★Rights Sold to Poland, Serbia and Mainland China!
★NO. 1 CHILDREN’S CHOICE IN CROATIA!
★The author of this series has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2026.
★TOPICS: hygiene, good habits, health, routines
★Hygiene series about the adventures of bacteria Bugsy and Gooey are the most popular children’s books in Croatia, sold in tens of thousands of copies and are a true literary brand. They have helped thousands of children adopt hygienic habits – wash their teeth, hands, body, hair, feet, clean their rooms and get rid of the habit of picking their nose. Due to their mischievousness and yucky language, they are extremely fun and humorous to children, they laugh and have fun while learning about healthy habits at the same time. Bugsy and Gooey have become synonymous with cleanliness. Parents love them too.
★Multi-format Success – From Books to Stage
Bugsy and Gooey have successfully expanded beyond picture books into a live puppet show, which premiered in 2022 at the Puppet Theatre in Rijeka, Croatia. The show has become a huge hit, proving the strong appeal of the characters across different formats. The characters are also featured in preschool workshops focused on hygiene education, taking the lead roles.
★Merchandise: Plush toys of Bugsy and Gooey, Yucko Cocoa mug, more products featuring the same characters are already being planned.
★Full English translation is available.

Bugsy and Gooey are two naughty bacteria who love everything dirty, smelly, rotten and yucky. Most of all they like to make a chaos on children who don’t like to wash their hands, teeth, hair, feet and body. They adore little ones who pick their noses or don’t want to clean their messy rooms. Every story is a disastrous adventure where Bugsy and Gooey try to do their best to stir up a big trouble for children. The only way out of this mess is to wash and clean.

This series includes 7 titles:
Bugsy and Gooey celebrate the yuckiest birthday - The story of dirty hands
Bugsy and Gooey on a sloppy sleepover - The story about messy room
Bugsy and Gooey shake up a yucky potion - The story of a bad tooth
Bugsy and Gooey on a smelly journey - The story about unwashed hair
Bugsy and Gooey on a sour mission - The story of smelly feet
Bugsy and Gooey in a slimy universe - The story about nose-picking
Bugsy and Gooey and yummy-yuckish dinner fuss - The story about good bacteria

Bugsy and Gooey are two mischievous bacteria who eagerly await the most wonderful time of the year – Christmas. They look forward to the delicious holiday treats and spending time with their family at the Christmas dinner. It would be a perfect party if their cousins, the good bacteria Yummelia and Munchelia, were not sitting at the same table. Unlike them, they are always polite, tidy, and well-behaved, which Bugsy and Gooey find especially annoying. Little girl Eve is also looking forward to Christmas, baking cookies, singing Christmas songs and spending time with her family. This year, she ate too many sweets that she found under the Christmas tree, so Bugsy and Gooey decided to make a real yummy-yuckish mess in her stomach. Fortunately, the good bacteria have a plan how to solve this chaos yuckhaos.

This story is part of a special holiday edition of the children’s book series about hygiene. In it, curious little ones will discover what they can do for the good bacteria in their tummies, helping their bodies stay healthy and feel good. Hygiene series about the adventures of bacteria Bugsy and Gooey are the most popular children’s books in Croatia, sold in tens of thousands of copies, and are a true literary brand. They have helped thousands of children adopt hygienic habits – wash their teeth, hands, body, hair, feet, clean their rooms and get rid of the habit of picking their nose. Due to their mischievousness and yucky language, they are extremely fun and humorous to children, they laugh and have fun while learning about healthy habits at the same time. Bugsy and Gooey have become synonymous with cleanliness. Parents love them too.

Author: Jelena Pervan
Jelena Pervan has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2026.
Jelena Pervan was born in Split, Croatia. She started writing and publishing children’s stories in her teenage years and has studied journalism. Her professional journey started in writing for children’s web sites, radio, magazines and literary projects, but her true inspiration and passion were here literary workshops with children in libraries, kindergartens and elementary schools. She published her first picture book in 2012, at the age of 19. Since that she has published 17 children’s books, she is a member of the Croatian Society of Writers for Children and is an author of the most popular Croatian children’s book series about hygiene – Mrljek & Prljek.

Illustrator: Jelena Brezovec
Jelena Brezovec has a master’s degree in social studies. For a long time, drawing was just a hobby, until 2008 when she became a co-founder of the publishing house Evenio and decided to study digital illustration, with the focus on children’s illustration. So far, she has illustrated more than 40 picture books and many other publications. She is the winner of the Grigor Vitez “Bird” Award, a special praise from the children’s jury. She has illustrated the most popular children’s book series in Croatia – Mrljek & Prljek. Her illustrations have been part of many exhibitions throughout Croatia. She lives and works in Varaždin, Croatia.