Czech / Czech Republic
Tajemství Oblázkové hory
(The secret of the pebble mountain)
Dočkalová, Bára
(text)
Stibitzová, Petra Josefína
(illus.)
Praha: Raketa v produkci nakladatelství Labyrint, 2018. – 242 p.
ISBN 978-80-86803-48-7
Adventure | Fantasy world | Self-confidence
Reading age: 9+
White Ravens issue: 2019
A boy named Prcek and a girl named Krisa compete to join the tough gang on the rubbish dump. Both act confidently, wanting to belong. Inside, they are both unsure and lonely. When Krisa makes it into the gang, Prcek wants revenge. But then things become “fantastical”: The plot moves from the real here and now to a suspenseful adventure story with magical stones, a threatened kingdom, and tasks that Prcek and Krisa must complete. They form a bond of solidarity, gradually give up their hard façade, and realize that they actually like each other. With much feeling for the protagonists’ inner states, the debut of Bára Dočkalová (b. 1977) considers what it is like not to be just a child anymore, but also not yet a young adult – to be stuck between the fantasies of childhood and the raw realism of youth. In 2019, the book was one of three nominees for the renowned Magnesia Litera Award.