Luīze Pastore (1986) is a writer of children's literature. She is the author of eight prose books for children. The latter five books constitute a series in which Luīze Pastore explores the ways how literature can attractively combine adventures of solving a mystery and reintroducing famous paintings of Latvian canonical artists of different periods and modes, thus helping school youth get in touch with Latvian art. During her studies at the Latvian Culture Academy, situated in the Moscow district of Riga, popularly known as Maskačka, she got acquainted with inhabitants of this ‘independent republic’. They inspired her to write a story about the unknown world of this well-known district of Riga. This is how the well-received Maskačkas stāsti, translated into English as DogTown, was born. Luīze Pastore still lives in Riga and writes books for children.
Prose:
Laimes Bērni [The Laime Children]. Rīga: Liels un mazs, 2021.
Pēdējais ķēniņš. Mākslas detektīvi V [The Last King. Art Detectives V]. Riga: Neputns, 2016.
Operācija "Maska". Mākslas detektīvi IV [Operation MASK. Art Detectives IV]. Riga: Neputns, 2016.
Svešinieka atnākšana. Mākslas detektīvi III. [The Coming of the Stranger. Art Detectives III]. Riga: Neputns, 2015.
Neredzamais cilvēks. Mākslas detektīvi II. [The Invisible Man. Art Detectives II]. Riga: Neputns, 2015
Pazudušais pērtiķis. Mākslas detektīvi I. [The Lost Monkey. Art Detectives I]. Riga: Neputns, 2015.
Maskačkas stāsts [Dog Town]. Riga: Neputns, 2013.
Petra un Sniegpārslu meistars [Petra and the Master of Snowflakes. 2012.
Stāsts par Pakaļasti tiem, kas vēl aug. [The Story about Backtail, for Those who are still Growing]. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2009.
Books to fall for
Art Detectives
Art Detectives (Mākslas detektīvi)
Illustrated by Elīna Brasliņa
- International Baltic Sea Region Jānis Baltvilks Prize in Children’s Literature and Book Art 2015
- Latvian Children’s Jury Award 2016
The ‘Art Detectives’ series of detective stories for children invites them to explore behind-the-scenes of art and visit the adventure and mystery-filled world ‘on the other side’ of paintings. Can a work of art come alive? What would it be like to step inside paintings and experience the stories they tell? What are the mysteries that paintings hide? In this exciting series of adventure books, young detectives Theo, Button and Button’s dog – a fat dachshund named Comma follow the trail of art, investigating the mysteries behind some of the works of the greatest Latvian painters.
Contacts: dace@neputns.lv, www.neputns.lv
TheMissingMonkey_by_L.Pastore.pdf
Title
:Art Detectives
Title*
:Mākslas detektīvi
Authors
:Genre
:Childrens-book
Publisher
:Neputns
Pages
:60
Year
:2015
Foreign rights
:All languages available
The Tale of the Maskatchka District
The Tale of the Maskatchka District (Maskačkas stāsts)
Illustrations by Reinis Pētersons
“The Tale of the Maskatchka District” is a 20,000 word, early-grade adventure story. It is told from the perspective of a young boy, Jacob Bird, who unexpectedly ends up living in Maskatchka, a notorious district of Riga steeped in legend. There, Jacob meets his uncle, an unemployed ex-sailor named Eagle, his unbearable cousin, Mimi and makes friends with the Boss of Maskatchka himself – a talking dog. Together, they set about saving Maskatchka from being transformed into a slab of concrete like hundreds of other city districts full of shopping centres and skyscrapers. To save the district, they must overcome the evil Grand Master, Imant Scraper.
Contacts: dace@neputns.lv www.neputns.lv
TheTaleOfTheMaskatchkaDistrict_by_L.Pastore.pdf
Title
:The Tale of the Maskatchka District
Title*
:Maskačkas stāsts
Authors
:Genre
:Childrens-book
Publisher
:Neputns
Pages
:128
Year
:2013
Tobias Hartmann. Latvian literature. A letter from a very small country with a big neighbor// ostraum.com, March 2022 [GER]
Dog Town synopsis // Outside in World, 2018 [EN]
Author's webpage [ENG]
About childrens books series Art Detectives by Luīze Pastore // Baltica Libri [IT]
The Jānis Baltvilks Award in Children’s Literature goes to Luīze Pastore // Neputns homepage [ENG]
The Lost Monkey teaser // Youtube.com [LV]
The Invisible Man teaser // Youtube.com [LV]
Reviews
Nicolas Auzanneau.Luīze Pastore, The European fictions that marked the month of April 2022 Laimes bērni ( he Children of Laime) // Le Grand Continent , May, 2022 [FR]
Review of Dog Town // Library Girl and Book Boy blog, 2018 [EN]
Daniel Hahn, review of Dog Town // European Literature Network, 2018 [EN]
Dane Cobain, review of Dog Town // Social Bookshelves, 2018 [EN]
Alex O'Connell, review of Dog Town // The Times, 2018 [EN]
Andrea Reece, review of Dog Town // Love Reading For Kids, 2018 [EN]
Review of Dog Town // Books for Keeps, 2018 [EN]
Elza Kampara, Brasliņa un "Pēdējais ķēniņš", review of The Last King // Internet magazine Satori.lv [LV]
Anete Piņķe, Košuma deficīts, review of Operation MASK // Internet magazine Satori.lv [LV]
Inga Žolude, Aizgājušais laiks, atnākušais svešinieks, rewiev of The Coming of the Stranger // Internet magazine Satori.lv [LV]
Veronika Viļuma "Step into a painting — book series "Art Detectives"" // Internet magazine FOLD [ENG]
Rūta Briede "Mākslai pa pēdām" // Internet magazine Satori.lv [LV]
Inga Pizāne-Dilba, Palaidnības un skaistums, review of The Lost Monkey and The Invisible Man // UbiSunt, University of Latvia, 2015 [LV]
Undīne Adamaite "Prom no Brīvības ielas" // Internet magazine KDiena [LV]
In print
2018_Pastore_Bookwitty_Interview.pdf
2022, Bologna Ragazzi Award, prize “New Horizons” for book The Laime Children
2015, Latvian Literature Award as the Best Children's Book for The Coming of the Stranger. Art Detectives III
2015, Jānis Baltvilks Award in Children's Literature for the Art Detectives series
2013, Latvian Literature Award as the Best Children's Book for The Story of Maskachka District
Dog Town
Dog Town (Maskačkas stāsts)
Title
: Dog TownTitle*
: Maskačkas stāstsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:English
Pages
:185
Year
:2018
Copyrights
:The author; the illustrator; the translator;
Synopsis
:Dog Town is an adventure story from Riga, the capital of Latvia, where, if you know where to look, the streets are full of dogs who can talk in many languages.
À la recherche du singe perdu
À la recherche du singe perdu (Pazudušais pērtiķis)
Title
: À la recherche du singe perduTitle*
: Pazudušais pērtiķisAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:French
Pages
:68
Year
:2018
Copyrights
:Author, Illustrator
Synopsis
:The ‘Art Detectives’ series of detective stories for children invites them to explore behind-the-scenes of art and visit the adventure and mystery-filled world ‘on the other side’ of paintings. Can a work of art come alive?
Jakobi väga hästi õnnestunud plaan
Jakobi väga hästi õnnestunud plaan (Maskačkas stāsts)
Title
: Jakobi väga hästi õnnestunud plaanTitle*
: Maskačkas stāstsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:Estonian
Pages
:144
Year
:2019
Copyrights
:Luīze Pastore, Reinis Pētersons, Gatis Gierts
Synopsis
:Jacob Bird lives in Riga with his father. Jacob loves maps like his dad, and is fascinated by the legend which warns that no one must say `Riga is ready' or the river will flood the town.
