Pesticide

Lice, fleas, mites, bumblebees, pigeons, pharaohs, ravenous caterpillars and other messes, insects and fungi, aliens and various other disgusting creatures that no one likes, and yet they are here. They all have their own stories, some are even useful, others end up being admirable… so why is nothing ever written about them for children? Jiří Dvořák decided to fill the information gap for children who prefer encyclopedias, for parents who enjoy reading to their children before bed, for science teachers who don't just want to write on the blackboard, and for readers who don't lose their curiosity. . From stories about the life of monsters and vermin, he created a poetic and entertaining world full of incredible adventures, which amuses, pleases and fills a hole in knowledge for many. Havétník is a continuation of Dvořák's original literary genre – an encyclopedia in a story. In addition to colorful fables, tragedies and stories about the exciting life of insects and with insects, he supplemented his writing with all sorts of persistent questions (scientific and philosophical) and, as is his good practice, short poems that in some places reach almost haiku perfection: White butterfly on gray trunks / In the butterfly forest, which is no longer here. / In the forest silence meets silence / And in that silence a butterfly with a full belly. Everyone can learn and enjoy Havétnik: from young to old, from more technical people to uneducated dreamers, we can all find a literary form for ourselves in it.

Daniela Olejníková, one of the most talented illustrators of the upcoming generation, became an illustrator and thus a co-author: "Illustrating Havětník was pure joy. Already in my childhood, I was hypnotized by insects and other vermin, and therefore I was very pleased with the opportunity to spend a few months among the creatures, and I also saw it as the right moment to return to my favorite linocut technique, which had been on the sidelines for some time. Jiří Dvořák's text is the perfect material for illustration, it already inspired me in Rostlinopis, the predecessor of Havětník. I worked on the compositions with the generous help of the graphic designer Pal Bálik, and in the end we kind of went wild with the colors, which gave the otherwise "old-school" linocut a different, contemporary dimension."

JIŘÍ DVŘÁK: "Each of us has a small but quite large zoo at home. It keeps flies, spiders, fruit flies... yes, sometimes even fleas or lice. But this zoo lacks labels. Which is a shame, because each of these little animals has a story to tell. So I thought of writing them down - and I came out with an illustrated guide to the vermin pavilion. I hope it will be fun for children and their parents. And that they won't scratch a lot while reading. We usually lash out at vermin, drive them out and kill them - often mainly because we don't know them. Those who look closely, however, will find that vermin can be pretty - just (if they let you) see a hornet! And actually quite nice, like fireflies, fireflies... or my favorite wasps. And he may also realize that the most virulent vermin on Earth is called a reasonable person. Even if it doesn't have a separate chapter in this book."