Ko darīt, ja esi kails pilsētā

My debut picture book "Ko darīt, ja esi kails pilsētā" ("What to do if you are naked in a city") won the the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2024 in the category Opera Prima. It would be funny (or even tragic) if the book was completely autobiographical, haha. But it is partly. Well - the idea came from my dreams. From time to time I have nightmares where I am half-clothed in a city center while going to dance school, or that I am fully naked, washing myself at a large window of a shop, making a scandal, and so on. It is horrible! I understand that it is connected with feelings of shame, refusal and confusion. When I was studying at the Art Academy of Rome, we had to make an illustrated book about fears for the illustration course. I immediately understood that I don’t want to be drawing monsters or anything dark. So I remembered my nightmares and made the book as a guide for what to do if you are naked in public. I wanted to approach this topic with humour. That’s how the idea was born. Then slowly I continued my work also as a graduation project for my masters in the Art Academy of Latvia. The next summer, the publisher Jānis Roze kindly agreed to publish it. For that, I extended the project, adding new tips and tricks on what to do if you are naked in a city. Although the beginning of the book was my dream, the idea is more about overcoming shame and maintaining self-esteem, how to overcome hidden fears and prejudices, and how to look at yourself and life through the prism of humour. Text and illustrations by Aleksandra Runde, published by Jānis Roze 2023