Cvetka Bevc: Poletje z utrinki
Illustrated by Malgosia Zając
It’s summer. Little bunny Iskra (Sparkle) isn’t in the best mood because her friend Inka is on vacation, and at homethey are expecting a baby, making Sparkle feel like everything revolves around it. Then comes the night when the sky is filled with shooting stars, and Sparkle’s mom, Jora, sends her to the stargazer Fridolin. But not only shooting stars fall from the sky—suddenly, a cat appears in front of Sparkle, and it’s a poetic cat! And her summer suddenly becomes fun and full of adventures.
This warm narrative about a bunny growing up in leaps and bounds and experiencing the last summer before entering school is perfect for early independent reading. Through Sparkle’s adventures, children will discover various nuances of relationships—real friendships, first love, and of course sibling love.
CVETKA BEVC (1960) is a poet, writer, musician, and screenwriter. She completed her studies in musicology and comparative literature at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana and went on to study the University College Cork. She has participated in numerous readings both domestically and internationally, and selections of her poems and stories have been published in several languages. She has authored various radio plays, documentary film scripts, and over thirty published literary works. She writes prose, poetry, young adult literature, and plays. She has received several awards, including multiple nominations for the Desetnica award, notably in 2020 for the young adult novel Božiček v ušesu, in 2014 for the children’s novel Čivknjeno od začetka do konca, in 2012 for the young adult novel Desetka, and in 2012 for the picture book Pesem za vilo. In 2012, she was nominated for the Večernica Award for the young adult novel Desetka, which was also selected as a national project for high school students within the “Rastem s knjigo” programme.
MALGOSIA ZAJĄC is a Polish illustrator and graphic designer. Her newest picture book was listed in the White Ravens 2020 Catalogue. With warm humour and a great deal of love for nature she delights us with beautiful animal characters who face the everyday problems of today’s children.