Tomáš Motal’s Traum 1999 is not a dream; it is a blacker-than-black trauma. The sharply defined, hallucinogenic narratives feature bizarre characters from a shadowy world that could easily engulf us, even though it rarely makes any rational sense.

Tomáš Motal has created a bizarre world into which he has collected diverse short stories in an ambitious volume. The world presented here echoes socialist Czechoslovakia as well as the broader (post-)Soviet region. Motal grew up on David Lynch (including Twin Peaks) and Quentin Tarantino, influences that are readily apparent in his fragmented and causally “broken” narratives. However, his works are far more than mere imitation. His “freak show” characters are bizarre and generally unlikeable; as dark as horror films, his worlds incorporate elements of the supernatural and play with the flow of time. His stories are more hallucinatory than rationally constructed. The strong lines and sharp black-and-white visuals remind one of the style of Charles Burns – his lines are confident, precise, yet still raw. For those who choose to succumb and dive into Motal’s world, Traum 1999 offers a strongly atmospheric experience that is difficult to articulate but lingers long in the mind.

Explore the amazing world of bridges and discover how they connect us all!

Bridges span valleys and speed up transport—and they look good too! So does this ingenious publication, which aims not only to provide information about bridge design, construction and history, but first and foremost to spark the reader’s interest in this amazing invention. This striking, large-format book presents bridge records (you’d expect the highest and the longest, but there’s also the most photographed bridge, and the bridge built from the largest number of bricks), gives detailed explanations of how bridges are built and maintained, and concludes with the role assigned to them by various artistic disciplines, and how they have influenced world history. This is clearly explained in words and, particularly, in pictures, which are detailed or schematic, referentially accurate or playfully flowing, and occasionally even presented as comic-strips, as the context requires. There was space in the album for a fun game: the labyrinth in Venice awaits readers who wish to try out their construction skills by building a bridge from spaghetti. Travellers, too, can use the list of bridges to record the ones they have seen. Where will you go next?

Age 9+

Who better to introduce us to the world of mushrooms than mushrooms themselves? In this news report from the world of fungi, you will discover things you never dreamed of including how we humans are ripe for a change. Let’s all take an example from the mushrooms!

Jiří Dvořák has already led several successful expeditions into the worlds of both plants and animals in his books, and his exploration of the fungus kingdom is every bit as fascinating and sophisticated. Leaving anthropocentrism to one side, we take a look at the mysterious and poorly known lives of fungi via a fictional magazine, in which mushrooms write about mushrooms for mushrooms (and others). The newspaper sections (interviews, chronicles, experiments), composed in bright colours, playfully combine facts with inventive linguistic humour and supply readers with a great deal of comprehensible new knowledge. They cover the evolution of fungi, describe their multiple ecological roles, demonstrate their healing properties and clarify what the world would look like without them. The accompanying illustrations are also playful and witty, with a startling, distinctive colour scheme printed in just five colours, and the sophisticated graphic structure gives a firm order to the fountain of creative ideas. In 2024, the book won both the prestigious international BolognaRagazzi Award and the Czech Magnesia Litera prize for children’s literature.

Age 11+

Let playful verses and dreamlike illustrations transport you to an old-fashioned village fair!

A concertina board-book that encourages interactive creativity: the front side presents poems and colourful motifs of fairground attractions, while the inside, reverse page hides black-andwhite ink drawings to be coloured in. Andrea Tachezy’s elaborately creative illustrations narratively expand Robin Král’s rhyming quatrains—the fragile, interwoven collages and drawings in pastel colours immediately transport us to the picturesque world of the country fair. Here quirky, surreal characters ride on the merry-go-round and run into the haunted castle or the circus ring of clowns, acrobats and exotic animals. Sweet treats, such as ice-cream from a trolley, giant candyfloss or gingerbread hearts, are also available at the fairground. Detailed, whole-page illustrations depict this whirl as an autonomous world. The book resembles one long day full of experiences, starting in the morning and going on until the evening. The day of celebration passes more quickly than people would like and both adults and children may ask: did it really happen? Was it a dream?

Age 5+

A captivating story about one peculiar souvenir, friendship, discovering family roots, and the courage to make things right.

Out of curiosity, ten-year-old Matěj steals a bone from the open family vault at his great-uncle’s funeral and takes it home. What initially seemed like a great way of flabbergasting his classmates quickly turns into an insoluble problem, and Matěj now has one goal: to return his great-grandfather’s bone to where it belongs. But things do not go smoothly, leading to the start of an unexpected adventure. In the Easter holidays, Matěj doesn’t go skiing with his sister, but visits a distant branch of the family whom he barely knows. There he meets the brave and mysterious girl Róza and his peers in his dad’s cousin’s family. He learns about complex family relationships and comes to see his own family’s story from a perspective different to the one he has grown up with. This is a thrilling read up to the very last page; the ending is conciliatory, yet it also indicates that the path is long when your goals are big. The novel sensitively raises questions of death and deference, respect and friendship. Zdenka Holub Převrátilová’s pared-back illustrations are created from a series of coloured linocuts that strikingly reproduce the story’s atmosphere and inventively develop some plot motifs.

Age 10+

A picture book that invites little travelers on a journey through Europe and introduces them to its beauty.

A large, illustrated atlas that brings together the most interesting facts from the geography, history, art and gastronomy of all 46 European countries. This unique picture album collects both typical and more unusual facts, figures and images, curiosities and cultural artefacts in a thoughtful sequence of striking, full-colour drawings and portraits, and provides explanations that are both factual and engaging. In the introduction, the author artistically introduces herself, her surroundings and her close friends and family, including the publishing house Lux, which published this book. A humorously annotated gallery of the flags of European nations is followed by double-page spreads devoted to each country in alphabetical order. Alongside basic geographical facts, the book also provides an original view of European cultural heritage—readers will learn what a kantele is and what it looks like, where cravats come from, which country is the postage stamp superpower, and what a croissant and a kipferl have in common. Taste sensations are also included in the description of the Czech Republic: visitors to our country are encouraged to try not just beer, but also open sandwiches or Olomouc tvarůžky, a pungent soft cheese.

Age 7+

An unconventional guide to thirty trees growing in the Czech landscape that come alive in illustrations—walking, dancing, making music and simply living.

Three dozen deciduous and coniferous trees typical of both the Czech landscape and many others parade past the reader in this original picture album by illustrator-animator Zuzana Čupová—which is also her authorial debut. Each double-page spread playfully introduces one tree species; detailed drawings of the leaves, flowers and fruits, and primarily personified illustrations, complement the brief, informal and frequently poetic description of the species’ characteristics. Thus the trees become cheerful figures with branched treetops instead of heads, caught up in the cycle of the four seasons. The beautiful cherry tree exchanges her white spring veil for red summer earrings; Ms Linden’s head is sprinkled with little hearts; in the autumn, the rowan’s green hair hides edible jewels that will provide a feast in the long months of winter. The watercolour illustrations also wittily indicate the uses of wood: the blackthorn walks with a walking stick, the oak carries a barrel, the yew shoots from a bow— bonus details that will stick in the memory of readers big and small.

Age 7+

A story about children’s expeditions, the quest for independence, and encounters with nature.

In this book, written and illustrated by Lucie Lučanská, a night spent in a tent in the garden is transformed into a pilgrimage of many days to a new, unknown country, where two siblings decide to pitch their tent before taking cover from the wind. As darkness falls, the world changes and brings various challenges, fears and misgivings: is that a hedgehog rustling outside, or are the “skeletons and witches who eat children” sharpening their teeth at the unfortunate twosome? The subtly poetic narrative, which won the 2023 Serpa International Award for Picture Books, lays bare the joys and sorrows of wild sleeping. Appropriate visual creativity and a font that resembles a child’s handwriting bolster the child’s perspective. Panoramic shots of the landscape at various points during the night and coming morning are composed of attractively colourful but indistinct scenes, plus brief moments and observations that will surely remind many parents of their own adventures in nature.

Age 7+

An original story about friends, parents, and school that, without moralizing, explores topics such as migration, multilingualism, and the ability to communicate across cultures in general.

The unusual title of this novel by the respected author Iva Procházková refers to the hero. His name is Joyo, which means joy in Esperanto. Knowledge of this constructed international language brought Džojo’s parents together, and the occasional Esperanto word is uttered in their day-to-day family communication. Primarily, however, the name reflects Joyo’s happy nature: the boy is good at both art and sports, he is self-confident, independent and a great friend. Eleven and a quarter is Joyo’s age when he falls in love for the first time and starts to see himself through new eyes. A contemporary story, told in authentic, colloquial language for modern adolescents, with a broad range of themes, it aptly depicts the school environment and both peer and intergenerational relationships. The book raises the issues of migration and multilingualism, ageing and death, but also gives an insight into various professions, such as painting or acting. The focal point of this meaty story, however, is the daily lives of adolescents, an intrinsic part of which is discovering new, intensive experiences and challenges in the form of ever-increasing responsibility for your own life.

Age 11+

An adventurous tale of friendship and otherness by an award-winning author duo.

A fairytale story set during Advent about two children with unique but hidden gifts. Tony’s body glows with light, so his protective parents keep him at home, where he amuses himself by making masks. Shelly and her mother, a former ballerina, move from place to place before settling in the uncanny building with a conservatory where Tony lives. She owns a magic torch that transforms everything into a colourful geyser of fantasy in the heroes’ imaginations. They both long for a friend, and each finds a precious kindred soul in the other. Author Jana Šrámková has pertinently used colloquial language, which lends authenticity to the story; two colours are used to differentiate between the children’s dialogue. Filip Pošivač’s original illustrations alternate funny line drawings and whole-page saturated acrylic base images. The book won the Czech annual Golden Ribbon prize in 2024, and has also been turned into a successful animated film, with a screenplay by Jana Šrámková, and directed by Filip Pošivač. The 2023 film won the Czech Lion prize and the Contrechamp Jury Award at the Annecy Festival.

Age 9+