Martina Trchová has won one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for books for children and young adults, awarded by the Bologna Book Fair. She received the Bologna Ragazzi Awards (BRAW) in the Comics - Early Reader category for her book Babi, and will pick up the award at the end of March at the fair itself in Italy.
The Babi comic was published by Host in 2023 and is what is known as a silent book, i.e. a book without text that stands or falls “solely” on its pictures. It can thus be understood everywhere, and its charm lies in the way it sensitively brings the generations together. The story goes back to the Covid pandemic, when the author’s daughter Alenka and her grandmother remained separated and could not see each other, even though they both longed for contact with one another. Martina Trchová has painted scenes in which Alenka at least meets her grandmother in her imagination.
from left to right: Pavla Nejedlá, editor; Martina Trchová, author; Alena Gratiasová, graphic designer
"It was through Alenka’s small discoveries that it started working out for me. For example, she found the shape of a whale in a crack on the wall while walking outside, the animal gradually came to life in my pictures, disappeared in the rain on the stormy sea, and my grandmother, who lived on the sixth floor of a block of flats in Prague far from us, suddenly saw the same whale outside her window in the clouds after the rain. Another time Alenka found a snail shell, and reduced in size, she climbed into it, and at the end of that trip she appeared in her grandmother’s room," Martina Trchová describes the creation of the initial pictures that served as the basis for the book. She discarded many of the original ones and added others, perfecting her comics style, the art of embodying a story in strips with zoomed-in details as well as in large units. She chose a characteristic colour scheme consisting of only three print colours – ochre, rosehip red and black. "I wanted to give the story to my grandmother for her birthday. Which I actually did in a way. She saw the book being made, and Alenka and I even sent her the pictures as postcards. Then my grandmother died. And the book came out exactly a year after her death. I’m sorry she couldn’t hold it in her hand. But actually it did all create a beautiful and powerful connection," the author adds.
The Bologna Ragazzi Awards jury decided to award the book a Special Mention.
What the jury said:
A powerful and very beautiful wordless tale about a toddler trying to find ways of seeing her great grandmother. The discovery of items triggers memories of togetherness, turning objects into actual passageways through time and space. A reflection on the isolation experienced during Covid-19 and the ways people found to connect through memories and imagination. The warm yellow colours in varying hues depict the protagonist’s feelings as she learns the importance of human connectivity, as warm as the colours of the book itself, which in turn warm the reader. This book transcends categories, but seems most suited to early readers experiencing reading comics together with their parents or teachers, and learning to walk through the story.
The book is not only the work of the author Martina Trchová, but also of the editor Pavla Nejedlá and the graphic designer Alena Gratiasová. “It’s a huge success for the author and the entire publishing house. The Bologna Ragazzi Awards (BRAW) are the most prestigious awards for children’s books worldwide. The book, which was published in this country in 2023 and has unfortunately long since been covered over by hundreds of new titles in Czech bookshops, is suddenly the focus of all the world’s book professionals. It will have its place of honour at the Bologna Book Fair, it will be displayed in the stands, and it is simply going to be visible. This is every publisher’s dream come true. Babi has one big advantage over other book titles in the international context – it is wordless. Where other books rely on English translations, Babi has the same effect on its readers no matter what language they speak. Perhaps it was this overall unembellished appeal that impressed the jury,” the editor Pavla Nejedlá says.
This is not the only success achieved by Martina Trchová, who straddles the line between her work in visual art and music – this year she has already been nominated for the Czech Anděl Awards in the folk category for her album 90% of Happiness / 90% štěstí.
5. 3. 2025
