Cristiana Radu Illustrations

I am happy to announce I've finally launched my site: cristianaradu.com . It's brand new and waiting for visitors :) . Have a look! From now on, I'll be posting mostly there.

Illustrations for "Why do Witches fly on brooms? (and other 10 fantastical questions)" by Adina Rosetti, Curtea Veche Publishing House, 2016. The book is a series of humorous short stories that bring into nowadays characters from fairytales world. 

Wordless Ela by Victoria Patrascu, published by Cartea Copiilor Publishing House, 2015.  A story about the healing or destroying power of words, and about the easiness with which we put labels onto people. Ela is a little girl who doesn't speak but treasures the words so much that she protects them, holding them inside her heart. Ela doesn't speak but has wonderful friends in her rich imaginary world, like a fiery Cat who lost one ear in a battle and whose tail is a fish, a little Mouse and a quiet grey Elephant… When a little boy observes her drawings and enters their world, the miracle takes place, and Ela lets the first words go. As the story is told in a very lyrical and already very visual way, the drawings speak merely about Ela 's inner world and her feelings. Wordless Ela is in the selection of White Ravens Book 2016 - "The White Ravens label is given to books that deserve worldwide attent

Illustrations for "Închide ochii și vei vedea Orașul (which translates as "Close Your Eyes and You Will See The Town") by Iordan Chimet, ASCR Publishing House, 2014. "Surreality exists, only people call it reality. By vesting the most modest of realities with the prestige and the charm of fairy tales and poetry, Chimet invites (and compels) us to admit them as situated at an energetic and incantational level by no means inferior to the most delicate fantasies and the least bound reveries of Surrealism." (Nicolae Steinhardt).

"Miss Day-after-tomorrow and the game of Time" / "Domnisoara Poimaine si joaca de-a Timpul", Curtea Veche Publishing House, 2014, won the most beautiful book of the year prize at children's book section, at the  Romanian National Contest of Book Design . The contest, dedicated to book design, takes into consideration the artistic dimension of the book, as well as the degree of innovation and originality in the editorial concept and general approach of book design. The book also won the title of Best children's book of the year, at Ready-to-printing Gala, 2015, an event dedicated to  the excellence in the book industry. "Miss Day-after tomorrow and the game of Time" is also in the selection of White Ravens Books 2015: "The White Ravens label is given to books that deserve worldwide attention because of their universal themes and/or their exceptional and often innovative artistic and litterary style and design."

The drawings are on the wall of  Cărturești "Verona",  the biggest and the oldest bookshop from the  Cărturești bookstore chain (t here are 20 Cărturești shops in Romania at the moment) .  Cărtureşti   is in fact more than a bookshop, it is a cultural venue that functions as a bookshop, tea studio, and project space.  Here   t hey host over 300 cultural events (from concert, book launches, to exhibitions and other events) per year.  The bookstore has a teahouse where one can enjoy browsing through the books as he drinks his tea, accompanied by music in the background. Website:  www.carturesti.ro .