Lilijana Praprotnik Zupančič (born 28 September 1955), known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Lila Prap, is a Slovene illustrator and writer. She is best known for her

humor Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in ...

ous children's picture books, published both in her native

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

and abroad.

Life and work

Lila Prap was born in

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

in 1955. She studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

and worked as an architect before deciding to devote herself to graphic design and illustration. Many of her books have been translated and published in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, and elsewhere.

Adaptations

Animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

s, based on her illustrations, have been televised on Japan's TV.

Awards

In 2001, her illustrations in ''Little Creatures'' ("Male živali") and ''Animal Lullabies'' ("Živalske uspavanke") won her the

Levstik Award The Levstik Award ( sl, Levstikova nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established ...

in native Slovenia. In 2011, she won the Prešeren Foundation Award for exhibitions of her illustrations she held in Celje and Ljubljana.Slovenian Ministry of Culture, complete list of Prešeren Foundation Awards recipients

Selected works

* 2012 ''Why Do Cats'' ("Mačji zakaji") * 2011 ''Why Do Bugs?'' ("Žuželčji zakaji") * 2010 ''Why Do Dogs?'' ("Pasji zakaji") * 2009 ''Dinasaurs?!' ("Dinozavri?!") * 2008 ''Where Do Dreams Go'' ("Kam gredo sanje") * 2007 ''My Daddy'' ("Moj očka") * 2005 ''1001 Fairy Tales'' ("1001 Pravljica") * 2004 ''Animals International Dictionary'' ("Mednarodni živalski slovar") * 2002 ''Animal Alphabet'' ("Živalska abeceda") * 2002 ''Why?'' ("Zakaj?") * 2002 ''Animal Lullabies''("Živalske uspavanke") * 2002 ''Little Creatures'' ("Male živali") * 1999 ''True Fairy Tales'' ("Resnične pravljice in pripovedke") * 1996 ''That is...'' ("To je...")

References

External links

lilaprap.blogspot.com
her blog

book covers * of Lila Prap characters Artists from Celje Slovenian illustrators Slovenian women illustrators Slovenian children's writers Slovenian women children's writers Slovenian children's book illustrators Living people 1955 births Levstik Award laureates University of Ljubljana alumni Slovenian women artists {{slovenia-artist-stub