Bojana Vajt & Ivan Jurković

The Heart of a City

The Heart of a City is an inspirational picture book, suitable for everyone between ages 0 to 99, however it is primarily designed for children in the early years of primary school, when their reading skills are far behind their comprehension abilities and psychological maturity. To them we would like to present a picture book with a simple, short text paired by a rich illustration that offers a substantive multi-layered message as a basis for contemplating and discussing the topic which grows in importance on entering school – coexistence in a modern multi-ethnic megalopolis. This picture book consciously abstains from offering universal solutions, its intention being rather to establish an ethical foundation for day-to-day invention of approaches to the challenges at hand.   The picture book is followed by an afterword which acknowledges human migration as a part of human destiny. Immigrants and refugees are not somebody else – they are us and our ancestors, as we can clearly see from the European history. In Slovenia this picture book is a part of a wider storytelling project which is aimed at deepening our understanding of human migration and developing empathy towards past, present, and future immigrants through stories. The afterword seeks to inspire and guide children to explore and tell their stories, be it their own, their family’s, or from their local experience. We believe that the picture book is universal, but that the afterword should be adapted to suit local or regional conditions and circumstances. International partners who are interested in joining our storytelling project are kindly invited to contact the author: srcemesta@zrakogled.com.

Bojana Vajt

Bojana Vajt (1962) is a storyteller, translator and writer of songs for children. In 2020 she started a storytelling project The Heart of a City, dealing with human migration. You can read more about the project here.

Ivan Jurković

Ivan Jurković (1982) is a painter and a musician. If we don’t count several oils on canvas of the Hogwarts castle, which he painted for the sheer pleasure of doing it, “The Heart of a City” is his illustration debut. More about his work: https://ivanjurkovic.portfoliobox.net/
due ina 2023
copyright owner and contact:
Bojana Vajt
bojana.vajt@gmail.com