About the authors

Kuku's interactive picture dictionary has been designed by the authoring team:

NATAŠA BUCIK is a psychologist and Master of Science in the field of developmental psychology.

Once a long-time chief editor of the magazines Ciciban and Cicido, she still regularly participates in both magazines. Since 2004, together with Ana Zavadlav, she has been producing the successful feature LET'S PLAY WITH KUKU in the magazine Cicido. In an educational series under the same name, they have already published eight didactic booklets.

In 2008, together with Ana Zavadlav and Kaja Bucik, she authored the Slovene-English-French KUKU'S PICTURE DICTIONARY , which is already published abroad in six different language versions.

Since 2010, together with Gregor Bucik, she has been producing the feature Misleca (The Thinkers) in the Cicido and Ciciban magazines. In 2013 she upgraded the mental agility tasks from these magazines and, together with Gregor Bucik and Valentin Bucik at the Mladinska knjiga publishing house, published the book entitled Misleca (The Thinkers), which was first printed in 2014.

Since 2001 Nataša Bucik has worked as an expert in the field of reading culture and culture andarts education. Since 2004 she has been employed by the Ministry for Culture, where, as the National Co-ordinator for Culture and Arts Education, she works in collaboration with cultural institutions throughout Slovenia. She has inspired the creation of an important national project for the promotion of reading in culture and arts education (Growing up with a Book, The Cultural Bazaar). She participates in research, the organisation of conferences and events linked to the fields of the culture and arts education, gives lectures to professionals in the education of culture and is dedicated to promoting culture and arts education on a national and international level.

Since 2003, as co-author and/or co-editor in this field, she has contributed to numerous professional publications: Beremo skupaj: priročnik o spodbujanju branja (2003); Bralna motivacija v šoli: merjenje in razvijanje (2006); Kultura in umetnost v izobraževanju – popotnica 21. stoletja (2008); Branje za znanje in branje za zabavo (Knaflič in Bucik, 2009); Kulturno-umetnostna vzgoja: priročnik s primeri dobre prakse iz vrtcev, osnovnih in srednjih šol (2011); Igriva arhitektura: priročnik za izobraževanje o grajenem prostoru (2013). In 2012, she received an award of the Slovene section of IBBY for the promotion of reading and youth literacy.

Nataša Bucik is a member of the Slovenian Reading Association and International Association for Culture and Arts Education ACE net. Since 2014 she has also been a member of the Expert Council of the Kunšt Institute, the Institute for Educational, Cultural and Other Activities.

ANA ZAVADLAV, painter and graphic artist, graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana and continued her studies specialising in graphics. In 1999 she furthered her education in Pennsylvania at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 1998 she received the Novo mesto award for graphics, in 1993 and 1994 she received the Student and University Prešeren Award.

Since 2003 she has been concentrating mainly on illustrating books for children and youths and regularly illustrates for the magazines Ciciban, Cicido and Mavrica.

Since 2004, together with Nataša Bucik, she has been producing the successful feature LET'S PLAY WITH KUKU in the magazine Cicido. In an educational series under the same name, they have already published eight didactic booklets.

In 2008, together with Nataša Bucik and Kaja Bucik, she authored the Slovene-English-French KUKU'S PICTURE DICTIONARY , which is already published abroad in six different language versions.

At the 7th Slovene Biennial in 2006, Ana Zavadlav received the Smrekar Award for popular-scientific illustration, for her illustrations in KUKU'S PICTURE DICTIONARY, which are now included in KUKU'S INTERACTIVE PICTURE DICTIONARY.

Her colourful and playful illustrations have enriched numerous books by recognised Slovene authors for children and youths (Slavko Pregl, Saša Vegri, Cvetka Sokolov, Nataša Konc Lorenzutti, Barbara Hanuš, Ksenija Šoster Olmer and others), and also for adults. Among them she has received several awards for illustrations:

  • The book by Nataša Konc Lorenzutti, Kakšno drevo zraste iz mačka (Miš Publishing House, 2012) was nominated for the literary awards Večernica 2013 and Desetnica 2014.

  • The picture book by Nina Mav Hrovat, O miški, ki je zbirala pogum (Mladinska knjiga Publishing House, 2013) was nominated for the 2013 Kristina Brenkova Award.

  • The picture book by Barbara Hanuš, O Jakobu in muci Mici, Rojstni dan (Miš Publishing House, 2009) was nominated for the award for 'Original Slovene Picture Book 2010'.

Books containing the illustrations of Ana Zavadlav have been published by various Slovene publishers including Mladinska knjiga, Miš, Didakta, and Družina. The books are well-known by children in Slovenia and elsewhere in the world (Kuku's Picture Dictionary, O Jakobu in muci Mici and others). Since 2012 she has also been illustrating for the Austrian publisher Breitschopf Verlag.

Illustrations by Ana have enriched textbooks such as Mlinček 3 (Založba Modrijan) and instructional booklets for the Kinobalon, a cinema programme for young audiences of the Public Institute Kinodvor in Ljubljana for films including Turtle: The Incredible Journey, Le Ballon rouge, Crin Blanc: Le cheval sauvage, and for the Lipizzaner Museum Lipikum.

Ana also regularly exhibits her illustrations at solo and group illustration exhibitions, both at home and abroad. Among others she has exhibited at:

  • 24th BIB Illustration Biennial, Bratislava, Slovakia, 2013
  • Solo exhibition in the Glass Atrium, Ljubljana City Hall, 2013
  • 10th Slovene Illustration Biennial. Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, 2012
  • Solo exhibtion in the Krka Gallery, Novo mesto, 2011
  • 9th Slovene Illustration Biennial, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, 2010
  • 8th Slovene Illustration Biennial, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, 2008

Since the year 2000 she has also been a member of the Slovene Fine Artists Society.

KAJA BUCIK VAVPETIČ has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and French. Since 2011 she has been a PhD student of Interdisciplinary Studies of Humanities and Social Studies, majoring in Literary Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. She is currently preparing a doctoral thesis entitled Ideological Shifts and Gender Construction in Translated Popular Anglo-American Young Adult Literature at the Turn of the 21st Century.

Since 2008 Kaja has been engaged in literary translations for adults and youths and writes book reviews for the Mladinska knjiga publishing house. In the past few years she has translated the following youth novels which have been published by Mladinska knjiga:

Kaja's translations have been published in the magazine Sodobnost, and she has also translated two series of children's cartoons for RTV Slovenia (Doghill and Nelly and Caesar).

In 2008, together with Nataša Bucik and Ana Zavadlav, she authored the Slovene-English-French KUKU'S PICTURE DICTIONARY , which is already published abroad in six different language versions.

In 2012 Kaja obtained a scholarship from the Internationale Jugendbiblitothek (The International Youth Library) in Munich, and participated in a number of additional training and conferences in the field of literature, with an emphasis on translating, children's and youth literature.

Kaja is a member of the Slovenian Association of Literary Translators, the Slovene Section of IBBY, and the Slovenian Reading Association. Since 2014 she has also been a member of the Expert Council of the Kunšt Institute, the Institute for Educational, Cultural and Other Activities.

ANŽE VAVPETIČ has a BSc in Computer Science and Informatics from the Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana. Since 2011 he has been a young researcher at the Jožef Stefan Institute and a PhD candidate at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School in the field of Computer Science.

Anže researches the field of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data mining. He is especially interested in methods of intelligent analysis of relational databases and the use of methods for solving problems in the field of bioinformatics. He attends international scientific conferences in Slovenia and abroad. He has authored numerous conference articles and has had articles published in scientific journals.

Anže is also engaged in the development of websites, web applications (mainly in the field of music and machine learning) and computer games.

Since 2014 he has been a member of the Expert Council of the Kunšt Institute, the Institute for Educational, Cultural and Other Activities.