Books for child and adolescent readers have traditionally held a very strong position in Czech literature, and original Czech works can boast an excellent reputation internationally. Proof of this can be found in the titles of Czech origin on the IBBY honour list, exceptional recognition awarded at Bologna Children’s Book Fair or awards for translated editions given by the literary bodies of individual nations.
As we look back at the last decade, we are delighted to observe that the market share of literature for children and young people is increasing; clearly, publishers see a future in children’s books. Confirming this trend are the books produced by larger, well-established publishers founded in the 1990s, which focus largely on literary fiction or popular science for adults (Argo, Host and Paseka), but whose lists today include a growing proportion of books aimed at child, adolescent and young adult readers that branches off from standard production; these books are also collecting domestic and foreign literary prizes. The position of children’s graphic novels is also being consolidated and the range of concertina books for the smallest readers has grown substantially.
The Czech publishing houses particularly specialising in titles for children and young people traditionally include Albatros (the oldest and largest publisher, which has been systematically publishing kidlit since 1949; over the last decade it has brought out approximately 150 titles a year, including translations), Meander (founded in 1995 and publishing around 25 titles annually, primarily original Czech books), Baobab (a family publisher founded at the turn of the millennium focusing largely on picture books, publishing around two dozen titles per year) and Prague-based Labyrint’s Raketa imprint (founded in 2004; two-thirds of the approximately twenty books it publishes annually are kidlit, including graphic novels).
Over the last decade, the already mentioned Brno-based publisher Host has produced a varied and ever-growing selection of kidlit. Host was the first publisher to introduce Czech readers to best-sellers from Poland and Ukraine (Mizielinski, Dziubak, Bula) and the market success of both translated and domestic titles has resulted in a greater focus on original Czech books for children. Today Host has published around four dozen kidlit titles, including graphic novels and YA, with translated books still predominating; however, those originally written in Czech are exceptionally high in quality and are frequently nominated for industry prizes, such as the Golden Ribbon [Zlatá stuha], The Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year or the Magnesia Litera prize.
Paseka is unrivalled in the kidlit field primarily due to the titles The Oddsockeaters (Lichožrouti, 2008–2013) by Pavel Šrut and Dustzone (Prašina, 2018–2020) by Vojtěch Matocha. Since 2015 it has also systematically published graphic novels, including some big international names as well as significant Czech artist-writers, such as Štěpánka Jislová, married couple Tereza Kopečká and Tomáš Kopečký, and Jindřich Janíček, whose popularity is growing in the Czech market.
Prague-based publisher Argo (which publishes Tove Jansson and David Walliams in Czech translation) has grown its list of original Czech kidlit, principally since 2020, and has enriched it with first-time authors and graphic novelists, including in particular the outstanding Tomáš Peřina, Martin Čepa and Kateřina Čupová.
However, small independent publishers founded in the new millennium have also contributed to writing the history of Czech kidlit between 2015-2025, and they have made the greatest effort to boost bibliodiversity in the Czech book market: Bylo nebylo founded by Anna Pleštilová and Helena Černohorská, 65. pole founded by Tomáš Brandejs (both in 2007), Verzone founded by Veronika Benešová Hudečková (in 2010), Běžíliška founded by František Havlůj and Šárka Svobodná (in 2013), LUX founded by Michal Štěpánek (in 2017) and POP-PAP founded by Marcela Konárková Vostřelová (in 2017). The Roma literature publisher KHER also started to focus on child and adolescent readers in 2022. Isolated titles about dying and death are contributed to Czech literature by publishing house Cesta domů [The Way Home], which supports the home hospice charity of the same name.
From quarantine to controlling emotions
The Czech book market shrank due to the global covid pandemic and accompanying socio-economic changes. The number of books published in the last decade has fallen from a total of approximately 16 000 volumes in 2015 to roughly 13 000 in 2023/2024, according to the Report on the Czech Book Market, drawn up every year by the professional organisation The Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers. The children’s and young people’s literature sector (both originally written in Czech and translated, both fiction and non-fiction) constitutes around a tenth of the total production of Czech books.
Experiences of the pandemic have also appeared in several children’s book titles, of which the most distinctive – across genres and age ranges – is Marka Míková’s The Coat and the Handbag (Kabát a kabelka, 2021, Argo), illustrated by Galina Miklínová, which was awarded a Golden Ribbon and the Magnesia Litera prize 2022. This humorously told fantasy story depicts two ordinary items, an old pink handbag and an overcoat, falling in love and wandering together through Prague’s empty streets. The richly illustrated interactive book by journalist Irena Hejdová The Deed Ran Away (Skutek utek!, 2022, Host, illustrated by Veronika Zacharová), for pre-schoolers and younger schoolchildren, takes as its theme the demands placed on family life during lockdown, when schools were closed and working from home was mandatory. The silent book Gran (Babi, 2023, Host) by Martina Trchová is an extraordinary artistic achievement – a picture album reflecting intergenerational separation, a granddaughter’s longing to see her grandmother and the desire to stay in touch using memories and the imagination. A special mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Awards 2025 turned the international spotlight onto this book. Ideas about the impact of digitalisation on our lives and on the limits of state responsibility and freedom were reflected in František Tichý’s Recruit 244 (Rekrut 244, 2022, Baobab).
Another of the pandemic’s repercussions for kidlit – with no explicit references – is the obvious increase in books devoted to children’s feelings, emotionality and psyche. These titles frequently anticipate other readers, that is, adult guides who can both support child readers and also learn how to approach emotionally fraught situations as they read. A wealth of translations in this field supplements popular science and interactive publications: Ester Stará, all illustrated by Milan Starý: The Book of Feelings (Kniha pocitů, 2022, Pasparta); Super Máňa (Super Máňa, 2023, Pikola); Super Máňa and Big Dog Love (Super Máňa a velká psí láska, 2024, Pikola); Lenka Blaze: Softy (Cíťa, 2022, Blaze.je); Mum and Dad Aren’t Together Any More (Máma s tátou už nejsou spolu, 2024, Blaze.je, Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year prize) but also Noemi Cupalová’s story book about respect Karlíček and the Wasps (Karlíček a vosy, 2021, Běžíliška, illustrated by Hana Šradějová, Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year prize) or interpersonal relationships and self-acceptance Stupid Vendula (Blbá Vendula, 2024, Běžíliška, illustrated by Eva Horská). Cupalová’s writing focuses on conflict behaviour, and in her newest book, for children of around ten, called Stupid Vendula, she provides two parallel versions of the story in columns of different colours: Vendula is having problems at school, at home, with her friends, until at a certain moment she realises that she can either continue to coast along in her vicious circle of anger and negative emotions, or she can take responsibility for her life, pluck up her courage and attempt to break through the obstacle barrier.
Fear of the dark and of otherness
Fear and attempts to understand or overcome it are frequent themes in kidlit (Martina Špinková: Fear, a strange fellow (Divný brach strach, 2015, Cesta domů), Jana Šrámková: Zuza in Gardens (Zuza v zahradách, 2015, Labyrint, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy). There is a surprising number of remarkable titles about fear of the dark: a loving look at an uncanny walk through a summer night is provided by artist Marie Štumfová’s Klárka and the Night Garden (Klárka a noční zahrada, 2023, Portál); while David Košťák’s When the Dark Pours In Through the Keyhole (Když se klíčovou dírkou rozlije tma, 2023, Knižní stezka k dětem, illustrated by Anna Kulíčková) is a celebration of children’s imaginativeness in which a child’s bedroom comes to life after dark. The graphic novel artist Toy Box works with a child’s imagination that can see real danger in many forms in a piece of dark fabric caught on a tree after a night storm in the book Dark (Tma, 2021, Paseka). Dora Kaprálová inserts a motif of existential angst, plus backdrops that border on horror, into the night story Mr Nobody and the White Darkness (Pan Nikdo a bílá tma, 2022, Baobab, illustrated by Darja Čančíková) about children meeting a monster.
Jana Šrámková’s poetically written Fánek the Star Sailor (Fánek hvězdoplavec, 2022, Běžíliška), is imbued with particularly strong emotions – anxiety, love, hope – with mysterious, playful illustrations by the originally Belarusian artist Margharita Khavanski; it was the winning title in the books for children and young people category in the Magnesia Litera prize of 2023. Fánek’s dad is leaving to work abroad, and in the real world only occasional letters and telephone calls enable contact with him, with memories and internal monologues in Fánek’s head. The boy deals with his pain and loneliness using his imagination and dreams about the stars and starships. The pared-back text is shot through with Biblical allusions and messages about the power of forgiveness. Jana Šrámková partially references the motifs in her previous book for small children Brothers in the Field (Bratři v poli, 2017, Běžíliška, illustrated by Markéta Prachatická), in which the inseparable friends ground squirrel and vole also dream of travelling into space, but Dageš must patiently wait for Mapík until he “returns” from hibernation.
A number of stories also reflect otherness or deviations from the norm perceived in the most varied of ways and complex life situations facing the child protagonists. In this respect, the book series There’s a catch (Má to háček), jointly published since 2016 by Albatros and Pasparta, can only attract praise. Around a dozen books for younger school-age readers cover subjects such as parental divorces, shared custody, bullying in school, illness, learning disabilities and the like. The psychological novel by Ivona Březinová Roar Quietly, Bro (Řvi potichu, brácho, 2016, Albatros/Pasparta, illustrated by Tomáš Kučerovský), aimed at older readers, has as its protagonist a twin boy with autistic spectrum disorder. Březinová, an experienced kidlit author, introduces this topic to Czech literature with sensitivity and understanding. Questions of gender identity are presented with a high level of empathy and artistic invention by Marto Kelbl in her graduation work Neither Girl nor Boy (Ani holka ani kluk, 2023, Paseka) now published as a book. This illustrated story with graphic-novel elements and a number of educational inserts shows non-binary identities in a broad historical and social context. The author’s other books also deserve attention: the collection of palindromes There and Back (Tam a zpět, 2023, Meander, Golden Ribbon 2024) or her illustrations to the book about discovering the world for the smallest readers The Beginning and the End by Michal Štěpánek (Začátek a konec, 2023, Lux).
Publishing house Kher dedicates exemplary care to the Roma literary tradition. In recent years it has published several noteworthy titles for readers of all ages: Eva Danišová’s playful picture book One, Two, Three (Jekh, duj, trin, 2025), with elements of Romanes, is aimed at preschoolers, while older children will be captivated by the bilingual fairytale Stray Dog by poet and groundbreaking Roma feminist Tera Fabiánová (Čavargoš/Tulák, 2023, illustrated by Magdalena Rutová, translated by Milena Hübschmannová), which depicts life in a Roma settlement from the perspective of a stray dog. Growing up in the normalisation period is autobiographically recorded by Michal Šamko in his first book Maypoles and Totem Poles (Májky a totemy, 2023, illustrated by Petr Polák), while the experience of being an outsider in the modern Czech Republic as seen by two high school students, one half-Roma and the other half-Vietnamese, is informed by a considerable dose of irony in the socially critical novella, Me, Tran and Everything Else (Já, Tran a všechno ostatní, 2025, illustrated Sára Paldanová), by new author Martin Kanaloš, and is aimed at adolescents and young adults.
A subtle environmental appeal
Ecology, sustainability and human attitudes to nature have become a hot topic in children’s books, alongside mental health and the acceptance of otherness. Rather than being primarily educational books, the environmental appeal forms part of a more complex message. Kidlit provides the ideal opportunity, because it has long been indebted to nature motifs – flora and fauna are an integral part of how children discover the world around us.
Lucie Hášová Truhelková’s Grandpa in Pink Trousers (Dědeček v růžových kalhotách, 2021, Albatros, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy) is aimed at pre-school children and was nominated for a Golden Ribbon. The pink on the cover literally glows – first and foremost it denotes Grandpa’s eccentricity, but ultimately his trousers become a placeholder for fast fashion. While the ecological link is entirely obvious, the book’s key theme is the relationship between Grandpa and his grandson. Nor is the felling of rainforests the main theme in Michal Šanda’s Rio the Polar Bear Saves the Rainforest (Lední medvěd Rio zachraňuje prales, 2023, Meander); the polar bear sails to warmer climes on a small iceberg, where he helps his new friends by preventing the destruction of the jungle.
A fairytale explanation of climate change is provided by Frostbite (Omrzlina, 2024, Host), by sisters Kateřina (text) and Zuzana (illustrations) Čupová. The quirky child narrator adds humour to this dynamic story, which introduces middle-grade readers to the Frozen Nation and explains why the world is losing ice. Incidentally, relationships with nature also make an appearance in Zuzana Čupová’s writing début Trees (Stromové, 2024, Knižní stezka k dětem). The writing in this playfully anthropomorphic, encyclopaedic overview of trees in the Czech landscape won a Golden Ribbon 2025.
The much-praised family book The Bicycle (Kolo, 2024, Paseka, Golden Ribbon 2025) by poet and translator Ondřej Buddeus, with distinctive illustrations by Jindřich Janíček, also touches on sustainability. Aimed at children and adults alike, this exceptionally informative, playful non-fiction book scores points for both text and graphics, and investigates its central theme – the bicycle – from many perspectives. It covers urbanism, ecology and the social context in addition to the history of cycling and its health benefits. The message of concertina book The Little Red Ball by Michal Štěpánek (Malý červený míč, Lux, 2024, illustrated by Filip Pošivač), about a little boy searching for his lost ball with the help of a stray dog, is also that there is no need to throw out everything that is broken. This book, for readers aged two and over, highlights the importance of patience and of helping each other.
A space for strong characters
We find nature overlapping into metaphysics in many recent books; this is an exceptionally strong tradition in Czech kidlit, and the books have also been recognised internationally (let us mention Josef Lada, Jiří Trnka, Vojtěch Kubašta, Miroslav Šašek, Květa Pacovská and Petr Sís). Emphasis on the informational, educational side is frequently indivisible from the books’ distinctive aesthetics, meaning they can be described as artistic-scientific publications. The last decade has demonstrated that this approach is exceptionally attractive to young creators and artists who, inspired by a rapidly changing society, create an original response to it.
Tereza Říčanová is a renowned artist whose work is associated with the publishing house Baobab. Her appealing illustrated guide This is Istanbul (To je Istanbul, 2019, Baobab) follows in the footsteps of the famous series of illustrated guides to European metropolises that Miroslav Šašek started to publish as early as the late 1940s. More frequently, however, Říčanová focuses on the theme of the close connection between human beings and nature and natural cycles, be this agricultural work with animals, in Ms Říčanová’s Cow (Kráva Říčanová, 2021, Baobab), shortlisted for the Magnesia Litera prize, or the more subtle position of her latest The Forest (Les, 2024, Baobab), a sovereign artistic achievement that also showcases the author’s feeling for language, almost poetic in places, yet entirely comprehensible. Zbyšek wanders through the woods on a sort of pilgrimage, on which he listens intently, up to the moment when a monster appears and tears the forest to shreds with its teeth and claws. Zbyšek later works to restore it. Characterised by a heady atmosphere, the book stimulates perception via the senses and ultimately gives hopeful information about the resilience of nature’s natural order.
A is for Antarctica: A View from the Other Side (A jako Antarktida. Pohled z druhé strany, 2019, Labyrint, Magnesia Litera prize, Golden Ribbon) by conceptual artist David Böhm convincingly conveys the information that there are places where human beings may never have set foot. This playful, informative encyclopaedia makes use of a whole range of artistic techniques and folding pages to provide an interactive experience that overlaps into philosophy. Böhm blends scientific knowledge and existential questions – this time with regard to the timeline of life on this planet – in another of his books Now. Before You Finish Reading this Sentence, 21 Children Will Be Born on Earth (Teď. Než dočteš tuto větu, narodí se na Zemi 21 dětí, 2023, Labyrint). He is also a contributor to the internationally recognised title The City for Everyone: A Beginner Urbanist’s Manual (Město pro každého. Manuál urbanisty začátečníka, 2020, Labyrint, text Osamu Okamura, illustrated by David Böhm and Jiří Franta, photography by Pavel Horák, Bologna Ragazzi Award, Czech Grand Design 2021).
The large-format book I, Octopus (Já, chobotnice, 2022, Baobab), by Magdalena Rutová also conveys a powerful environmental appeal. Rutová won the Illustrator of the Year prize in the Czech Grand Design awards, and the book also won a Golden Ribbon and the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2024. The likeable eponymous animal heroine no longer wants to live in the sea, but wishes to discover the human world so she can write a book about it. Her adventures and her view of what goes on around her will ultimately inspire the planet’s human inhabitants. Let us also mention Magdalena Rutová’s success as a writer as well as an illustrator. She exemplifies the type of illustrator whose artwork develops and puts the finishing touches to a text, which is proved, for example, by The Unreal Adventures of Florentin Flowers (Neskutečná dobrodružství Florentina Flowerse, 2019, Baobab, text by Marek Toman), Tomatoes and Bananas (Rajčaťáci a banáni, 2023, Host, text by Petr Váša), in the bilingual book Stray Dog (Čavargoš/Tulák, 2023, Kher, text by Tera Fabiánová) or the enchanting story about the overlap between the human and animal worlds, The Parrot and the Vixen (Žako a Stopotvorná, 2024, Baobab, text by Alžběta Dvořáková).
Tereza Ščerbová also chooses protagonists from the animal kingdom. Her YA philosophical fairytale Kooki (Krtník, 2016, Host, Golden Ribbon 2017) shines artistically and is concerned with searching for your own identity.
Guides to the worlds of mice, insects and fungi
A number of other significant nature-themed books from the last decade also have a didactic dimension. Tereza Vostradovská’s large-format publications Playful Science (Hravouka, 2016, Běžíliška, Golden Ribbon 2017) and Playful Journeys (Hravocesta, 2021, Běžíliška) also deserve attention. The detailed, realistic illustrations and playful tasks for pre-school and younger primary school readers also serve as useful learning materials. The story of the little mouse who decides to create her own encyclopaedia about nature is supplemented by an app for mobile devices, so it can also be used for outdoor activities.
Aneta Františka Holasová’s Ipsík’s Tale (Pohádka o Ipsíkovi, 2016, Běžíliška) also encourages the readers’ desire to learn to read and write while realistically reflecting the life of insects. The theme is not far removed from that of her début, Lumír Keeps Bees or the Honey Spelling Book (Lumír včelaří aneb Medový slabikář, 2013, Labyrint), which was devoted to the annual cycle of bees; she also remains faithful to nature motifs in her role of illustrator, e.g., for The Herbalist (Bylinkář) and The Secret of the Old Garden (Tajemství staré zahrady) by Monika Golasovská, 2019 and 2022 respectively, both published by Labyrint. Tereza Marianová’s work also focuses on flora and fauna. Her trilogy of verses about plants, Flower Boards, Shrub Boards, Tree Boards (Květolelo, Keřolelo, Stromolelo, 2022–2023, Meander) is aimed at the smallest readers, while Street Rascals (Uličníci, 2023) is devoted to urban wildlife. She has also treated, in an encyclopaedic fashion, the subjects of Czech hunting Oh Dear Oh Deer (To jsem z toho jelen, 2019, Pikola) and horse-racing The Grand Story of the Grand Pardubice Steeplechase (Velký příběh Velké pardubické, 2020, Albatros).
Many artistic and educational books are encyclopaedic in nature and frequently result from a long-term creative collaboration between the author and the illustrator. For example, publishing house Baobab have issued a number of impressive titles from the workshop of Jiří Dvořák and the Slovak artist Daniela Olejníková. The Vermin Book (Havětník, 2015) is full of lice, fleas, mites, caterpillars and all sorts of other insects, yet it is also poetic, adventurous and informative. How We Live (Bydlíme, 2019) again demonstrates how humans and animals create their own homes. However, the apex of their collaborative work so far is Myco. The Complete Bulletin from the World of Fungi (Myko. Kompletní zpravodaj ze světa hub, 2023). The Magnesia Litera prize confirmed its quality in 2024, as did the main prize in the non-fiction category of the prestigious international Bologna Children’s Book Fair. These awards highlight innovative graphic design, scientific accuracy and attractively presented contents. These books foreground Jiří Dvořák’s strengths: communicating encyclopaedic subjects via stories, poetic approaches to language and playful ideas – framed on this occasion in the form of a bulletin about mushrooms created by the mushrooms themselves.
Illustrators reanimating history
Artistic-educational children’s publications frequently focus on history. In recent years we have observed a tendency to mediate historical themes primarily using stories with a journey-through-time motif, or directly in the biographical graphic novel genre. However, such works also include titles with a significant artistic element in their storytelling. The large-format book Áďa Fell into the Canal (Áďa spadla do kanálu, 2018, Albatros) by graphic designer Sylva Francová, aimed at younger schoolchildren, accompanies a little girl around Prague’s historical sites (and has a framing story with a problematic sibling relationship as its theme).
The prize-winning illustrator Renáta Fučíková is the most prominent producer of picture books that process historical material. Her educational titles effectively seek ways to make the subject as accessible as possible to the modern reader. For example, her book Shakespeare (2016, Vyšehrad, Golden Ribbon 2017) introduces a dozen of the playwright’s plays, enriched with a comprehensible interpretation touching on sources of inspiration and the cultural-historical context. Over 400 illustrations capturing the ambience of the eras described put the finishing touches to the written text. She has also turned the spotlight on other greats of world drama: Molière (2017, Golden Ribbon), Chekhov (2021) and Goethe (2024), and she covers the period of ancient Czech history in the book Queens and Pilgrims: Stories of the First Millennium (Královny a poutníci. Příběhy prvního tisíciletí, 2023, Albatros). As an illustrator she has worked with a number of experienced writers, such as Radek Malý (Franz Kafka: A Man of His and Our Time, Franz Kafka. Člověk své i naší doby, 2017, Práh) and Markéta Pilátová (The Little Girl on the Postage Stamp, Holčička ze známky, 2024, Práh; Birds of Passage: Stories of Czech Exile and Immigration, Tažní ptáci. Příběhy českého exilu a imigrace, 2025, Universum).
Rising stars from two centres
Renáta Fučíková is also a superb educator – she is the head of the Didactic Illustration studio at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, University of West Bohemia in Plzeň (Pilsen), where she transmits her rich experience to students gradually establishing themselves as a strong new generation of illustrators. These newcomers are gaining ground both as individuals (Marto Kelbl, Tereza Marianová and Štěpánka Jislová) and in joint projects, including the excellent titles Heroines. The Stories of Significant Czech Women (Hrdinky. Příběhy významných českých žen, 2020, Universum, Golden Ribbon), Velvet Effect: 1988–1992 (2020, Albatros, texts by Petr Švec and Renáta Fučíková) about the course and context of the Velvet Revolution, or The Unforgettable 1920s: A Guide to the Essential Decade in Modern History (Nezapomenutelná dvacátá. Průvodce zásadním desetiletím novodobých dějin, 2023, Universum) about the young Czechoslovak Republic’s heyday.
Graduates of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague are also becoming known as distinctive illustrators. Nikola Logosová (Illustrator of the Year 2019 in the annual Czech Grand Design awards) has provided intensely colourful illustrations for the concertina book Recorded Delivery (Rekomando, 2015, Běžíliška, text by Robin Král), the story The Eve of St Nicholas by Lukáš Csicsely (Předvečer svatého Mikuláše, 2017, Meander), the history of medicine in seven days Watch Out, A Doctor! by Petr Svobodný (Pozor, doktor!, 2019, Běžíliška), the “handbook” to human personalities and professions I, a Human Being by Olga Stehlíková (Já, člověk, 2021, Albatros) or Petra Soukupová’s two-volume series The Weird Kids’ Club (Klub divných dětí, 2019, 2023, Host). Her authorial début, the illustrated World Atlas – Europe (Atlas světa – Evropa, Lux) was published in 2023, and introduces the landscapes, places of interest, inhabitants and culture of individual European countries using original, mosaic images.
Nikola Hoření, also a graduate of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, has focused on collaborating with publishing house Meander, where she has demonstrated her abilities as an author of concertina books about experiencing emotions: Karla is Crying (Karla pláče), Hubert is Angry (Hubert se vzteká), Ida is Happy (Ida se raduje) and Tonča is Scared (Tonča se leká) (2020–2023). She deployed her expressive, seemingly naive style in Michal Šanda’s poetry collection for the smallest readers, How do you do? (Rukulíbám) or the poetic story Lilly, the Hang-Glider is Flying! (Lilly, letí rogalo!) by Jaroslav Kovanda (both 2020, Meander), which combines poetry with graphic-novel inserts.
The talented Jakub Bachorík was awarded the Graphic Designer of the Year award in 2016, while he was still studying at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Bachorík has yet to write his own book, but he and his original artistic style have been involved in a number of titles by other authors. He and Kateřina Přidalová worked together on the popular science book What actually is design? (Co je vlastně design?, 2021, UMPRUM), he illustrated the story of the boy with burns The Boy in the Fire (Kluk v ohni, 2021, Cesta domů, text by Marka Míková) and he left an unmistakable mark on the artistic-educational publications Bridges (Mosty, 2024, Labyrint, text by Magda Garguláková) and A Book Full of Food (Kniha plná jídla, 2025, Host, text by Petra Tajovský Pospěchová).
Prizewinning illustrator, graphic designer and graphic novelist Lucie Lučanská won the Serpa International Award for picture-books in 2023, for title In the Tent (Pod stanem, 2025, Baobab), the poetic hundred-day peregrinations of two siblings in search of adventure. Her dissertation was transformed into The Book of Perceptions (Kniha vnímání, 2022, Lux), which won first place in the Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year award in 2022, in the Bibliophilia and Book-Objects category.
Fictional worlds for proficient readers
The prerequisites for reader appeal in stories aimed at boys and girls on the edge of adolescence are adventures and tension, often associated with a conundrum (technical, mystical, historical, personal), pacing and thoughtful composition, and also strong characters who do not act stereotypically but overcome various obstacles. Authors who have made their mark in this genre over the relevant decade primarily include Vojtěch Matocha, František Tichý, Marek Toman, Petra Soukupová and Bára Dočkalová, whose books always contain high-quality illustrations.
The latter, Bára Dočkalová, whose novels are published by Labyrint, turns the spotlight on interpersonal relationships: her protagonists are allowed to mature, to become determined to discard their fears about what is expected of them and, first and foremost, to be themselves. Each book takes the readers into another environment and provides them with vividly narrated and engaging stories. The Secret of Pebble Mountain (Tajemství Oblázkové hory, 2018, illustrated by Petra Josefína Stibitzová) is a fantasy novel that takes two supposed enemies into another world; The Battle of the Baseball Diamond (Bitva o diamant, 2022, illustrated by Jindřich Janíček) takes place in the remote American mountains among children who are keen baseball fans, and the most recent, which was awarded the Magnesia Litera prize, Bone (Kost, 2024, illustrated by Zdenka Holub Převrátilová) recalls Slavonic traditions and gives undertones of horror to family history. Interpersonal relationships are the domain of Petra Soukupová, whose books are published by Host. In 2017, she created one fictional world for two separate novels: the detective story Who killed Snowy? (Kdo zabil Snížka?, illustrated by Tereza Ščerbová) is aimed at children, while Best For Everybody (Nejlepší pro všechny, 2018) is an adult drama of relationships. She worked sympathetically with difference, in harmony with the general trends in kidlit of recent years, in her subsequent publications Weird Kids’ Club (Klub divných dětí, 2019) and The Weird Kids and the Sad Cat (Divné děti a smutná kočka, 2023, both illustrated by Nikola Logosová). This is also true of the book Sydney: (The Two of Us from B.) (Sydney: (My dva z B.), 2020, Baobab, illustrated by Juraj Horváth), by publisher Tereza Horváthová, who presents the daily lives of socially marginalised children realistically but with hope. She offers up the same subject to younger readers in the book Wishes (Přání, 2022), illustrated by Michaela Kukovičová. The protagonist of Olga Stehlíková’s book Mojenka (2022, Host, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy) also experiences a challenging social situation – her daily life is destabilised when one of her parents becomes seriously ill. The book’s artwork was awarded a Golden Ribbon in 2023. Incidentally, Stehlíková’s Reference Dictionary (Výkladový slovník, 2023, Host, illustrated by Michaela Casková), a conceptually original work for younger readers, was also crowned with success: the publication won a Golden Ribbon and was selected for inclusion in the international catalogue The White Ravens.
Explorations of space and time
The adventure story genre is competently represented by Marek Toman. His funny, even parodical action books contain literary and cultural puzzles, taking readers to the Wild West in Cross-eyed Jim’s Patisserie (Cukrárna u Šilhavého Jima, 2018, Baobab, illustrated by František Loubat), or to the harsh environment of a pirate ship in The Unreal Adventures of Florentin Flowers (Neskutečná dobrodružství Florentina Flowerse, 2019, illustrated by Magdalena Rutová), or depicting the lives of American emigrants in Nožička and Wohryzek (Nožička a Wohryzek, 2022, illustrated by Jan Trakal). In terms of sales (though theatre and film adaptations have also played their part), the book, or rather books, of the decade is the trilogy Dustzone by Vojtěch Matocha (Dustzone, first volume published in 2018, Paseka, illustrated by Karel Osoha), which updates the tradition exemplified by Jaroslav Foglar in a modern and accessible fashion. The story’s protagonists repeatedly set out for the title’s secret quarter, where technology does not work and where they face real dangers that they must handle without the help of adults. The fictional world of the now-completed trilogy is currently being reimagined as a sort of chronicle in graphic novel format. The series The Chalk Figure (Křídový panáček, collected instalments published in 2023, illustrated by Karel Osoha) won the Muriel prize and was followed by Weird Walks (Podivné procházky, from March 2023, illustrated by Ester Kuchynková, Kateřina Čupová).
Books about travelling into the past enjoy using literary load-bearing strategies in which the child heroes find themselves with no modern technology and unable to turn to their families for help. Gateways to the past come in many different forms – the protagonist of Lucie Paulová’s novel Alma and the Picture World (Alma a Svět obrazu, 2022, Paseka, illustrated by Kateřina Čupová) goes through a picture to the age of the First Republic; the twins in Petra Hůlová’s Foxy Eyes (Liščí oči, 2021, Argo, illustrated by Nikkarin) arrive in August 1968 through a hole in the bathroom floor and Martin Čepa’s trio of heroes are transported through a large stone bell to the last days of World War II in The Bell (Zvon, 2024, Argo, illustrated by Richard Fischer). The children are in familiar places, but under unfamiliar conditions, and they have to rely on each other to get back home.
Otherwise, Stanislav Beran also works with a portal to the past in the novel Lost in the Air (Ztracený v povětří, 2023, Host; the sequel, Fear Over the River (Strach nad řekou) was published in 2024, both illustrated by Ján Kurinec). His protagonist passes through a metal cabinet into different eras in time, but the core of the plot unfolds in the present. The child’s experience is thus not only gained while travelling into the past, but also corresponds to the memory of adult characters.
The notional literary peak of historically motivated fiction belongs indisputably to František Tichý and the first two volumes of his free trilogy, Transport Beyond Eternity (Transport za věčnost, 2017, Baobab, Magnesia Litera) and The Labyrinth of Unfinished Encounters (Labyrint nedokončených setkání, 2020, Baobab, all illustrated by Stanislav Setinský), inspired by family correspondence and other authentic documents reflecting the lives of children and adolescents under the Protectorate. The trilogy is completed by the dystopian science-fiction story Recruit 2044 (Rekrut 2044, 2022), which is set in the near future. These sublimely well-composed, multi-layered novels combine strong adolescent characters with questions of personal responsibility and integrity.
Martin Vopěnka has continued to publish science fiction for children and young people over the last decade; his wide-ranging novel The New Planet (Nová planeta, 2015, Mladá fronta) won a Golden Ribbon. The books of Václav Dvořák are also exceptionally popular with readers. His most famous titles of the period include his self-published series The Kids from the Planet Písečnice (Písečníci, 2018, 2022) and the standalone novel I, Finis (Já, Finis, 2020, all illustrated by Jakub Cenkl). The artwork in the book Já, Finis – a readable science fiction story about boys who disappear on their eighth birthdays – was awarded a Golden Ribbon, and the text was awarded the “Readers’ Kosmas Prize”, which is part of the Magnesia Litera.
Graphic novels as the supreme storytelling format
The graphic novel scene has also professionalised over the last decade; this was reflected in the foundation of the Czech Graphic Novel Academy in 2018. The Academy is now responsible for awarding the annual Muriel prize for graphic novels, which of course includes a children’s graphic novel category. A strong generation of graphic novel creators is making strides in publishing graphic novels for both children and adults. The trends in these spheres are similar to a certain extent, resulting in an overlap in the target groups. For example, history-themed graphic novels may appeal to pre-teens, teens and adults. The graphic novel is thus establishing itself as the supreme storytelling format in the Czech context too; a format that enables the communication of complex themes directly and comprehensibly using strong visual elements.
The number, quality and variety of genres covered by original Czech graphic novels continues to grow and doubtless as a result we have in recent years detected a blurring of the boundary between the graphic novel and the illustrated book. Authors who combine artistic techniques (Renáta Fučíková for example, in the book Chekhov & (Čechov &) uses graphic novel elements to retell the stories of individual plays), and illustrators of prose (Klára Smolíková and Kateřina Illnerová: Dalila and the Lift with No Doors, Dalila a výtah bez dveří 2024) and educational books (Ester Stará and Milan Starý: The Book of Feelings, Kniha pocitů 2022) are exploiting the potential of graphic novels as a vivid interpretational tool. The Alliance of the Valiant by Ester Stará and Jiří Franta (Aliance udatných, 2024, 65. pole) combines text and graphic-novel passages in equal measure and is aimed at readers aged approximately ten and over. The point is not only to add interest. The division also functions from the story’s perspective – the graphic-novel sequences depict the alternative reality of a video game into which the main hero regularly falls when struggling with problems of ordinary life (family relationships, bullying).
Stable positions and new blood
The Brno-based painter and illustrator Pavel Čech, a fixture in the Czech graphic-novel scene, is primarily famous for his fondness for watercolours, ink and pastels. He continues to publish the graphic-novel cycle The Adventures of the Speedy Squirrel (Dobrodružství rychlé Veverky) – the most recent part was published in 2023 and parts 1-5 came out in a collected edition in the same year – and he also delighted fans of Jaroslav Foglar with his graphic-novel story The Redhead (O Červenáčkovi, 2019). The wordless graphic novel And (A, 2016, Petrkov) represents a new departure in his work. This parable about the mechanisms of autocracy was awarded the Muriel prize and a Golden Ribbon.
However, many new individuals have also emerged from the graphic-novel scene of the last decade. One of the best creators is Michal Menšík, who publishes under the pseudonym Nikkarin. In recent years he has also devoted himself to illustrating Czech and translated books, including Foxy Eyes by Petra Hůlová (Liščí oči, 2021, Argo), and Kiki’s Delivery Service (Doručovací služba čarodějky Kiki, 2024, Albatros) by the Japanese writer Eiko Kadono; however, he made his début as a screenwriter and cartoonist in one, as long as fifteen years ago, with a graphic-novel fantasy series (from 2009, Labyrint). He received a Golden Ribbon for the humorous graphic-novel fantasy for young adults Super Spellsword Saga: The Legend of Infinity (Super Spellsword Sága: Legenda o Nekonečnu, 2019, Labyrint) and he also contributes ongoing comic strips to the children’s magazines Four-Leaved Clover (Čtyřlístek) and Rocket (Raketa). Some of his well-loved stories also waited some time for a collected edition in book form: Hubert & Hugo (from 2021, Labyrint, three volumes, of which the most recent won the Muriel prize in 2024) follows the fortunes of two climbers, a father and son, while The Adventures of Rocky and Teri (Dobrodružství Rockyho & Terky), issued collectively with a bonus about the alien trio Uno, Duo, Tria (2022) describes expeditions in a spaceship and more.
Other successful series originally published in magazines and reissued several years later in book form include Matylda and the Pink Wolf by Jana Šrámková and Petra Josefína Stibitzová (Matylda a Růžovej vlk, 2023, Labyrint, Muriel prize) or Guinea Pigs in Action by Klára Smolíková and Ester Kuchynková (Morčata v akci, 2022, Crew), which originally appeared in the magazine Tečka [Full Stop].
Superheroes and robots
Kateřina Čupová made her début on the one hundredth anniversary of Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. with a large-format graphic-novel adaptation (2020, Argo), which has attracted international attention. She has also won success at home with her subsequent book, the inventive Cook, Little Pot, Cook! (Hrnečku, vař!, 2022, Argo, Muriel prize 2022), which endows traditional fairytale characters with superhero elements.
In the graphic novel Supro: Heroes on Credit (Supro: Hrdinové na dluh, 2023, Crew), life is breathed into other superheroes by screenwriter Štěpánka Jislová, one of the most distinctive Czech graphic-novel artists of recent times. Her work for adult audiences Bald (2024, Graphic Mundi; Bez vlasů, 2020, Paseka) and Heartcore (2025, Graphic Mundi; Srdcovka, 2023, Paseka) has been highly successful, but she has also applied her ideas and playfulness in a graphic-novel guide to Czech sayings called Sayings and Proverbs (Přeřekadla, 2021, Meander). As an artist, Jislová has also contributed to historical graphic novels, aimed at a broad spectrum of readers, that raise awareness of Czechoslovak history – this includes, in addition to Milada Horáková by Jislová and Zdeněk Ležák (2020, Argo) Tricolore by Martin Šinkovský (Trikolora, 2019, Albatros) or Štefánik by Gabriela Kyselová and Michal Baláž (2021, Labyrint).
The trilogy William and Meriwether (William a Meriwether, Labyrint) by screenwriter Taťána Rubášová and artist Jindřich Janíček represents dystopia and science fiction for young people in Czech graphic novels. In The Remarkable Robot Expedition (Podivuhodná robotí expedice, 2016), which was included in The White Ravens selection, two robots travel around the one-time United States and find the remnants of human presence there. The sequels The Unexpected Robot Exodus (Neočekávaný robotí exodus, 2019) and The Distressing Robot Existence (Strastiplná robotí existence, 2023), expand into existential themes associated with human civilisation, ecology and ethics. The trilogy is enlivened with balanced humour and the emphasis gradually shifts to searching for your own place in the world and the basis of friendship. Jindřich Janíček’s creative approach successfully updates the adventure genre with a combination of interwar tradition and modern visual simplicity (small wonder that he was named Illustrator of the Year in 2022 by the Czech Grand Design awards). This approach functions convincingly both in his graphic novels aimed primarily at an adult audience, such as R for Runner (B jako běžec, 2021, Paseka), To the West on the Northwest Line (Na západ severozápadní linkou, 2022, Paseka) and in his illustrations to domestic and translated titles, such as Bára Dočkalová’s The Battle of the Baseball Diamond (Bitva o diamant, 2022, Labyrint).
A good example of a successful collaboration between a talented artist and experienced writer is the entertaining graphic novel Tibbles the Cat (Tibbles, 2021, Meander, Muriel prize 2021) by David Dolenský and Michal Šanda. A subtle ecological point is the punchline to this story of a cat (anti)hero, who moves to an island with his owner, where they discover a new bird species. Before any ornithologist manages to visit the island, however, the tomcat has wiped them all out. Let us add that Dolenský’s other (non-graphic) novels also deal with consideration for and relationships with the natural world, including his début Rufus the Woodsman (Rufus zálesák, 2020, Baobab) and the loose continuation of this wiry, idiosyncratic man’s story, Rufus the Fisherman (Rufus rybaří, 2023, Baobab, text by Jaroslav Tvrdoň).
Playful poetry and wordplay
The tradition of rhyming poetry for children is currently being nurtured primarily by Robin Král, Radek Malý and Ester Stará. Child readers can encounter the poet, translator and songwriter Robin Král’s playful poems in nearly four dozen books, predominantly concertina books. His most striking poetic achievements are associated with the publishing house Běžíliška, where he started his successful poetry career with the 3D concertina book Oh, Ferdinand! about bat friends, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy (Ferdinande!, 2013, Golden Ribbon for the artwork, IBBY Honour List). He won the Magnesia Litera and a Golden Ribbon for his collection The Inventionary (Vynálezárium, 2015, illustrated by Jana Hrušková), in which he playfully brings together the world of inventors and literary theory (selected poetic forms such as calligrams, rondels and rispetti describing 53 human inventors). His other successful titles include A Cat in Cross-Section (Řez kočkou, 2018 and 2024, illustrated by Tereza Vostradovská), the narrative encyclopaedia Beware, A Doctor! (Pozor doktor!, 2018, illustrated by Nikola Logosová), the celebratory poetic composition Long Live the Queen! (Ať žije královna!, 2024, Knižní stezka k dětem, illustrated by Barbora Burianová) or the concertina books published by Meander, of which we will name only the most wide-ranging – a uniquely artistic treatment in the pop-up book At the Fair (Na pouti, 2024, Meander, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy).
The poet and German translator Radek Malý also writes poetry for children published by Běžíliška, often in a Mikroliška edition for the smallest readers and then, for example, the concertina book Nine Dormice in a Den (Devět plchů v pelechu, 2016) or the picture book Losses and Finds (Ztráty a nálezy, 2024), both illustrated by Andrea Tachezy, or by Meander, e.g. concertina books and reprints of the successful titles To Where Laughter is Allowed in (Kam až smí smích, 2009 and 2015), or The Children’s Little Poetic Dictionary in Examples (Poetický slovníček dětem v příkladech, 2012 and 2023) or indeed by Albatros, including All Sorts of Banter for Boys and Girls (Všelijaké řečičky pro kluky a holčičky, 2017, illustrated by Alžběta Skálová), Postcards from Unnoticed Towns (Pohlednice z nespatřených měst, 2022, illustrated by Jan Laštovička), where, however, he has in recent years mostly made a name for himself with educational titles: An Atlas of Extinct Animals (Atlas vyhubených živočichů, 2019), An Atlas of Endangered Animals (Atlas ohrožených živočichů, 2020), An Atlas of Prehistoric Animals (Atlas prehistorických živočichů, 2024).
The playful poems of Ester Stará, an experienced and award-winning kidlit author, will entertain and inform in the best sense of the word. She writes verses with funny, rhymed punchlines for schoolchildren Onions Make Everyone Cry (Každý bulí nad cibulí, 2017, Paseka), but also about means of transport and animals for the smallest readers: such as the hand-made art books by publisher POP-PAP Let’s Goooooooo! (Jedéééém!, 2018), Baa Moo Oink! (Meky mek! 2022) and Elle the Inquizzzative Bee (O zzzvědavé včele Elle, 2024). Stará, an experienced special educational needs teacher and speech therapist, is also the author of a number of didactic publications and books of fairytales that help to develop reading and communication skills, including The Greatest Wish (Největší přání, 2017, 65. pole) and Smoky and Beanie (Šedík a Bubi, 2019, Pikola, included in The White Ravens selection).
Perceiving the sense and nonsense of the world around us
The poet Petr Borkovec turns his attention onto the transience, fragility and ordinariness of things in his concertina books titled Things in Our Lives (Věci našeho života, 2017, Cesta domů, illustrated by Adriana Skálová) and Things We Lose (Věci, které ztrácíme, 2020, 2023, Meander, illustrated by Petra Josefína Stibitzová). The “herbarium of dreams” Blue Agave (Modrá agave, 2021, Baobab) that accompanies artist Michaela Kukovičová’s picture album is dedicated to “secretive beings aged 12 to 18”. In 2024, publisher Běžíliška brought out a collected edition of Borkovec’s poetry with the title Wet Blue Wellies are a Kingfisher (Ledňáček jsou modré mokré holínky, 2024), comprising the volumes Everything is in the Garden (Všechno je to na zahradě, 2013), What They Dream About (O čem sní, 2016) and the best-of collection Each Thing has Something in Common with Happiness (Každá věc má něco společného se štěstím, 2019) plus the newly published composition Benjamin Murka.
Daniela Fischerová’s most recent nonsense poetry includes the collections Tattooed Aunty (Tetovaná teta, 2015, Meander, illustrated by Jaromír Plachý) and The Sea Cow with a Ukelele (Ochechule s ukulele, 2018, illustrated by Jakub Kouřil), and humorously reflects children’s experience with the modern world and the world of fairytales. The charming onomatopoeic rhymes and wordplay of this author, who writes for both children and adults, can also be found in several volumes in the Repolelo series, published from 2019 by Meander Crash! Bang! Wallop! (Plác! Tác! Bác!), The Unprecedented Spectacle (Nevídaná podívaná), The Flying Tram (Tramvaj letí) and Nine Aunties on a Day Out (Devět tet jde na výlet).Today this remarkable series numbers six dozen titles and is particularly distinctive in creative terms because it brings together young artistic talent (Jakub Bachorík, Anna Kulíčková) and established Czech poets (Ivan Wernisch, Michal Šanda, Ivan Binar, Robin Král). Several volumes present innovatively illustrated folk riddles or sayings: Folk Dance Tra La La by Ester Nemjó (Kalamajka mik mik mik, 2019, Meander), What’s That? by Zuzana Čupová (Co to?, 2024, Meander); others have no text whatsoever, such as Hubert is Angry (Hubert se vzteká, 2021, Meander) or Karla is Crying (Karla pláče, 2021, Meander) by Nikola Hoření, Our Little Pig (Naše prasátko, 2020, Meander) by Jaromír Plachý, but there are also books where the same person is both writer and artist (Tereza Marianová). The bilingual Romanes-Czech fairytale Boiled Eggs (Vařená vejce – Tade jandre, 2024, co-published with Kher, illustrated by Zuzana Mašková) is an outstanding achievement, telling the story of a Roma boy who outwits a lazy farmer.
We could name yet more remarkable titles; however, an overview article cannot do justice to the subject. Our aim was, first and foremost, to highlight the breadth and variety available and also to mention the international reception and success (The White Ravens, IBBY, Bologna Children’s Book Fair) of specific books, which only confirms that Czech creators have plenty to offer to a foreign audience, primarily because they respond with sensitivity and originality to the world in which today’s children are growing up, yet consciously work with the strong traditions underpinning Czech kidlit. Alongside the established literary greats, a significant younger generation is gaining ground with readers and, as a result, the shared literary space is becoming ever more varied in terms of authors, language, genre and themes.
Jitka Nešporová, Kamila Drahoňovská
Jitka Nešporová (b. 1982) is a German and Czech studies scholar, translator, editor, and literary journalist.She completed her PhD at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, on Ludvík Kundera’s translation work, in 2014. She translates German-language fiction (including works by Nora Bossong, Catalin Dorian Florescu, Vea Kaiser, Angelika Overath, and Norbert Scheuer) and occasionally lectures on literary translation. She has long been a contributor to iLiteratura, focusing on German-language writing and children’s and young adult literature. Nešporová has been a co-author of the Best Books for Children catalogue since 2019, and she has served as the literary programme coordinator at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague since 2023.
Kamila Drahoňovská (b. 1989) is an editor, proofreader, and literary critic. She studied Historical and Literary Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Pardubice, and Czech Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. Her main focus is contemporary Czech writing and children’s and young adult literature. She regularly contributes to iLiteratura, where she has been an editor since 2018 and, since late 2023, editor of the children’s and YA literature section. She also works as a freelance editor and proofreader for various publishing houses.
The article was peer-reviewed by PhDr. Jana Čeňková, Ph.D. It was originally published on the website of the Czech Literary Centre.