Two Paper Birds: FEATHER CONTEST

I have heard about the "Piórko" (Feather) contest for the first time when the second edition had just been finished. The literature contest organized by Biedronka discount supermarket consists of two phases. In the first phase the best story is chosen from all applications. In the second part the jury selects illustrations that most fit the story. Winners of both phases receive a prize of 100 000 pln. It is not surprising then that several thousand participants take part in each phase.
The first book, from the "Piórko" contest, I read was "Córka bajarza" (Eng. The daughter of the storyteller) written by Monika Radzikowska and illustrated by Monika Biała. The story is about Weronka, a little girl, who was tricked by a witch. The old woman agreed to give Weronka a cure for her sick father in exchange for the most valuable treasure they have. Weronka accepted the price but she didn't know that the witch will take the possibility of telling stories from her father. The desperate girl went into the world in search of the King of storytellers to ask him for a help. She had many adventures on her way and at the end discovered that the answer to her troubles was closer than she thought.

The second book I read was "Szary domek" (Eng. Gray house) written by Katarzyna Szestak and illustrated by Natalia Jabłońska. This book was no longer available in Biedronka at the time I wanted to buy it. It took me some time to find it on the Internet and the price was twice as expensive as the original one. But the book turned out to be fully worth the effort and money I spent to get it. I fell in love with the little grey house from the first sentence in the book.

One day a little grey house just appeared on the Windy street in Tea city. It just grew up like a mushroom after the rain. He became a friend of the Wind, who lived in the Windy street. Wind taught Grey house sounds, smells, words and stories from the whole world. One day Grey house realized that his life is empty as he does not have his own occupant. Wind offered his help and invited a few candidates: Night, Grey wolf and Witch but none of them fit Grey House. Eventually Grey house found his unusual occupant in the most unexpected place.
"Nieustraszony strach na wróble" (Eng. Fearless scarecrow) written by Grzegorz Majchrowski and illustrated by Maria Giemza is the winner of the third edition of the contest. I was waiting impatiently for the book to be available in Biedronka. Then came the long awaited day. I went to Biedronka, maybe not early in the morning, but just after I finished work. And there it was, on the shelf, but... instead of joy I felt disappointment. I know that I should not judge a book by its cover but in this case it was almost impossible to resist. The scarecrow that is looking at you (or maybe in some other direction - it's really hard to say) doesn't encourage you to buy this book. And when you read about the polish village in the middle of summer, golden grain fields and little creatures that live among weeds you do not expect a few faded lines illustrating such a lively image.
The story is about a scarecrow made by a father and his son to guard a field against birds. The scarecrow did an excellent job but after the harvest he was put aside. He felt lonely so he became friends with a sparrow and invited him to live in a hole in his hat. One day a swallow fell from the sky and broke its wing. The scarecrow offered his help and carried the little bird to its nest. During the journey the scarecrow began to dream that one day he would build a house where different birds could find shelter. And his dream came true but not the way he expected.