MESEČINSKA STRUNA

Svetlana Makarovič (1939) has been one of the best Slovenian children’s authors since the 1970s. Her recent work has included several ballad songs, retellings of old folk tales, including Moonlight string, the story of young Tibor, who finds himself as the sole provider for his family after his father’s death. The boy cannot make his father’s violin play for him until the moon helps him and creates a new string for his violin from his tears and a shaft of moonlight. He becomes a famous musician, but fame and wealth aren’t all they’re made out to be. Greed, pride, and art are the main topics of this beautiful ballad. The tragic story of Tibor’s family is underlined by the expressive, gloomy illustrations by Bojana Dimitrovski.