The 93rd Festive Book Week was held this year (the first was in 1929!), but for me it was the first event in Budapest, so far, I was only at the programs in Debrecen. I really liked everything: the many different publishers, the plethora of color booths, and it was a great experience to meet the writers, translators, and illustrators.
I had books signed by András Földvári, Nóra Tomcsik, Dr. László Bujtor and Cintia Vaspöri, whose works you might have already read about on BogiWrites before.
I received books for review from Maxim Kiadó, many thanks to them! I’ve been really looking forward to The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke. According to the story, we go to Amsterdam in 1880, where five babies are left on the steps of an orphanage one night. We can follow their adventures in the story. In One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus, we return to Bayview High School, where tragic events once again shake the mood.
The Bestsellers Bookshop opened in 1992 and has been operating as an independent bookseller near St. Stephen’s Basilica ever since. It has a large selection of books, mainly in English, but you can also find publications in other languages here. I love online bookstores because you can find almost everything there, but it’s quite different to go to a bookstore and choose books there. Since they also have middle grade books, I bought some I had already wanted.
I would like to read the sequel to The Ship of Shadows by Maria Kuzniar this summer. In Secrets of the Stars, Aleja does not return home but continues her journey on the legendary female pirate ship. Karl James Mountford created illustrations for the beautiful cover and chapter titles.
In The Ship of Cloud and Stars by Amy Raphael, we also embark on a sea adventure with Nico where we can learn about the power of science and legends. Illustrations by George Ermos (Malamander, Brightstorm) can be seen in the book.
Zeina Starborn and the Sky Whale by Hanna Durkan is also illustrated by George Ermos. The color scheme of the cover is similar to Malamander, but with steampunky wibes. When our protagonist, Zeina, wins to visit the famous Willoughby Whale Hotel, she immediately grabs the opportunity as the hotel is located on a huge flying whale…
Eve Wersocki Morris’ grandparents came to the UK as Polish refugees in 1946. The author has proudly preserved her Polish heritage and European myths and fairy tales inspired her first children’s book, The Bird Singers. With illustrations by Paola Escobar (The Hatmakers, Pages & Co).
You will read about these books on BogiWrites later.
Plus, at the end of the day, I even met the actress Natália Nagy!
I really liked Book Week. I’ll be there again next year! The next bookish event I want to go to is the International Book Festival, which I’ve been to twice before and really enjoyed it.
