— The Annual Latvian Literature Prize 2015 for Inga Gaile’s poems

— A Special Mention to Anete Melece at the 2015 International Baltic Book Art Contest for her illustrations and book design

— International Baltic Sea Region Jānis Baltvilks Prize in Children’s Literature and Book Art 2015 (the Jury’s Special Mention)

The daily life of a family is like a point of intersection in which the daily events and relationships of children and adults meet up. This book is a similar point of intersection that can be read by adults as well as children of all ages.  Alongside her witty illustrations, Anete Melece has created games, exercises and colouring pages.

Contacts:  pasts@lielsmazs.lv

A grandfather and granddaughter call each other by the nicknames they have given each other: Whale and Buzzfly. Whale takes care of Buzzfly while her parents are at work – which is almost always. They spend a lot of time together, but there is one question bugging Buzzfly: why does Whale never says hello to anybody? They have a long discussion about the importance of saying hello to other people and Whale has no choice but to agree. So Buzzfly has to teach Whale how to greet others, but this is no easy task. They start by greeting cats, cars, and houses before Whale builds up the courage to say hello to another person.

Contacts: pasts@lielsmazs.lv, www.lielsunmazs.lv

A cloud watcher’s notes – poems for children up to and including middle school age. The habits, character, behaviour, and thoughts of clouds. While their thoughts, habits, character and behaviour are somewhat different, they are still very similar to those of human society. What you see in the sky depends on how you see yourself. 

Contacts: pasts@lielsmazs.lv

International Jānis Baltvilks Prize in Children’s Literature and Book Art 2019 for illustrations

For years now, the kiosk has been Olga’s workplace and home. She feels like she can’t leave it anymore. To distract herself, she reads travel magazines and dreams of being far away. One day something strange happens that sets her off on her journey. The Kiosk is a book about human nature and all its hopes and glories, dreams and disappointments. In 2013 Anete Melece created a 7-minute long animated short film The Kiosk which gained international recognition and received more than 20 awards. It is possible to watch The Kiosk on Vimeo.

Contact: pasts@lielsmazs.lv

In this poetry collection for school-age children, Juris Kronbergs presents a witty game of observation, research, and scientific classification, a technique which he already used to great effect in his first children’s poetry book "The Book of Clouds". In this work, he focuses his attention on time, portraying it as a living being, which has various habits and characteristics, just like a person.

Contact: pasts@lielsmazs.lv

This is the second book about Whale and Buzzfly. Tomorrow is election day and Buzzfly is worried that her parents aren’t taking this seriously enough. She locks the family inside their apartment and throws the only key out the window. Now her parents have to vote for the one who can get them out of this difficult situation and the only way they can do that is if they put their trust in each other like they would in a real government. Thrilling and dangerous events unfold as they try to get back the key, but they all learn some important lessons along the way.

Buzzy and her Grandpa Whale are back with a third book. The first story about their adventures was “Hello, Whale!” (2017), which was awarded the Jānis Baltvilks Prize for Children’s Literature. Next came “Whale’s Vote” (2018). These books have been translated into German, Russian, and Korean. Buzzy is truly a strange girl. She doesn’t like the internet or screens, but Whale is lost in the internet to the point where he has simply disappeared. He’s gone! He must be brought back, and it will not be possible without the help of that very same internet.

Contact: pasts@lielsmazs.lv, www.lielsunmazs.lv