Plastelinčica in časopis (Plastelina and the Newspaper), 2022
Plastelina and the Newspaper introduces children to several fields of culture – not just reading, but also visual art, theatre, music, and dance. Plastelina, a member of the Plastelinek family, learns about culture through a newspaper and the idea of clocks. First, her mother, Plastelema, tries to answer her question, “What is culture?” Then, she and her friend Plasteliza use the newspaper to make fanciful art and toys. They draw on the newspaper and hold their own art exhibition. They fold it into an accordion and stage a concert. They make masks out of it and put on a play. They crumple it into a ball and fold it into both a boat and an airplane. This is their newspaper culture.
For the book, author and illustrator Alenka Spacal first made all the characters out of various colours of plasticine. The carefully constructed three-dimensional models were of great assistance in producing the illustrations, since she could position them and adjust their heads and feet however she liked. As a result, these imaginative characters are truly unique and hold an immediate appeal for children. Children, after all, love working with plasticine, a soft, mouldable material designed especially for creative play. The picture book also stimulates children’s creativity by showing them fun things they can do with old newspapers. The book is intended for pre-readers and beginning readers.
Little Beanie Belle Runs from the Bean Soup, 2019
Original title: Fižolčica beži pred fižolovo juho
Translated by: Tadeja Spruk
Little Beanie Belle Runs from the Bean Soup is an original picture book about a little bean’s journey. Little Beanie Belle escapes from a bowl of beans intended for hot bean soup. As she runs, rolling about on the floor and surveying the world around her from below, nothing but legs surround her. This is to mimic the perspective of children exploring their surroundings as they play and crawl about on the floor, looking up with curiosity. Whose legs does Little Beanie Belle stumble upon on her journey? Does she manage to run away from the bean soup? As the seasons revolve, Little Beanie Belle’s adventures end where a new bean story is just beginning.
The book is in all capital letters. It is intended for young children and beginning readers.
Modre ptičje misli (Blue Bird Thoughts), 2018
The picture book Blue Bird Thoughts brings together nine witty bird stories. Some of the little blue-feathered characters are learning to read, others are doing homework or cleaning, still others dream of tie-shaped toys, their mother’s kisses, or carefree holidays.
Are you waiting for your vacation with the Blue Heron and the Blackcap? Do you want to know how the Little Blue Jay is learning to read? Do you know yet how the Little Magpie is learning bluebird wisdom by heart for her homework? And how the Little Blue Tit cleans itself? Do you know the Shoebill’s beak and the wisdom of the Blue Rock Thrush? Do you think the Blue-Winged Goose prefers to walk or fly? Do you want to get a kiss just like the Little Bluethroat gets from its mother? Can you guess what the Little Blue-Grey Tanager can do with a tie? Do you have any idea why the Little Asian Fairy Bluebird goes to school? All of these secrets and many other tricks will be revealed in Blue Bird Thoughts.
Kako ti je ime? (What’s Your Name?), 2018
What’s Your Name? is a picture book about a small snail that has just crawled into this world and doesn’t have a name yet. It tries to choose its name by talking to the animals that it meets on its path and learns about them and their names. “Some of us are named after fruit or colours, others after saints, grandmothers or famous artists,” says the Nut Weevil. What kind of a name should a small snail choose when it doesn’t even know its sex? It doesn’t feel like a snail girl or a snail boy. The tiny snail creature wants a name that would suit both a girly snailboy or a boyish snailgirl. The concept of a name turns out to be a very important gender topic. A name is usually given only after the sex can be clearly identified.
The picture book is a special kind of ABC for children in the pre-reading and early-reading period. It can be used as an early reading material. In addition to names of less common animals, the children learn about the letters of the alphabet. The letters do not follow the usual order, but are playfully arranged, following the stories of the animals appearing in the picture book.