The birthday present

Critical reviews

“Makis Tsitas does… not say everything. He does not explain everything. In fact, he is not interested in either supporting or denouncing. He lets events speak for themselves and he keeps hidden the intentions of his heroes somewhere within his books. And this, of course, is how he manages to create literature with just 1500 words.”
Manos Kontoleon, literature.gr, 29/06/18

“Makis Tsitas is a children’s books author who, due to his simplicity and subtle humor, his simple and understandable language, as well as his innovative titles and inspiring stories, is rightly classified among the most special and distinct contemporary ‘fairy tale writers’ of Greece. His stories may lack witches, bad dragons, princes, and pirates, but they never ever lack imagination. He is inspired by life itself; he observes it and, in transferring it to his books, he allows life itself to teach his young readers.”
Toula Repapi, frear.gr, 22/06/18

“The combination of a text both well-written and well-researched, ingenious and reservedly powerful as well as subtly humorous, coupled with a set of well-chosen illustrations has produced a brilliant book. This is indeed a book written by an experienced author of children’s literature who knows both how to choose his topics and how to write, respecting, above all, both the idiosyncrasy and the receptive abilities of his young readership.”
Eleni Choreanthi, Efimerida ton Syntakton, 20/05/18

“The author, Makis Tsitas, entertains, but most of all educates children; he teaches them how to appreciate social relations and make their choices wisely. In his new children’s book, the author deals with the power of apology, with the issue of trust and the question of social norms, as well as whether children should share things or not. Complicated as they are, these notions are effortlessly taught through Makis Tsitas’s stories, who delivers with utmost sensibility life lessons to the little souls he addresses. He offers them the kind of lessons that will accompany them for the rest of their lives and teach them how to be responsible human beings, how to assume responsibility for their own actions, but also how to appreciate the people who stand by them.”
Lydia Psaradelli, radioalchemy.net, 08/05/18

“Tsitas proves himself an inventive writer when it comes his choice of topic, infusing his text with substance, while enabling him to imperceptibly, yet systematically, serve an educational purpose. In this particular story, children can learn how to cooperate with their siblings and maintain good relations with them, but they also learn how not to pretend or deceive others.”
Anthoula Daniil, Avgi newspaper, 29/04/18

“The beloved master of the one-thousand-word short form genre, Makis Tsitas, strikes again with a rhythmical, subversive story, which emerges out of the ordinary (and not the idealized) family reality. Short sentences, rich meanings and messages that float, instead of directly landing, in front of the reader make this story ready to read and are all elements that characterize this book. Tsitas always avoids being obviously didactic. Even at the very end of his story, the happy ending is independent of the messages and teachings delivered.”
Apostolos Pappos, elniplex.gr, 05/04/18

“One of this text’s greatest assets is the fact that it is written in a way that can be easily read by a child; it discreetly offers the young reader guidelines towards an understanding of the book’s deeper notions, which are discernible at a secondary level, while at the same time it is a light and pleasant read. Since Makis Tsitas has written books for adults too, like the remarkable and quite successful God Is My Witness, and therefore has a broader understanding of his readership’s perception, it is by no means an accident that the book’s mature and unpretentious childlike aura, characteristic of the author’s own writing style, renders this book an equally pleasant read for an adult too.”
Verina Choreanthi, fractalart.gr, 04/04/18

“Yet another ingenious and subversive story about the daily lives of children by the experienced and always relevant Makis Tsitas. It is a story about the power of an apology, a story which is once again offered through a playful style and has a happy, yet educational ending: the two siblings manage to strengthen and reinforce their relationship by undergoing a remarkable experience and surviving it.”
Asimina Xirogianni, fractalart.gr, 21/03/18

“Makis Tsitas writes for both the little ones and the grown-ups; yet always in a manner and style that makes all the difference.”
Kostas Balachoutis, ogdoo.gr, 18/03/18