The small children's book Sadness must be asked, which is part of the Má to háček edition dedicated to challenging topics and complex situations, is already captivating with its poetic title. One day, sophomore Věnka comes into her carefree childhood life with a new, completely unknown word, depression; his older brother connects him with his mother, who suddenly lies tiredly in her studio with her eyes closed and nothing from the surrounding world attracts her. Věnka does not understand what is happening, she is sad and angry, which is also reflected in her school performance. However, together with his father and brother, he saves the new situation and conveys the final message to young readers - the basis of a family is to stick together and support each other.
In the story, the author looks at the topic of depression in an extremely sensitive way, with her playful artistic text, despite the difficulty of the topic, she makes children's and adults' lips smile more than once. Right at the beginning, for example, readers will encounter the abbreviation déchko - while brother Vašek means his mother's illness by it, the sophomore is convinced that he is talking about a children's TV channel. Věnka, whose "name smells like a wreath of flowers", is a heroine with whom children's readers can easily identify - she does not like spinach, likes to draw and has an endless imagination. The text of the story, intended for children from the age of seven, is complemented by fine illustrations by Kristina Plíhalová, which complete the atmosphere of the world of children's imagination. An inseparable part of the book is also the conclusion, written in the form of a fairy tale about depression, in which expert Jana Divoká recommends adults how to talk to children about this disease, and children how to help a person cursed with depression.
Tatiana Piliarová
ROŽNOVSKÁ, Lenka: Smutno se musí vyšeptat. Praha: Albatros, Pasparta, 2021.
The review was created at the Department of Journalism of FSV UK under the supervision of PhDr. Jana Čeňková, Ph.D.