Amazing Friendships with Homer by Emilia Dziubak

Emilia Dziubak (b. 1982) is a Polish illustrator. She graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Poznań. Her works are highly praised both in the country and abroad. In November 2018 Emilia Dziubak published her picturebook “Niezwykłe przyjaźnie. W świecie roślin i zwierząt” [Amazing Friendships. Among the Plants and Animals; Warsaw, Wydawnictwo Nasza Księgarnia]:

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The protagonist of the book is a cat called Homer:

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One day Homer departs for his “odyssey” in search for friends. He meets many interesting plants and animals who are able to live in symbiosis and support each other (in various, not always easy, ways). On his journey he even encounters… a labyrinth of the ants and is presented with many more surprises:

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Emilia Dziubak draws on the classical tradition in a very subtle way. The name of the Poet and the motif of the travel permit her to create a beautifully illustrated story with educational value, both in regard to learning biology by her young readers (with all the shades of the laws of Nature) and to discovering by them the importance of friendship. At the end there can be only a happy end, of course:-). Homer gets back to his “Ithaca”, that however, unlike the island of Odysseus, is a realm of peace and happiness, because of the friends awaiting him there. The source of joy results to be the willingness to support each other and spend time together:

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