BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 – GRAPHIC AWARD FOR A PICTURE BOOK
(competition organised by the Polish Section of IBBY)

GOOD PAGES AWARD 2020
(given by The City Council of Wroclaw)
Turons, Żandars, Herods:
A Folk Masquerade
A stunningly colourful activity book that introduces readers to the magical world of Polish folk customs – from Christmas, to Carnival and Easter. Have you ever met a rajmaks (a character in the festive parade), a śmierguśnik (a patchwork-wearing participant of an Easter Monday celebration) or a pucherok (a young man in traditional costume singing folksongs on Easter Sunday)? Do you know why the bearded brodacz has a cane, why the jukacs in the New Years’ parade wield whips, or why mask-wearing macidulas carry stuffed rabbits?
For centuries, the coming of winter has brought a whole host of characters to Polish villages. They’re quite scary and quite funny – and completely extraordinary. Who are they? What do they have in common? What do they bring and what do they want?
Meet folkloric figures from across Poland, read the stories about them and admire their bizarre costumes.
Grab your pencils and paintbrushes and join the fantastic folklore fun!
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Dwie Siostry
Warsaw 2019
Dimensions: 20,50 x 28,80 cm
Paperback: 144 p.
ISBN: 978-83-8150-023-4
Printed with four pantones
What is the book about?
It is a nonfiction activity book that brings polish village carol and carnival customs to life. It is generally aimed at children and contains interactive content such as games, pictures to colour etc., but on the other way it is also full of ethnographic facts and photos, that may interest many adults.
Book guides the reader and user through a map of traditional celebrations and bizarre costumes that vary from region to region of the country. We can meet numerous characters, so-called gwiżdże, dunajnicy, jukce, draby, sida baba, turonie, żandary, herody, siwki, muradyny, śmierguśnicy, wilijorze, etc. We see them dancing, playing tricks, singing songs that promise prosperity in exchange for gifts.
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