Marisstella Octek (S..Čižmešija) Martin and Anika Čižmešija : The Children of the Magic Garden = Djeca Čarobnog Vrta : Zavjet Izvora Života (Roman za djecu u nastavcima I.dio) : Djeca Čarobnog Vrta

I am thrilled. From one to five, it is a five. 

It is better than the school reading material „lektira”... because it is more interesting, more suspenseful, with a more developed plot. The more serious poetic as well as dynamic chapters are readable, and the dialogues are both tense and funny. I especially laughed at the funny dialogue between Konjoglavi [Horsehead] and Mačkopas [Catdog]. I read it during these school holidays when there was about more then thirty centimetres of snow outside: I wrapped myself in a blanket and told everyone not to interrupt me. 

I enjoyed most being in that world of imagination related to fairies and I also wanted to become a fairy. I liked it when they asked Dunja: 

"Remember: Memory is forbidden here. Sorrow is forbidden. But I do not know what kind of person you are, Dunja? Do you even want your memory? Or would you like to stay here forever. Imagine: you would have the serene life of happy fairies as in fairy tales. Fairies do not die: they are immortal. Memory means that the end of everything exists somewhere out there beyond us and independent of us... and inside us, when you stop remembering.” 

Reading about those various fairy characters (fairies of flower, garden, snow...) I wished to be the Invisible Fairy or Visible – it didn’t matter: with them in their fairy-tale beautifully arranged world which is free of risks, dangers and various threats, visually and aesthetically enhanced, where you live the present undisturbed moment. A world of imagination where you are allowed to stay long and longer: where you live without problems and sorrow. 

I think we should read more books like the novel  'The Children of the Magic Garden'  which develop imagination because imagination is not only an escape from reality but also an encouragement to look at everyday events and life circumstances differently. While reading, I had the impression that I was doing exactly what I wanted and what is beneficial because it stimulates my imagination. 

The children in the novel are different from us: they are mentally distant from everything and even from themselves, but Dunja brings them optimism and the belief that things will get better: Dunja brings them comfort. It has very picturesque chapters - for example, the events at the concert with Ante and the Elf of the Spring and the Horsehead and others - which seem like a movie scene to me. The novel could make an excellent movie! The dialogues in the novel are interesting, easy to read and interactive. Besides sadness, cheerfulness and optimism can also be felt. 

I can’t wait to read the continuation of the novel! I would recommend it for children in the upper grades (from fifth to eighth grade) of a public primary school.”

REVIEW by DOROTA DREZGA 7.A public primary school
O.Š. „VISOKO” RH / CROatia
January 2026.