’s good to stay home on Sunday afternoon. The hero of the story (story?) is Joseph Hay, whom everyone just calls Hay Joe, and there’s nothing Joseph likes better than to fly around above the small country town where he lives. Because, believe it or not, Joseph Hay can fly. How? Why? Don’t ask. You’ll just have to make do with taking this information in stride.

The book is a double portrait. On the one hand, it is the portrait of the eventless events of the sleepy town where Joseph lives, and on the other, of a family without ties to each other. Take Joseph, for instance. Not only is he without ties to the ground, he veritably hovers over his life, and just as he is free of the ground, so he is free of the people around him as well. By the time he

gets home, even the dinner on his plate is cold. By way of an aside, the author has dedicated his book “only to fathers with children”.

Despite the author’s special brand of humor and the book’s lyrical tone, it is very much down to earth, and is rendered even more so by András Baranyai’s insightful yet entertaining illustrations.

In 2007 the artist was awarded the IBBY prize for his work on this book.

Ottó Kiss I THINK WE SHOULD ALL STAY HOME ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON [Szerintem mindenki maradjon otthon vasárnap délután]

“Not only does Joseph Hay’s character, but his world view, too, bears similarity to Winnie the Pooh’s. Just like Pooh, he also makes buzzing sounds and pretends he’s a bee, so people won’t recognize him – and in fact, policemen Joe and Mike take him for a buzzing bee. His ’gruff and rough’ simplicity and simple- mindedness re-mind us of Pooh as well.”Andrea Lovász, Új Könyvpiac, 2006

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PUBLISHER: Csodaceruza Kiadó PAGES: 36DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2006ILLUSTRATOR: András Baranyai

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Móra Kiadó’s Taboo Books series was especially designed as a forum for the discussion of delicate, problematic subjects. Zsolt Pacskovszky’s novel is the first Hungarian book in the series. And since the theme is problematic subjects, the author throws all restraint to the winds. The protagonist attends vocational high school in a small Hungarian town. He has many talents and aptitudes that predestine him for success – he is a fine soccer player, he is good looking, and he is good in his chosen profession. He likes to read, though in the school environment this works against him. His life is full of bitterness. Existence in the small town holds no perspective for him. His parents are divorced, and his father is an alcoholic. At school, he hooks up with bad company. He botches up his advances towards the only girl he likes. One day, the infinitely negative atmosphere is relieved by the appearance of a young and attractive literature teacher, who decides to seduce the boy.

The greatest problem of the protagonist is that although his body and life situation would indicate and would require maturity, he is in fact inexperienced. He is a stranger to physical as well as spiritual love, has difficulty understanding another person’s needs and intentions, and so he repeatedly finds himself in situations in which he ends up doing the

opposite of what is right. This story is a gigantic exclamation point, a warning addressed to the late teen generation, an inventory of things that it is wisest to avoid, no matter what.

“The great merit of Freefall is that it is objective, at times even dispassionate, while at other times it is subjective. At other times still, with its surprising honest style, it not only conveys the atmosphere of a small town to perfection, but also provides a lifelike picture of the limits and hopelessness of the adolescents who live there.”Eszter Németh, Barkaonline.hu, 2013

Zsolt Pacskovszky FREEFALL [Szabadesés]

PUBLISHER: Móra Kiadó PAGES: 160DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2013

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THE FAIRY WHO COULD SEE IN THE DARK (A sötétben látó tündér)László Bagossy (1967): He has worked as a theater director both at home and abroad. He was earlier

primarily known as a poet. The Fairy Who Could See in the Dark is his first published prose work.

Mari Takács: mariland.hu

TRANSFORMED CHILDREN (Átváltozott gyerekek)Borbála Szabó (1978): One of the most successful young playwrights and dramaturges, she has

worked on several shows for children and “children of all ages” and has cooperated with Dániel

Varró, Péter Esterházy, as well as various famous Hungarian directors.

Nóra Rácz: noraracz.blogspot.hu

DRAGON ON THE STAIRS (Sárkány a lépcsoházban)Lídia Nádori (1971): She studied music, Hungarian, and German. She works primarily as a

literary translator. For a while she lived in Berlin thanks to a DAAD scholarship. She is the

translator of the works of Ingo Schulze, Herta Müller and Terézia Mora into Hungarian.

Fruzsina Kun: fruzsi.hu

MARVEL AND LOLLOP (Csoda és Kósza)Zoltán Czigány (1965-2011): He began his career as a poet, then turned to prose. Marvel

and Lollop are the protagonists of several of his books for children. He has also worked on

documentaries, art shows and children’s shows for Hungarian Television.

András Baranyai: andrasbaranyai.com

CAPTAIN AND ORANGE FISH (Kapitány és narancshal)Angi Máté (1971): Born in Transylvania, he became known for his first book, Mamo, which

brought him several awards. His book, Once There Was, was awarded the IBBY prize in 2011.

Kinga Rofusz: rofuszkinga.hu

LENKA, PATRICK (Lenka, Palkó)Katalin Szegedi (1963): She writes and illustrates children’s books. Besides her own three books,

she has illustrated over 50 others. Several of the books she illustrated have been awarded the

Beautiful Hungarian Book Prize. In 2005 she was named Illustrator of the Year.

szegedikatalin.blogspot.com

LOUIS FAT’S IN TOWN (Kövér Lajos színre lép)János Lackfi (1971): He is a writer, poet, literary translator, and editor with several volumes of

prose and poetry, both his own, and in his translation. He is associate professor at Pázmány

Péter Catholic University. He has received a number of prizes, including the IBBY prize for two

of his books.Jacqueline Molnár: jacquelinemolnar.com

László Bagossy

WRITERS

Mari Takács

ILLUSTRATORS

Borbála Szabó Nóra Rácz

Lídia Nádori Fruzsina Kun

Zoltán Czigány András Baranyai

Angi Máté Kinga Rofusz

Katalin Szegedi

János Lackfi Jacqueline Molnár:

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THE GIRL WITH BLUE HAIR (A kék hajú lány)Péter Dóka (1974): He is editor at Móra Kiadó, though formerly he was a film reviewer. In

college he majored in Hungarian literature and German. His short stories have appeared in a

number of magazines and journals. The Girl with Blue Hair is his fourth novel.

István Lakatos: l-f-s.deviantart.com

THE HOUSE OF THE STONE MONKEYS (A komajmok háza) István Tasnádi (1970): He is a poet, playwright, and critic. He has worked for various theaters as

playwright, dramaturge, and director. His plays have been produced abroad. He began writing

books for children and juveniles in 2009.

László Herbszt: illusztris.hu/herbszt-laszlo/

WHAT SORT OF BIRD (Milyen madár)Árpád Kollár (1980): He was born in Serbia. He is a poet and president of the Young Writers

Association. He also writes studies, essays, and reviews. He has received a number of awards

given to writers for their first book.

Norbert Nagy: graphic designer. He was born in 1974 in Budapest. He works mainly in

advertising and branding design, but he designs book covers and creates independent graphic

works as well.

POOR JOHNNY AND ARNIKA (Szegény Dzsoni és Árnika)Ervin Lázár (1936-2006): Hungarian writer and recounter of tales, he was the author of countless

children’s books and the creator of popular and much loved figures. His books, which are

considered modern classics, have garnered him countless prizes, including the Kossuth Prize.

Jacqueline Molnár: jacquelinemolnar.com

I THINK WE SHOULD ALL STAY HOME ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON (Szerintem mindenki...)Ottó Kiss (1963): He is a well-knows poet, writer of children’s books, and editor who has won a

number of prizes. His works, many of which have been translated into foreign languages, have

appeared in prestigious Hungarian journals and magazines. He has published several volumes of

prose and poetry for children.

András Baranyai: andrasbaranyai.com

FREEFALL (Szabadesés)Zsolt Pacskovszky (1968): He is primarily as a literary translator who has the translation

of Timothée de Fombelle’s books, among others, to his credit. He studied in Budapest and

Brussels.

WRITERS ILLUSTRATORS

András Baranyai

Jacqueline Molnár:

Péter Dóka István Lakatos

István Tasnádi László Herbszt

Árpád Kollár

Ervin Lázár

Ottó Kiss

Norbert Nagy

Zsolt Pacskovszky

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Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum

HUNGARIAN BOOKS AND TRANSLATIONS OFFICEThe aim of the Hungarian Books & Translations Office is to

promote classical and contemporary Hungarian authors’

works abroad and to contribute to the

foreign-language publishing of Hungarian literature.

GRANTS* Grants for foreign publishers for translation costs

* Grants for translators for sample translations of literary

works (from Hungarian)

* Babits Mihály grant for translators (into Hungarian)

INFORMATION CENTRE* Contacts to authors, translators, publishers and agencies

* Information concerning authors, books, rights

* Provision of authors’ portraits, photographs, reading copies www.facebook.com/booksandtranslationshungary

+36-1-384-5676

Hungarian Authors Online

www.hunlit.hu

www.booksandtranslations.hu

Zoltán JeneyHead of Officejeneyz@pim.hu

Ágnes FüleProject Coordinatorfuleagi@pim.hu

1053-H Budapest, Károlyi u. 16.

BOOKSANDTRANSLATIONS.HU

13 Hungarian Children’s Books is distributed to international editors and publishers

Published by the Hungarian Books and Translations Office – Petőfi Literary Museum

Selection committee members: Gabi Both, Péter Gombos, Zoltán Pompor, Nikoletta Szekeres, Zsuzsa Tamás

Editor: Zoltán Jeney

Texts: Zoltán Jeney, Ágnes Füle

Translation: Judith Sollosy

Photos: Judit Szabó J. (Péter Dóka’s portrait), Péter Dóka (Zsolt Pacskovszky’s portrait), Zsolt Sütő (Angi Máté’s portrait)

Design: Csaba Varga

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