MÓRA

Ferenc Molnár: A Pál utcai fiúk (The Paul Street Boys)

a special edition, iIllustrated by Péter Kovács

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2005

176 p. with 10 colour plates

Ferenc Molnár?s world famous novel contains the whole complexity of life: school and play, friendship and fight, separation and loyalty ? everything, even death. Ferenc Molnár was capable of weaving this complexity into his novel for children?s hearts and minds.

The story of Boka, Nemecsek, Feri Áts and the others could take place in any corner of the world and is no less shattering at the beginning of the 21st century than a hundred years earlier, at its original publication. The Ground where we live, play, where we are happy and unhappy and sometimes die like Nemecsek, must be saved. And it is true all over the world. This is probably the key to the unprecedented world success of The Paul Street Boys. Published in almost two dozen languages, it is a set reading not only in Hungary but in distant countries, too. The hundredth anniversary of its publication is celebrated by Móra Publishing House with a special edition illustrated by internationally renowned painter, Péter Kovács.

Mária Feuer: Sárkánymese (Dragon Tale)

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2003

88 p. 50% of it illustrations

It is not enough to be born, we must become what we were born for. If a dragon, be a dragon, if a man, be a man. The protagonist of Mária Feuer?s series is a dragon. He is to proceed along the various steps of personality progress, to stand trials, to fight the four basic elements and to conquer the Empire of Sound, Light and Skies. This is a highly symbolic storyland, sometimes difficult to follow for a small child. It is easier, though, to sense the elevated atmosphere of fairytales, to recognize well-known folk tale motifs and to enjoy the exquisite, rich language. This beautiful story related to oriental philosophies and ornamental art was illustrated by Krisztina Rényi?s gorgeous drawings and it won not only the Beautiful Hungarian Book Prize but also the Octogon Prize of the French International Literary Institute.

János Lackfi: A buta felnőtt ? gyerekversek (The Dumb Grown-up ? children?s poems)

Illustrated by István Kalmár

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2004

62 p., 50% of it with illustrations

Among other honours, János Lackfi?s volume won the IBBY Children?s Book of the Year Prize in 2004. His poems are playfully inventive, lively and sensitive, their strange world is populated by dinosaurs, bats, photographers or even bakers and of course little boys and girls. There are a few fragment-like poems funnily showing and distorting children?s everyday objects, but there are longer ones reminiscent of the poet?s childhood with the nostalgia of a ?dumb grown-up?. Lackfi?s poems are mainly for 6-11 year-olds, but also for anyone ?less and less a child, halfway between dwarf and giant?. István Kalmár?s artistic illustrations provide a new language and with that a new dimension for interpreting these poems.

Zsuzsa Muskát: Nahát! ? gyerekversek (Well I Never!)

Illustrated by István Damó

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2003

60 p., proportion of illustrations: 50 %

There are few children?s books of poetry where poems and illustrations are in such harmony as in Zsuzsa Muskát?s book. The good spirit, wittiness and playfulness present in the mostly short poems also characterize István Damó?s happy, radiating drawings rich in colour. The poems and pictures both suggest: our world is beautiful and it is worth admiring!

A strange and attractive world emerges from the poems where the sun suffers a sunstroke, the bullfrog dreams about peace, the hippo longs for a boat and the brown bear sits in the fridge and turns into a polar bear. Who wouldn?t like to enter such an absurdly funny world for a while? It certainly helps its young readers to discover magic in their daily life.

Erzsébet Sinka, Mrs. Zoltán Zelk: Hej, koszorú, koszorú (Garland, Garland!)

Illustrated by István Damó

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2004

64 p. , proportion of illustrations: 50%

Mrs. Zoltán Zelk ? careful guardian of her late husband?s literary estate ? has collected an interesting and unique selection of her childhood memories. Counting-out rhymes, nursery rhymes, mocking songs and greeting verses are united in this volume in happy harmony: traces of ascending and descending cultures, pieces of country and urban folklore. Some of them are still alive in the public mind, even in several variations, others are seldom heard or even completely forgotten. This little collection deserved publishing as it is perfectly fit for lulling babies to sleep, speech correction, enhancing the sense of rhythm and lending colour to kindergarten celebrations. István Damó?s playful illustrations really bring the rhymes close to children.

Péter Kántor: Kétszáz lépcső föl és le ? gyerekversek (Two Hundred Steps Up and Down)

Illustrated by Edit Szalma

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2005

48 p., proportion of illustrations: 50 %

Péter Kántor, Attila József Prize winner, is one of the most talented poets of his generation. During the 70s and 80s he published several volumes of poems on his own, but his works also appeared in anthologies. He formerly worked for literary weeklies and periodicals and was the head of the poetry section of the weekly, Élet és Irodalom, for years. In his fifties he seems to have reached the age to write children?s poetry, following his classic predecessors along the lines of diction, rhythm, atmosphere, uniquely mixed with resignation present even in his clumsily clownish poems.

Some of his poems carry a more profound meaning than understandable for a small child, although those climbing up the lower steps may see more of this world than those who do not try at all. Even those who are unable to grasp it may enjoy the music, the atmosphere and the imagery of the poems. Edit Szalma?s colourful illustrations serve the purpose of depicting this imagery excellently.

Háncsvirág ? Norvég népmesek (Flowers of Straw ? Norwegian folk tales)

Illustrated by Katalin Szegedi

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2004

152 p. with 8 colour plates

Flowers of Straw is a collection of the most beautiful Norwegian folk tales based on the 19th century selection of two famous collectors, Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe. They followed the steps of the Grimm brothers and their volume was the most popular children?s book for a long time. The Hungarian version has been produced by six young translators who managed to render the special atmosphere of the Norwegian tales into Hungarian.

The stories abound in traditional folklore elements: the poor boy saving the kidnapped princess, the wicked stepmother, the shrewd and funny animals, yet they cannot be confused with folk tales from other nations. The presence of polar bears, the evil meaning trolls turning into stones or trees at night, the grim winters are what makes this book unique. Katalin

Szegedi?s magic pictures help us imagine icy fjords and dark, mysterious woods successfully evoking the spirit of Norwegian folk tales.

Micsoda madár! ? gyerekversek (What a bird! ? children?s poems)

Illustrated by Károly Reich

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2001

40 p., proportion of illustrations: 50 %

What a bird! What? Many kinds. Storks, pheasants, wild ducks, eagles, seagulls, swallows, robins, hoopoes, tomtits, woodpeckers, blackbirds and many others. On the cover a kingfisher and a long beaked toucan crouches. In this volume we have collected the beautiful birds painted by Károly Reich found in his estate that never appeared in print. The birds apparently feel at home in the company of poems; we have selected a poem by a famous poet for each bird. The rich colours and beautiful outlines express the magic of the text.

Ferenc Móra: Az aranyszőrű bárány (The Lamb with the Golden Hair)

Illustrated by Károly Reich

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2002

32 p., proportion of illustrations: 50 %

The Lamb with the Golden Hair is an adaptation of a Hungarian folk tale in verse and has been rewritten by almost all Hungarian writers. In the story, the Prussian King goes to visit King Matthias, the Hungarian King of legendary justice, and makes a bet that he can make Matthias?s famous truth-telling shepherd, keeper of the wonderful lamb with the golden hair, tell a lie. The stake is half of their respective kingdoms. The Prussian King, helped by his beautiful daughter who gets the shepherd hooked, gets the lamb.The shepherd knows he must die because of losing the lamb unless he tells a lie to the king. Finally he decides to tell the truth in the language of flowers how the lamb got lost.

Ferenc Móra has made an adaptation of playful rhymes which tells the story of the truthful shepherd who for his honesty wins the hand of the Prussian King?s daughter and half his kingdom to boot. The turns of the story and its figures are brought to life by the colour drawings of Károly Reich, the inspired visual interpreter of Ferenc Móra?s works.

Ferenc Móra: Sétalni megy Panka (Panka Goes for a Walk)

Illustrated by Károly Reich

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2005

56 pp., 50% of it with colour illustrations

This slender volume contains twenty-four rhymed tales and has seen generations of Hungarians grow up: the story of the shivering king who is eventually warmed up by the power of love, that of the dandy giraffe wearing as many as ten dozen collars on his long neck or the little tomtit who desperately longs for a pair of shoes. These are all unforgettable figures, to be remembered long after their readers have grown up.

Thanks to playfully rounded rhymes and tinkling rhythms children are easily able to memorize the poems, and characters move in to the children?s room and become friends with their readers for life. The rhymed tales are accompanied by the drawings of Károly Reich which are as lively now as in 1960. In our imagination Panka and the other characters of the book will forever be like Károly Reich created them.

Pál Békés: A Bölcs Hiánypótló (The Wise Gapper-Stopper)

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2005

128 p., proportion of illustrations: 20 %

In this novel, three protagonists (a clock with no sense of time, a not at all scary monster and a hole questioning its own existence) set out to seek the Wise Gapper-Stopper. Feeling lost and suffering from a severe lack of self-confidence, they put their hope in the Wise Gapper-Stopper. He, however, falls under the power of the gang of the wicked and dumb canheads who make his activity almost impossible. Eventually the three friends come to his rescue and by way of their gaps defeat the enemy and save the Wise Gapper-Stopper.

The story is enriched by folk elements, action scenes, fights, tricks, jokes, wisdom, heroism, self-sacrifice, everything needed in a modern tale. The Wise Gapper-Stopper turns the heroes? disadvantages into advantages with the moral that being different is not to be inferior, but can even be superior. The novel is illustrated by Ferenc Sajdik, master of illustrators, creator of several books and animation films.

Pál Békés: Félőlény (Frite-bite)

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2001

128 p., proportion of illustrations: 20 %

Pál Békés is one of the most significant contributors to contemporary Hungarian children?s literature, Attila József Prize winner and the head of IBBY?s Hungarian section.

This novel is about a lovable yet terribly timid creature, who lives in the Little Forest. It is unfortunately no longer the place it used to be: there?s no peace and quiet to be found there, monstrous monsters terrorize the inhabitants. Frite-bite is so scared that he locks himself up in his den among his books, hoping to escape the monsters? invasion. But of course he can?t since the monsters view him as their chief enemy due to his books in which all monsters and evil are defeated. As long as these stories exist and anyone who believes in them, monsters cannot feel secure.

The inhabitants of the Little Forest and the monsters are animated by Krisztina Rényi?s funny and inventive illustrations.

Mária Flórián ? Erika Urai: Magyar népviseletek (Hungarian Folk Costumes)

Illustrated by Erika Urai

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2005

64 p. ,proportion of illustrations: 50%

This book introduces the reader to the costumes worn in Hungarian villages and market-towns of the past 150 years. At that time people were still wearing such old, simple and durable pieces of clothing that were typical of poor peasantry and serfdom in the earlier centuries. Readers can see dozens of colour plates representing the folk costumes of historic Hungary with special regard to Transylvanian peasant clothing, like woollen stockings, gussets, spencers, etc.

Ethnographer Mária Flórián?s and graphic artist Erika Urai?s book is a real gem among contemporary Hungarian publications since young readers today can hardly differentiate a spencer from a waistcoat. The authors fill a gap with their book, demonstratin important items of European cultural heritage for young readers.

ÉVA JANIKOVSZKY (1926 ? 2003)

She was an outstanding figure of Hungarian children?s literature, awarded with the Kossuth Prize, the Attila József Prize, the Grave Prize and the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, the Officer?s Cross. Her books have been translated into 35 languages and scored success all over the world. Among them, the most popular are the children?s monologues written between 1963 and 1983. She has created a unique fictional world that can?t be mistaken for anyone else?s in Hungarian literature, where it was the first to engage in ?undermining the authority of grown-ups?. One of her standard topics is the relationship of children and adults, always written from the child?s perspective. Her equal partner was the graphic artist, László Réber, who drew with one single line what she expressed in a few words.

Éva Janikovszky: Égigérő fű (Grass Reaching the Sky)

Illustrated by László Réber

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2006

85 p., proportion of illustrations: 25 %

Special edition published in April 2006 for the 80th anniversary of Éva Janikovszky?s birth.

In the old house where a creaking wooden stairway leads up to the second floor and there?s a lion-ornamented bench under the stained glass window at the landing, a guest popping in starts nosing around for secrets. Especially because this guest, Misu, is so keen on secrets. Strange things keep happening in the old house and the hundred and twenty-four drinking straws acquire special importance. In the end most of the secrets are revealed and it also turns out that the summer Misu and the Crybaby spend in the house is sunshine, happiness and peace itself. Grass Reaching the Sky has been made into a successful film by Hungarian Television.

Éva Janikovszky: Ha én felnőtt volnék (If I Were a Grown-Up)

Illustrated by László Réber

Móra Publishing House (in Hungarian, English and German), Budapest

40 p., proportion of illustrations: 50%

?Be happy while you?re young!? the grown-up warns his own child or someone else?s. Yet every child knows, even the smallest, that to be grown up is far better. A grown-up can do what he wants, whereas a child has to do what the grown-up wants.

If we didn?t know this ourselves, we could have learnt it from Éva Janikovszky?s book which was a tremendous success in Hungary and won the writer and her co-author, graphic artist László Réber, fame abroad. Maybe because we?d all like to live in a family (or in a world) where everyone gets the same-sized balloon, and if someone?s is a little bigger, the only acceptable reason and explanation for that is ?because I am their father?.

Éva Janikovszky: Jó nekem! (Happiness!)

Illustrated by László Réber

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2003

40 p., proportion of illustrations: 50 %

Who?s happy with what? It?s a tricky question that confuses many grown-ups, let alone a child who for a long time had naturally known what he was happy with. It is an important moment of becoming a human being when a child realises that other people do not exist exclusively to please him. Éva Janikovszky?s good hearted little kid starts racking his brain about it and through many funny episodes he draws some kind of a conclusion: sometimes you can make other people happy if you yourself give up happiness for the time being. But if love is involved, there?s ample compensation: you can be happy with someone else?s pleasure! You?re lucky if you arrive at that conclusion. The author does not lecture us but convinces us that kids can come to naturally acknowledge this, guided by their heart and reason.

Éva Janikovszky: Bertalan és Barnabás (Bartholomew and Barnaby)

Illustrated by László Réber

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2003

24 p., proportion of illustrations: 50%

Twins do take after one another, indeed. Anyone who has ever seen twins knows that.

Dachshunds, too, take after each other. Dachshund twins are so much alike that it is enough to imagine one because the other is just like that. The protagonists of our book are dachshund twins who live happily in Auntie Borbála and Uncle Boldizsár?s lavender scented garden. Their funny little adventures make not only their masters laugh, but those listening to the story and looking at the pictures as well.

Éva Janikovszky: Már megint (Not Again)

Illustrated by László Réber

Móra Publishing House, Budapest, 2004

40 p., proportion of illustrations: 50 %

?When they?re decorating at home, even Dad?s walking around barefoot, Mom?s crawling around on all fours and if I happen to knock the bucket over, they don?t yell at me like ?Look what you?ve done again!? but tell my sister Bori, ?Look your brother?s at least trying to help!??It is difficult to know the ins and outs when one?s seven, eight, ten or fifteen years old. Éva Janikovszky always comes to children?s rescue in these matters and sets their minds right a little? even the grown-ups? minds as well. László Réber meanwhile holds a funny mirror in front of us, hoping that we might discover the truth behind the jokes.