The Kiosk

A charming and original picture book about pursuing your dreams and believing in yourself. With cutout kiosk window to spark imaginative play and interactive reading.

Imagine living and working every day in the same small kiosk. For years, the kiosk has been Olga’s life. She spends her days inside reading travel magazines and dreaming of escaping to distant places. One day a chance occurrence turns her upside down—literally—and sets her off on an unexpected journey.

This inspiring and quirky picture book for 5 to 8 year-olds contains bright and original illustrations full of humour and warmth. Its front cover features a clever cutout kiosk window so that young readers can see Olga stuck behind her kiosk or use their imagination and get behind it to sell things from their own pretend shop!

A warm and curious story about someone who is stuck finding a way to escape their daily routine and be free. The story was originally produced as an internationally recognised short animation screened at over 100 festivals around the world.

“"The most captivating and original book here, and my favorite, is the Latvian artist Anete Melece's The Kiosk. It began life as a six-minute animated short, which won prizes at film festivals around the world. Olga, the main character, is a large, likable woman who lives, works, eats and sleeps in her kiosk. Unable to leave it when her workday ends because she can't squeeze through the narrow door, she spends her evenings eating, reading travel magazines and dreaming of 'distant seas with splendid sunsets.' In a further absurdist twist, Olga's world is literally turned upside down when her kiosk tips over. Righting herself, she realizes she doesn't have to stay in the city; she can go anywhere. It's an Alice-in-Wonderland moment, with a giant Olga carrying the kiosk on her shoulders through the city's busy streets. Eventually Olga and kiosk arrive at the seashore, where she goes into business selling ice cream and watching the sunset every night. The pictures of Olga are wonderfully inventive and strange, done in bright colors reminiscent of Matisse paintings. A parable for our time, 'The Kiosk' is about escaping a confining routine and finding something better, about being 'stuck,' as Melece herself has described it, and figuring out a way to 'start a journey to your happy place exactly as you are.'"--The New York Times”

"The gloriously-coloured illustrations have you peering at details and cheering Olga on as she finds a way to change her life."

“The most captivating and original book...The pictures of Olga are wonderfully inventive and strange, done in bright colors reminiscent of Matisse paintings. A parable for our time, The Kiosk is about escaping a confining routine and finding something better, about being “stuck,” as Melece herself has described it, and figuring out a way to “start a journey to your happy place exactly as you are.” ”

"The Kiosk steps out of this straitjacket, introducing young readers to a very different visual language and style, expanding horizons and visual literacies."

Anete Melece (1983) is an illustrator, animation artist and director whose works stand out with witty details, charming characters and sincere stories. Currently based in Switzerland, she has published her illustrations in magazines such as Kuš!, Strapzin and Internationale. Her animated films have received awards at multiple international film festivals, including the Swiss Film Award for the Best Animation Film in 2014 for the film Kiosk (2013). Her recent film Analysis Paralysis (2016) qualified for the Academy Awards’ Best Animated Short Film.

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