Tu blizu živi deklica
(Close to Here) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Close to here lives a girl. Without a name. Without any friends. Without her own room. Close to here lives a girl who craves warmth and presence just like you do. She goes to the same school. She sits close to you. Do you want to meet her? A girl who hides a miraculous treasure inside her … (source: publisher)
Edited by: Mestna knjižnica Ljubljana
Comment:
The literary characters that have previously sprung from the author’s pen (animals, witches, houses) have always drawn readers in with their empathy for others, expressing anger, sadness, happiness, solidarity, love, and more, while also radiating humour and a zest for life. In this picture book, however, humour and joy are entirely absent for the first time. The narrative unfolds in a ceremonial structure, divided into twelve stages of vanishing. From January through December, we witness the girl gradually relinquishing her possessions: beauty, wealth, home, friendship, name, voice, visibility, body, history, memory, and, ultimately, existence. In the final stage of her relinquishing journey, the author directly confronts the reader: the person who has disappeared was “just like you and me.” Woven together into a haunting whole, the expressive power of the author and illustrator is stripped of sentimental frills. Is there no hope? No. The critical message itself is hope-affirming. It shines through the exquisite watercolour blurs and finally emerges as graffiti on a wall: we are here, we are yours. The book has received the Golden Pear Quality Badge and has been selected for White Ravens, an annual selection of children’s and youth literature from around the world by the International Youth Library in Munich.