National Endowment Fund "13th Century Bulgaria" Published the American Children's Novel "Dobry" with Illustrations by Atanas Kachamakov
The novel "Dobry" by Monica Shannon with illustrations by the Bulgarian artist Atanas Kachamakov, whose exhibition "Bread" visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the invitation of the State Institute for Culture between November 2020 and April 2021, will be published by the National Endowment Fund "13 Centuries Bulgaria" with a special font - Adys, made for people suffering from dyslexia. The author of the specific letters, developed during her master's program at the National Academy of Arts, is Kristina Kostova.
The fund officially received the copyright from Penguin Publishing House of the still unknown in our country book for children and adolescents. First published in 1934, the novel "Dobry" broke sales records in the United States. To date, the book has been re-publlished 12 times and has become a classic.
How did the story of a Bulgarian peasant from the beginning of the 20th century become a favorite of American children and young people? With luck and with the eternal virtues it talks about. The artist and sculptor Atanas Kachamakov is not only the author of the illustrations, but also the main character in the story. He was born in 1898 in Lyaskovets. The young man showed a talent for painting at an early age. He studied at the Academy of Arts in Sofia, where he was accepted into the class of the sculptor Prof. Ivan Lazarov. In 1924 he left for Paris and then for the United States. In Hollywood, he worked as a sculptor in the then super-productions and "Ben Hur", "The King of Kings", "Helen of Troy", "Noah's Ark".
More than 80 years ago, the children's book "Dobry" was born spontaneously. In the evening, friends gathered at the sculptor's house and everyone had to share their story. When the host began to unravel memories of his childhood and youth, writer and journalist Monica Shannon insisted on recording.
The Canadian-born author turned the stories into a book published in New York in November 1934. Only a month later, she was voted the most interesting work in the United States for December. A jury headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the incumbent president at the time, awarded him the prize. In June the following year, “Dobri” received the John Newbury Prize (1713-1767) for "The Most Remarkable Contribution to American Children's Literature in 1934."