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you cannot not love me

You Cannot Not Love Me

Text © by Jasminka Petrović, Odiseja, 2019.
llustration © by Ana Petrović,
Translated into English by Zorana Popović
Translated into Spanish by Maja Mavrak
Transleted into German by Olga Lazić
World rights: Odiseja
Rights sold: Macedonia
Pages: 112, Age 8-12

Chewy isn’t perfect. Just few days ago he chewed on mom’s shoe and destroyed my favorite magazine. Dad calls him Disaster because, as he says, he’s never seen a naughtier dog. Since Chewy has become a member of our family, my dad spends more time in the pantry than in living room. And ballet “The Nutcracker” in which I play the leading role is right behind the corner, and imagine, professor Olga wants to include Chewy as well! Wherever he goes he gets an army of fans. Even the other ballerinas adore him, and they are not easy to please. What can I say – you really cannot not love him.

Nina is perfect! Even though she loves the snakes and she gets angry when I rip some stupid magazine up. She allows me to nibble her ears, and believe me, she has the softest ears on the Earth! Mom and dad are okay. Dad calls me Disaster, even though I really don’t understand why, but it’s awesome when we bark from the balcony together and irritate our neighbor. They says I always get in trouble, that I’m naughty and clumsy, but they never stay angry with me for too long. Even the neighbor says I’m a good boy. What can I say – you really cannot not love me!

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i want to go home

I want to go home!

Text © by Jasminka Petrović, Odiseja, 2016.
llustration © by Ana Petrović,
Translated into English by Petar Kapuran
Translated into Spanish by Jelena Ješić
Translated into German by Gudrun Krivokapić
World rights: Odiseja
Rights sold: Macedonia, China, Croatia
Foreign option: Sweden
Pages: 88, Age 6–8

Young adult and children’s book author Jasminka Petrović (b. 1960), with her daughter illustrator Ana Petrović (b. 1989), has written a very funny children’s book about what it would be like if one could exchange one’s parents. Young Nikola is annoyed by his parents’ constant “Do this” and “Leave that alone”, so he wants to find new parents on another planet. The selection is rather thin, though: Stiff robot parents and infantile mamas and papas who themselves want to be taken care of are not what Nikola had in mind. He returns home and – lo and behold – finds his own parental exemplars pretty okay!

This book was included in the Selection of International Children's and Youth Literature The White Ravens 2017 presented by Internationale Jugendbibliothek / International Youth Library

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hello, are you the frog

Hello, Are You The Frog?

Text © by Jasminka Petrović, Odiseja, 2013.
Illustration © by Ana Petrović, Odiseja, 2013.
Translated into English by Daniela Nikolić
Translated into Spanish by Jelena Ješić

Rights sold to: Sweden
Pages: 96, Age 6–10

Jasminka Petrović, our popular and award-winning author, was often engaged in theaters and television over the recent years, and she used this experience to write a collection of short plays for children’s theatre of younger school age. They are convenient for performing at home, in the classroom or on stage. Jasminka Petrović always bears in mind those working with children, the teachers, librarians, workshop leaders, and provides additional content for them: discussion topics, home assignments, ideas for linking individual plays with different school subjects. She also included in the book a short and age-specific glossary of theatrical terms. The book is graphically designed and illustrated by Ana Petrović, her talented daughter. This close cooperation within the Petrović family workshop contributed to the beauty of this book. The collection contains 20 plays for home and school children’s theatre: ten for children ages 6-8, and ten for children ages 8-10. The author recommends theatre and acting for all children, not just for future actors, given that it promotes self-confidence and imagination, and helps fight the stage fright. Also, since the theater encompasses a variety of arts (literature, music, painting, performing arts, etc) children have the opportunity to discover their hidden talents. "Learn through play, create out of joy. Be yourselves and a little bit better.

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35 calories without sugar

35 Calories Without Sugar

Text © by Jasminka Petrović, Odiseja, 2007.
llustration © by Ana Petrović,
Translated into English by Jelena Ješić

World rights: Odiseja
Rights sold: Macedonia, Sweden, Italy, Slovenia, Spain
Foreign option: Hungary
Pages: 134, Age 10–14

This book will make you laugh, make you sad, give you strength and make you think. Here are just some of the questions you can ask yourself: What kind of family do I have? How much time do we spend together? Who has the best sense of humor among my family members? What do we fight about the most in our family? Do we talk openly with our parents? Do we have Sunday lunch together? Do I skip meals? Are we eating healthy? How many pounds do I weigh? What is my image in the mirror like? Do I live under pressure? Am I anorexic?

Golden Dositejevo pero award winner 2008.

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mothers

Mothers

Text © by Jasminka Petrović, Odiseja, 2004.
Illustration © by Lidija Taranović, Odiseja, 2004.
English translation by Timothy John Byford
Spanish translation by Jelena Ješić
Swedish translation by Maria Wersén
Rights sold to: Sweden
Rights option: Brasil
Pages: 40; Age 6–9

This book talks about mothers warmly and simply, poetically and realistically, wittily and seriously, with lots of love – just as mothers deserve it. It is as if Jasminka Petrovic has personally met every single mother in the world. She has put them in groups in such a way that none of them are left out. There is not a single child who would not recognize their own mother among all Jasminka's mothers, and there is not a single mother who would find herself asking: "But where am I?" She is here, in this book, presented as one or perhaps as a combination of several mothers. Her child is here as well, together with advice on how to get closer to mummy in order to understand her better.

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creative recycling i

Creative Recycling I

Text © by Marija Vukosavljević
Illustration © by Dejan Mandić, Odiseja
Pages: 48 , Age 5–10
World rights: Odiseja

A book for all those who like to play, do somecraft-work, and care about environment as well. Instead of throwing used plastic bottles, old newspapers and cans into garbage, they could be used for making toys or useful little things instead. Our planet can breathe easier if we don't cover it up with enormous amounts of garbage every day, and recycling could be a game full of fun. This books offer more than 50 ideas for such exciting activities.

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creative recycling ii

Creative Recycling II

Text © by Marija Vukosavljević
Illustration © by Dejan Mandić, Odiseja
Pages: 48 , Age 5–10
World rights: Odiseja

A book for all those who like to play, do somecraft-work, and care about environment as well. Instead of throwing used plastic bottles, old newspapers and cans into garbage, they could be used for making toys or useful little things instead. Our planet can breathe easier if we don't cover it up with enormous amounts of garbage every day, and recycling could be a game full of fun. This books offer more than 50 ideas for such exciting activities.

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the walker s guide to ada

The Walker's Guide to Ada

© Spomenka Krajčević, Odiseja, 2014
© Graphic art: Veljko Mihajlović
Odiseja
Belgrade, 2014

The Walker's Guide to Ada rounds up Spomenka Krajčević's Belgrade Triptych, which she ushered by Close-Up on Kalemegdan (2008) and brougth to the lime lights by Riding the Tram Line Two (2010). Travelogues are usually written about distant, exotic lands, but Spomenka Krajčević effortlessly demonstrates that we can travel around our own hometown, vertically and horizontally: through its landscapes, its history, myths and legends, archives, reflections formed in the minds of observers.

Instead of revealing itself to a traveler, a passerby, here the city opens up to an attentive, ever present observer, a walker who absorbes familiar landscapes, exploring its layers and building fresh ones, drawing on personal experiences. The sights are mere triggers to stories which do not necessarily have much more to do with reality except for sparking the mind of the onlooker. The enchanting thing about all books in this trilogy are the prose sketches, the literary fabric patiently woven around the cartographic material. They were only implied in the Close-Up on Kalemegdan, scattered along for our enjoyment in Riding the Tram Line Two, and brought to full shine in The Walker's Guide to Ada.