The picture book Sophie and the Ballet Slippers, which the author Helena Kraljič created in collaboration with the illustrator Tina Dobrajc, harbours much more than just a presentation of ballet and classical music. Perhaps someone will gripe that the children of today are not overly fond of ballet and classical music... But don t children deserve to have both presented to them in such a way that they feel artistic movement and hear artistic sound as an exciting part of their world? This picture book is also a story about the closeness between a grandmother and her granddaughter Sophie, who realizes that Grandma was also a girl once, a young woman who enjoyed ballet. What could be more interesting than the discovery that the grandmother, who today may complain of aching knees, once danced ballet, jumped sooo high, twirled sooo fast... The tale speaks to all readers, the youngest and the oldest alike, about intergenerational closeness and coexistence, while at the same time also depicting the desires, disappointments and successes of a modern child who wants to go beyond the boundaries of predictable everyday life. Sophie is a brave girl, the poet Matej Bor would say, because she dares to be a ballerina and wants to be the best as she dedicates herself to music and movement. What do our children want? Do we encourage them to be independent? Do we want to give them the opportunity to discover something new, unknown, alluring? Sophie and the Ballet Slippers is therefore perhaps intended more for us, for parents, than for children. If we understand a child s world the same way Sophie s grandmother does, a magical mouse may appear to us as well, taking care of all the little worries and making sure that our world is not barren and grey.

Helena Kraljič:
　　A famous Slovenian writer. She completed her studies in economics. For several years she worked as a program coordinator on radio stations, a real estate agent, as an accountant, an auditor... She translated many books. She has had her own company since 2005. Her books have been published by many publishers in Spain, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, China, Korea, Portugal, Belgium, Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia, Romania, Poland, Slovakia...
　　Helena is active in the publishing industry and is a member of the board of directors: Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Chamber of Book Publishers and Booksellers, Slovenian Publishers Association, International Association of Writers, Poets and Publicists.
　　Helena's works have won many awards,such as:
　　- In 2008 and 2019, award for The Best of Picture book Award;
　　- In 2009, award for the best ecological picture book;
　　- In 2010 and 2012, nominated for the best ecological picture book;
　　- In 2012, award for Golden Egg and Original Slovenian Picture Book;
　　- In 2013, award for Original Italy Picture Book;
　　- In 2016, 2017 and 2019, nominated for the Kristina Brenkova Award.