Petr Nikl

Linguistic Fairy Tales

Lingvistické pohádky Lingvistické pohádky
Lingvistické pohádky
Meander, 2006
Awards:
 2007 Golden Ribbon Award – Literary section: Literature for youth
 2007 Golden Ribbon Award – Art section: Beautiful book for children and youth
 2006 The Most Beautiful Czech Book – Literature for children and youth: 2nd place
Read an excerpt:
English
Children’s and Young Adult  |  English sample translation available

What did a certain giraffe dream? That the long and wide stretch of land by the name of Lingvisia is roamed by many a-member of a very peculiar fauna – results of the rather mischievous handling of our mother tongue. The author lets the Czech language rattle, links together words to form grotesque creatures, exaggerates the past tense, grammar, simple sentences, soft consonants, literal meanings, diminutives and rough edges, has the letter X get mad at the way it looks and lets the entire alphabet fall into pieces like dried tea leafs. This fantastic series of “linguistic somersaults” is aimed at “slightly older children, but not too old”, since not even the adventures of Carroll’s Alice are intended for those who no longer have the time to dwell about in a world that is tailor-made for between-the-lines magic.

Lingvistické pohádky
Meander, 2006
Awards:
 2007 Golden Ribbon Award – Literary section: Literature for youth
 2007 Golden Ribbon Award – Art section: Beautiful book for children and youth
 2006 The Most Beautiful Czech Book – Literature for children and youth: 2nd place
Read an excerpt:
English