How much time do you spend with your children each day when you go to work? Work weeks differ from weekends, and the seasons, school breaks, and vacations come and go. Children grow up quickly, become independent, and are a reflection of us.
At our house, we’ve been spending our evenings reading together with the kids for more than seven years now. It started when I was on maternity leave, and our first book was *The Stories of the Bee Bears: From Spring to Winter* by Jiří Kahoun. Verunka was six months old; she listened to my voice and looked forward to breastfeeding. Then our son Ondrášek joined us, and his favorite book was *Super-Charlie* by Camilla Läckberg and Millis Sarri. It became our ritual—we go to the library and read whatever we like.
When it comes to children’s books, I simply recommend both volumes of *The Chronicles of the Beskydy Dragons*. My daughter received it as a birthday gift from our family in Brno, who said that every child from the Beskydy Mountains should know this story. If you have a child or grandchild aged 5 or older—there’s no upper age limit—don’t hesitate to read it, perhaps together.
You’ll bond over that magical bedtime moment when the kids are clean and fresh in their beds, and your imagination takes flight. Plus, you’ll have a good laugh together—it’s full of great one-liners. Look forward to moments of suspense and the phrase, “Just one more page, Mom.” It’s a beautiful adventure story, wonderfully illustrated, filled with values (nature, family, home, friendship, heroism, kindness, responsibility), and it even includes QR codes with fun facts. If you don’t feel like reading, listen to the audio version narrated by Robin Ferro and Jitka Ježková.
If you’re wondering whether the Beskydy Dragons exist, my son is certain about it. Of course they exist! And so do Speedfoot, the Dragon Mice, and the other creatures from this book. And every time we look at Lysá mountain, he says that this is exactly where Ilík flew from. But where to? You’ll understand once you read the book.
What’s more, the book won the Readers’ Choice Award in the 2024 Czech Bestseller competition and took home the 2025 Brno Book of the Year award. And it was beautifully printed by our top printer in Central Europe.
Right now we’re reading the Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds, choosing a dog. So far, we’re considering a poodle, a schnauzer, and a dachshund.
It doesn’t really matter what you read. The main thing is that you’re together.
