Igor Oleinikov and Eiko Kadono - 2018 Andersen Prize winners

BOLOGNA. At the children’s book fair, the names of the winners of the Andersen Prize are announced.

Once every two years, the jury of the Andersen Prize announces the names of the best authors and illustrators from different countries. The award is given for the totality of all the works of the nominee, stimulating the interest of young readers in the knowledge of the world, awakening in them "rational, kind, eternal."

The idea of creating the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1956 belongs to the writer and translator Ella Lepman (Jella Lepman). Her contribution to the development and promotion of children’s and youth literature is enormous. She saw her main task in the cultivation of tolerance, tolerance for someone else’s worldview, openness. Thanks to Lepman, the International Board on Books for Young People was formed, and Andersen’s birthday was declared International Children’s Book Day.

In 1966, the prize was named after the great storyteller not only to writers, but also to artists. It was in this category that compatriots managed to achieve the greatest success. In 1976, Tatyana Mavrina became the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration. Forty-odd years later, the winner in this category was Igor Oleinikov.

His successful career was not prevented by the lack of special education. Behind the talented artist, animator, stage designer is the Institute of Chemical Engineering and work in Giprokauchuk. He took part in the creation of such cartoon hits as The Secret of the Third Planet, Martynko, Once Upon a Time, Mozart’s Magic Flute. The artist’s works adorn many children’s magazines and eight dozen books by authors such as Harms, Gogol, K. DiCamillo, Gilbert, Brodsky, Pushkin. The verdict of the jury is unanimous: Oleinikov’s talent is unlimited. His illustrations for fairy tales, Shakespearean plays, and pages of the Bible are recognizable in style, original, and impeccable in embodiment.

The best children’s writer of 2018, according to the Hans Christian Andersen Award, is Eiko Kadono (角 野 栄 子), a classic of Japanese literature, author of more than 250 books. A film adaptation of the most famous of them - about the 13-year-old sorceress and Kiki’s magic delivery service, shot by the famous director and writer Hayao Miyazaki, has remained at the peak of popularity for more than a dozen years. The magical world she created, charming and courageous characters who can find a way out of hopeless situations, good, positive stories inspire optimism, become an outlet, have a truly psychotherapeutic effect.

Once upon a time such a kind Universe was opened for little Eiko by her wise father. Tales, tales of an invisible parallel world in which the souls of the dead live, his prayers addressed to them, helped the 4-year-old girl survive the death of her mother and the difficult years of the war. One of the most favorite holidays in childhood was Obon, dedicated to the commemoration of deceased loved ones. Paper lanterns lit on the facades of houses and cemetery fences illuminate the way home and back to spirits.

Kadono’s books have been translated into many languages, including the best-selling book about the brave 13-year-old sorceress. In Russian, it is presented only in an amateur translation. Waiting for acquaintance with Russian readers and other wonderful books by Kadono: an autobiographical novel “Through the Forest Tunnel. 1945 ”, a story about a Brazilian boy, Luisinho, who loved to dance, a series of books about three little monsters, a continuation of the story of a little witch.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru