The Barni series might keep track of their entire childhood, as each volume addresses a newer age group. Balázs Zágoni knows some magic words that make the book fly into the hands of children, and keeps them there for over a hundred pages even. His stories edify in the most noble sense of the word: teaching children to live, be sensitive and sensible, exacting, curious, and parents to admire things of yesterday with the fresh eyes of their little ones.

In Barni in Berlin, Barni tells the story of his most exciting journey. Barni can now read, even maps, which he has loved, but can now interpret, too. He goes to Berlin along with Dad, who tells him: “There is a metro station in Berlin called Alexanderplatz. Proper trains, metros and fast trains come and go from there side by side. Moreover, the station is not underground, not even at surface level, but in the air. It stands on pillars. Barni did not quite believe this, though Dad told him many stories about it. Perhaps Dad hadn’t seen it properly, or didn’t remember right. So he was eager to go Berlin, and see for himself whether Alexanderplatz is really underground, at the surface or in midair.”

Balázs Zágoni (1975) is a Hungarian writer living in Kolozsvár, Romania. His well-crafted and ingeniously plotted stories were first published in the children’s magazines Napsugár and Szivárvány. His first book came out in 2005, and soon became a favourite of many a child.