The Magic Pencil was originally designed as a theatrical piece and was performed by the Hungarian Château - Vár - Castle theater company based in Brussels, with the help of the arcFAM Association, in 2014. Balázs wrote and directed the play, while Judit - as a member of the creative staff - dealt with the props and the costumes, besides she made puppets that complemented the actors' performances.
Over the years, the idea of preparing The Magic Pencil in a print format has crossed the authors’ minds several times. When it was about time, their dream came true: their hard work finally paid off in 2020.
The story in a nutshell: The Storyteller promised a gift in the form of a fairy tale for her little daughter’s birthday, but right now, nothing comes to his mind! He will soon run out of time if he doesn’t figure something out right away! In this tight squeeze situation, help comes from where he wouldn't expect: he gets a magic pencil from his dog, with which anything he describes immediately becomes reality! At first, this sounds really good, but there are several dangers hidden within this kind of a creation, which the Storyteller doesn't even expect…
Publisher: Irodalmi Rádió, Budapest, 2020
About the authors:
Judit Nyúl-Donka and Balázs got to know each other as teachers in a high school in Budapest. They currently work as civil servants, but in addition to the office work, they always find some time to create. They love to work together and this magical book is also a result of their joint work.