Itsybitsypeck
Martin Daneš emigrated to France in the mid-1980s, where he studied journalism and international relations in Paris. After returning to Prague, he contributed to Czech, French, and Belgian publications. In 1991, he served as a diplomatic adviser in the Office of the President of the Czech Republic. Over the following years, he became the editor-in-chief of several periodicals, including Denní Telegraf. He writes books in both Czech and French, including a novel about Karel Poláček (Rozsypaná slova / Les Mots brisés). He also translates Czech literature into French, including Poláček’s novels. He currently lives in Brittany, France.
Pavla Baštanová is a graduate in Animation Studies from UMPRUM in Prague and UTB in Zlin. She is an animator, illustrator and artist who works on both commercial and artistic projects: films, spots, graphics and illustrations for books and magazines.
Itsybitsypeck
by Martin Daneš (text), Pavla Baštanová (illustrations)
November 2025, 168 pages
Whimsical tale of a mysterious world on the other side for readers aged 9 to 99
The Impobable Adventures of Adam 20.000 Plunges Beneath the Kitchen Sink
Do you know what – or who – is Itsybitsypeck? We won’t keep you in suspense: he’s a seagull. Wait, what? An ordinary seagull? You might ask. But this seagull, named Itsybitsypeck, is far from ordinary. In fact, he’s quite extraordinary. He speaks human, behaves mischievously, and, on top of that, takes a boy named Adam and his little cousin Johnie on a thrilling adventure to an underground realm where everything is turned upside down. How does it all begin? Rather normally: a seagull flies into the children’s room, where Adam and Johnie are playing, speaks to them, and invites them on a trip. And since the holidays are just beginning, the boys eagerly agree. Little do they know what dangerous (and totally wacky) adventures await them – or that they’ll have to help the seagull with a life-or-death rescue mission.