Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi’s peppy impish wooden puppet, must encounter many adventures before finally coming to his senses… But what must a plum pit endure before it can become a puppet? This adventurous and comic tale told by a talking plank recounts the winding and capricious life story of a plum pit given to escapades. Screenwriter, comic book creator and author, Vojtěch Mašek, exhibits a sense for lively, nearly theatrical, storytelling and returns absurdist humor and biting levity to the children’s literary scene. Abundant linocut illustrations and graphics by artist Chrudoš Valoušek are, as always, stunning.

The beloved puppet of children’s literature, a figure that has been a continuous inspiration for artists all over the world, here presents an entirely new gallery of heroes and adventures. The graphic design plays with scale. The pages are peopled with historiated initials reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts, giant page numbers, avant-garde references and a medley of geometrical characters, their neon colours boldly outlined in black. Spread after spread, the mix of different layouts and the uncommon use of line-cut technique make for a truly extraordinary picturebook.

The Jury of Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2019