This playful children’s tale with unusual characters – a coat and a handbag – wandering around Prague during the coronavirus pandemic will captivate the reader with its profound message of human solidarity.
Children’s and Young Adult | English sample translation available
The personifications of a coat and a handbag meet one day on a bus and together experience chance encounters with people and animals during a coronavirus winter in Prague. Marka Míková enriches their deeds with a warm emotional glow, and the story builds towards the promise of a happy ending for both characters – the coat and the handbag – as well as the charming new friends they make in the city, such as a fisherman, a homeless man, a couple of curious senior citizens and a young couple expecting a baby. They all overcome their sorrows in a city where cinemas, theatres and restaurants are closed. Readers will be blown away by the atmosphere of the “time of coronavirus”, where deserted pubs, boats on the Vltava river and the atmosphere of the Lesser Quarter and the Old Town with their famous churches, buildings and libraries all have their place. As always, Galina Miklínová’s illustrations focus on amusing details, presenting specific images of Prague’s hidden corners, offering young readers a fresh perspective on these places.
About the authors:
Marka Míková (1959) is a writer, theatre director, musician and co-organizer of the project Loutky v nemocnici (Puppets in Hospital). She graduated in puppetry from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, specializing in directing and dramaturgy. She is the author of nearly twenty books and has been nominated for a Magnesia Litera Award four times. Her story Škvíry (Cracks, 2014) was awarded a Golden Ribbon for Tereza Ščerbová’s illustrations.
Galina Miklínová (1970) is an illustrator and artist and a director and screenwriter of animated films. She and Pavel Šrut have been long-term collaborators. The books they have created together include Pavouček Pája (Pája the Spider, 2001), Veliký tůdle (The Big “No Way!”, 2003), Příšerky a příšeři (Little Monsters, 2005) and the three-part series Lichožrouti (Oddsockeaters, 2008–2013). She has illustrated books by Eva Papoušková, Alena Mornštajnová and Petr Stančík, among others, and garnered numerous awards for her work, both in the Czech Republic and abroad.