Dedicated Fairy Tales is the name of a compilation of short stories in Czech and English that were written by significant personalities and celebrities from the Czech Republic and Slovakia to support children with oncological illnesses. The stories were illustrated by the painter and illustrator Carolyn Gad. The book of fairy tales was prepared for publication by the Cancer Research Foundation (Rakovina věc veřejná), which is, apart from other activities, funding research at the Institution of Molecular and Translation Medicine of UP Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
“We’d like to communicate more with the public and draw attention to the importance of research in oncology so that people consider it as a wise investment into everyone’s future. Therefore we invented the project Dedicated Fairy Tales. With support by well-known personalities, this attractive way of publicity helps us to draw more attention to our work,“ pointed out the head of the foundation, Renata Hilšer Grmolenská.
The fairy tales in the volume were written by many popular Czech and Slovak personalities: Prof Josef Koutecký – founder of Paediatric Oncology in the Czech Republic; Petr Koukal – Olympic athlete who underwent cancer treatment; Gabriela Koukalová –Czech biathlonist and Olympic medalist; Lukáš Hejlík with his daughter Klára – actor, author of a scenic reading project called Listování; Igor Bareš – actor at Prague’s Vinohrady Theatre; Hana Lasicová – Slovak writer and daughter of Milan Lasica and Magda Vašáryová; Lukáš Pavlásek – actor and comedian; Petr Vydra – actor and moderator; Ester Kočičková – singer, songwriter and moderator; Martin Jan Stránský – physician, educator and ombudsman for health issues, and Josef Heřmánek – actor from the well-known family of Karel Heřmánek.
“The greatest surprise for us was Professor Koutecký who wrote a beautiful (and the longest) fairy tale of old Prague The Wonderful Life of Doctor Herman Burgrave of the Lesser Town in Prague. By publishing the book we hope to spread an important message about Czech cancer research. We would be glad if parents spent pleasant moments with their children reading the book. By buying the book you also support the oncological research,“ concluded Grmolenská.
The celebratory book launch took place on 5 December in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Prague.
The bilingual book of fairy tales is available in Czech and in English translation for 399 CZK. You can order it on the web kniha.vecverejna.cz/en/order-the-book. For more information about the book visit kniha.vecverejna.cz/en/home.
Rakovina věc veřejná - Cancer Research Foundation has been co-operating with Palacký University Olomouc since its establishment. It is the only foundation in the Czech Republic which supports science and research – mainly research projects at the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine of UP Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. It supports young scientists and alumni of Palacký University. The foundation also organises beneficial and educational events for the public.