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2<br />
Kajetan Kovič • Jelka Reichman, ill.<br />
Maček Muri [Muri the Cat]<br />
Mladinska knjiga, 1975 • ISBN 9788611122526<br />
Kajetan Kovič is considered a contemporary<br />
classic of Slovenian youth literature mainly due<br />
to his unpretentious, witty and evocative fairy<br />
tale of Kitty Town and its central character<br />
Muri the Cat. This uplifting and optimistic idyll<br />
of small town life starts with an early morning<br />
coffee accompanied by a perusal of the latest<br />
newspaper, and is followed by a morning stroll<br />
through the town, bursting with interesting retail<br />
and repair shops, and with an obligatory addon<br />
in every idyllic town, two police officers who<br />
have captured an infamous robber and are taking<br />
him to jail. The highlight of Muri’s day out is his<br />
lunch date with the famous belle of the town in<br />
a first-class restaurant. The ensuing afternoon is<br />
enjoyed in different ways: gentlemen of the feline<br />
order attend a football match, while female cats<br />
spend it chatting away while kitten-sitting. Not<br />
only is Muri the Cat a true gentleman, but also a<br />
writer and the town’s chronicler, so he ends his<br />
day writing down the events of the day. Kovič’s<br />
story, which is a genuine masterpiece in its own<br />
right, was given added value by the illustrator<br />
Jelka Reichman. Although it may appear at first<br />
glance a celebration of idyllic life in a small town,<br />
this is presented as a possibility and not as a<br />
privilege of a certain social elite. Consequently,<br />
Muri the Cat can address contemporary children<br />
as if they were the townspeople themselves,<br />
encouraged to enjoy living in their town. Ever<br />
since its first edition in 1975, no shortlist of<br />
Slovenian core texts for children has been<br />
complete without Muri the Cat.<br />
Kajetan Kovič (roj. 1931) se je med klasike slovenske<br />
mladinske književnosti zapisal s preprosto, hudomušno,<br />
a sugestivno pravljico o Mačjem mestu in njegovem<br />
junaku mačku Muriju. Optimistična meščanska idila se<br />
začne z jutranjo kavico in pregledom novic v časopisu,<br />
se nadaljuje v dopoldanski sprehod po mestu, polnem<br />
zanimivih obrti, uslug in prodajaln ter – z obveznim<br />
dodatkom vsakega zadovoljnega mesta – policajem,<br />
ki pelje dva znamenita roparja počivat. Vrhunec dneva<br />
je kosilo z mestno lepotico v odlični gostilni, popoldne<br />
pa se zadovoljstvo razdeli na dvoje: obisk nogometne<br />
tekme za mačje gospode in prijeten prijateljski<br />
klepet ob čuvanju otrok za mačje dame. Ker je Muri<br />
poleg kavalirja še mestni kronist in pisatelj, preden<br />
zaspi, skrbno popiše vse, kar mesto doživlja in Muri<br />
z njim. To mojstrsko besedilo je likovno ovekovečila<br />
ilustratorka Jelka Reichman (roj. 1939). Čeprav je<br />
slikanica neke vrste hvalnica idiličnemu meščanskemu<br />
življenju, idilo slika kot možnost in ne kot privilegij<br />
elite, zato slikanica tudi sodobne otroke nagovarja kot<br />
domačine, ki naj mesto uživajo, če že v njem živijo.<br />
Od leta 1975, ko je slikanica prvič izšla, temeljni izbor<br />
knjig za otroke ni popoln brez te slikanice.<br />
the world through picture books • books from slovenia • 172