Peter Sis in one of the most celebrated children’s book authors and illustrators to hail from Eastern Europe. Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1949 and attended the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London. In 1982, Czechoslovakia sent him to Los Angeles to make an animated film for the 1984 Olympics. When the Eastern Bloc countries withdrew, Czechoslovakia ordered him to return, however, he chose to remain in the United States. Since then, he has written and illustrated 25 children’s books.
A Small Tall Tale form the Far Far North explores the life of the folk hero Jan Welzl, Czech traveler, adventurer, hunter, and Eskimo "chief". A folk hero can be defined as either real, fictional, or mythological and many question whether Jan Welzl (1868-1948) truly existed, but the author of A Small Tale, Peter Sis, believes he did. The book tells the story of how Welzl left Hungary for the Far North with a horse and cart, tools, hunting gear, and food. He was saved from near death by Eskimos who nursed him back to health and taught him everything they knew about living and surviving in the harsh arctic climate. He would then remain in the Artic for thirty years, never to return to Europe.
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Roosters appear often in Eastern European folk tales, like The Little Cockerel, based on an old Hungarian folk take about a little rooster and his efforts to make the Turkish sultan return the golden coin which he has taken away from him.
Csodaszarvas, which translates to “miraculous deer,” is a central figure in the legends surrounding the origin of the Hungarian people. According to Hungarian legend, while out hunting, the brothers Hunor and Magor, legendary twin patriarchs of the Huns and Magyars and sons of the Biblical Menrot (Nimrod), saw a miraculous white stag (sometimes described as golden). They pursued the animal, but it always stayed ahead of them, leading them westward into Levedia, where they married two princesses and founded the Huns and Hungarian people. One of the main reasons for claims of religious and cultural ties between Huns and Hungarians is the stag and the brothers Hunor and Magor.
Kate Seredy (1899-1975), Hungarian-born, wrote and illustrated over 20 children’s books. Although she left Budapest and moved to the United States in 1922, her native land served as inspiration for many of her works, including The White Stag, The Good Master, and The Singing Tree. Her stories and illustrations demonstrate her appreciation and connection to the Hungarian folk tradition.
Led by György Dózsa in 1514, this rebellion was against the wealthy landlords who had begun consolidating power away from the Hungarian monarchy. Following battles against the Turks, the army was suddenly withdrawn, leaving many peasants without a source of livelihood or support. Dózsa, previously a military leader, used these men to build an army which went on to capture several fortresses. However, the campaign ended at Temesvár by governor of Transylvania, János Zápolya, who would go on to become king of Hungary (1526-1540). Dózsa and his followers were captured and killed in the summer of 1514. The uprising led to a series of laws in retaliation which condemned all peasants to eternal and perpetual servitude to the noble classes and increased the amount to work required to the nobility, which remained legally intact until the abolition of serfdom in 1848.
