Three Kittens and a Dragon
Manica K. Musil
Country: Slovenia
Original title: Tri muce in zmaj
Original language: Slovenian
Age group: 0 - 7
Categories: Fiction, illustration
Inclusive towards: Race, cultural background, migration
Author-illustrator: Manica K. Musil
Number of pages: 40
Format (in mm): 220x330
Info on rights holder: You can contact the author for rights - manica@manicamusil.com
Rights sold: Chinese (Simple), Turkish
Website: www.manicamusil.com
You can request an English sample translation by mailing manica@manicamusil.com
Summary:
Everybody in the green field is afraid of the dragon. The animals believe that he is the one responsible for the sudden disappearance of several animals. The three kittens can’t find their mummy, and they decide to look for her. They find out that she and all the other missing animals have disappeared in the underground city built by the mole on their adventurous and dangerous journey. And the dragon is, in fact, a solitary and friendly creature. He helps them to find their mum and the other animals. All the animals are happy, but the mole is still digging tunnels to repair his underground city. And he’s still digging today. Dragon in this story can be interpreted as the Other, someone not belonging to us, different from the position of culture, race, religion, etc. As a convenient scapegoat, all possible evil is projected to him.
Info on the author-illustrator:
Manica K. Musil is a universal artist. After finishing high school and music school (piano), she studied architecture.
Her first project, the municipal hall in Gorišnica, was awarded Best Realization price at the young architects competition »Leonardo« for the 2nd UIA region.
She received numerous prizes in the field of printmaking and co-authored 11 Slovenian postage stamps.
After the birth of the first of her three children, she has expanded her creative field and started writing nursery rhymes and tales.
From 2011 till 2020, she published eleven authorial children's books for different distinguished Slovenian publishers. Her remarkable achievements are two Golden Medals at 3x3, The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, International No.13 Picture Book Show, NY, USA, for Stan the Elephant and Three Kittens and a Dragon.
Her book The Naughty Pigs was in 2017 among the "Best Books in Jiangsu Province”, China. Based on her book, The Naughty Pigs was also a play in the Puppet Theatre in Maribor.
In 2017 she was among the jury for Little Hakka Picture Book Competition, Shenzhen, China. Her books are more and more widespread; they can be found in Slovenia, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Spain and other Spanish speaking countries, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Brazil, India, Russia, USA, Croatia, Czech Republic, soon also in the United Arab Emirates.
Awards and nominations:
- Golden medal, 3×3 Picture book Show No. 13, New York, USA 2016,
- Special prize for innovative illustration approach (Three Kittens and a Dragon), The 6th Book Illustration Festival BookILL Fest, Novi Sad, Serbia 2017.
Media mentions:
https://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/zbrano-zapisano-prebrano/174689685