Marius Marcinkevičius, Inga Dagilė. Akmenėlis (The Pebble), Vilnius: Tikra knyga, 2020. – 52 p.  

This is a sensitive, painful and powerful historical picture book taking us to a Jewish ghetto during World War II. Although truly terrible things are going on and the father might never return home, no walls or villains can stop the vitality of the children. They sit on the roof dreaming, building their friendships, trying to be tough and brave, as far as they can in the circumstances. Unfortunately, not all stories end well, but there’s a lot of important things to learn from them.
The artist conveys the atmosphere of the war and the feelings that the whole nation experienced at the time. Featuring a consistent colour scheme, the illustrations are stylish and subtly elegant, powerfully revealing the sensitive historical memory of the Jewish people.

Marius Marcinkevičius (b. 1966) is a writer, doctor and traveller. In 2016 he made a successful debut as a children’s writer. He has written many books for children and one for adults. His work has won a number of literary awards, including the Lithuanian section of IBBY Prize for the best Lithuanian book for children and young adults in 2020. His book Akmenėlis (The Pebble) was also included in the IBBY Honour List. His books have been translated into other languages and adapted for stage, and have become an inspiration for songs.

Inga Dagilė (b.1981) is an award-winning book illustrator and graphic designer. She has won prizes at the Book Art Competition, in 2016, 2019 and 2020, as well as awards presented by the Lithuanian Section of IBBY, in 2016 and 2019. She has decorated eight books with her illustrations. Her work has also found readers all around the world. She attempts to follow the sense of emotion when creating a book, paying close attention to the balance between the text and the illustrations. In her view, the book’s content, illustrations and layout cannot be separated: they have to be a team.
Illustrator’s portfolio: https://www.dagilis.lt/

Selected translations

Czech: Kamínek. Translated by Anna Sedláčková. Praha: Argo, 2024

French: Le petit caillou. Translated by Caroline Paliulis. Paris: Hélium, 2024

English: The Pebble. Translated by Jūra Avižienis. London: Thames & Hudson, 2023

Yiddish: A shteyndele. Translated by Salomon Schulman. Stockholm: Pionier Press, 2023

Latvian: Akmentiņš. Translated by Marika Taube. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2022

Slovenian: Kamenček. Translated by Klemen Pisk. Maribor: Založba Pivec, 2022

Italian: Sassolino. Translated by Elena Montemaggi. Bologna: Caissa Italia editore, 2021

Contact for rights: daiva@tikraknyga.lt