My Memory Goblin Is Making Me Forget!

Helena Harastova is a writer, translator, and mother. She graduated in dramaturgy from the Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts, having previously worked for the National Theatre in Brno, Czech Republic. Her most unusual pastime is proofreading texts for errors in spelling, grammar, and style.Lucia Dercalikova, known online as Lumaluje, was born and lives in Bratislava, Slovakia. She fell in love with drawing in her childhood, primarily thanks to the illustrations of Adolf Born, which later influenced her own work. After studying fashion design at the Secondary School of Fashion, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she focused her work on children's illustration. In the same year, she illustrated her first book for a self-publisher in the USA, which led to collaborations with additional publishing houses. Her signature style, which combines playfulness, cartoon elements, and the appearance of hand-drawn, non-digital sketches, has already been featured in books in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and the USA.

"Could Hugo’s daily setbacks be the work of a memory goblin haunting him? Hugo’s forgetfulness leads to lost belongings, overlooked responsibilities, and messed-up schedules. Not fun. Hugo suffers so much that he imagines a “sneaky little trickster” who might be behind it all, undermining him. Artistically inclined Hugo even provides a droll labelled portrait of the creature! We follow Hugo through his disasters: missing a soccer session with his friends because he’s looking for his cleats, neglecting to take his puppy for a walk, and forgetting about a field trip. Even his short-term memory is wonky. Then Hugo finally decides to make some changes. He implements common-sense steps: early preparation, checklists, calendars and scheduling planners, and other memory helpers, like mnemonics. He also enlists help from trusted adults and peers and rewards himself when he does well. Hugo’s forgetfulness doesn’t vanish, but he tames the goblin. A final spread summarizes all the strategies covered. This Czech import offers useful advice, presented in a gentle, nonpreachy way. In amusing vignettes against minimal backgrounds, tousle-haired, jug-eared, tan-skinned Hugo and other big-eyed, loose-limbed kids, who vary in skin tone, are rendered with specificity, along with the cute but troublesome goblin. A practical, visually engaging approach to a common problem." —Kirkus Reviews