This short encyclopaedia of people poses the question of what makes humans human.
Children’s and Young Adult
The winner of the Albatros publishing house’s competition on the theme of “The World Around Us” impressed the judges with its “sophisticated concept, stylistic maturity and topical theme of the search for identity in an ever-changing world”. The author Olga Stehlíková and illustrator Nikola Logosová came up with a human “catalogue” of 62 types of ordinary people presented as a mosaic of portraits with brief texts written in the first person. The subjects introduce themselves through one specific personality trait, defining life circumstance, characteristic social role, profession or specialization, passion or interest – in short, whatever is most important to them. They all see themselves differently and have different ideas about life and the world, but whether we are hearing from those who have been able to realize their dreams or had fortune smile upon them (an astronaut, a nature lover, a writer, etc.) or those who have had obstacles put in their way by circumstances (a person with autism, a child in joint custody, a blind person) or by their own mistakes (a prisoner, a drug addict, a hardcore gamer), the reader comes to recognize that the essence of humanity lies in diversity and that everyone has their value and place in the world. This book gently encourages tolerance, respect and empathy.
About the authors:
Olga Stehlíková (1977) works as a freelance writer, editor, and critic with a focus on contemporary Czech literature. In 2018 she became the winner of the first Tvárnice Prize for Czech literary critic of the year. Her debut book of poetry, Týdny (Weeks, 2014), won the Magnesia Litera Award. Her second collection of short poems, Vejce / Eggs (Couplets), was released in 2017, along with an LP with Tomas Braun’s music. Her third book of poetry is Vykřičník jak stožár (Exclamation Mark High as a Pole, 2018). Her poems have been translated into twelve languages. She published four books for children.
Nikola Logosová (1992) studied illustration and graphic design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She illustrates books for children and adults as well as magazines and newspapers and she also designs posters. She has garnered numerous awards for her work: e.g. a Golden Ribbon for illustration for the book Pozor, doktor! (Watch Out, Doctor About!) by Petr Svobodný, the Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year for her book New York zine (2017), and Window Display of the Year 2020 for her art installation in the Hůlkárna shop window in Brno. She was voted Illustrator of the Year 2019 at the annual Czech Grand Design awards.