My name is Dora

Critical Reviews

“A book young readers will love and will find many common elements with its heroine. A book that will remind us adults how beautiful it is to be spontaneous, vital, filled with enthusiasm and joy; in other words, the things that young children enjoy every minute of their lives.”
Angeliki Papathanasiou, thematofylakes.gr, 11/02/19

“If you can get Dora to trust you, she will reveal to you everything she knows and doesn’t know about her family. She is a real person, or at least this is the impression she makes on us, managing thus to enter our hearts from the very first page, and awaken one of the many voices that resonates within all of us: the voice of tender innocence and naivety for whatever it is that adulthood entails.”
Liana Denezaki, kosvoice.gr, 17/02/2018

“A beautiful, colorful fairy tale, which will blow little girls’ minds away; it is none other than Makis Tsitas’s latest creation My Name Is Dora, which was recently published by Minoas Publications. Through the book’s short yet rich text, as well as through its magical illustrations, an entire incredible world unfolds, which contains everything that could ever possibly interest a little girl.”
Eleni Kitsou, diavasame.gr, 08/11/17

“Dreams that make life better, like the careers little Dora wants to pursue in the future, and desires that don’t match reality, such as petting an elephant, give a light tone to the narrative of an author who knows how to turn reading into a game. Because, yes, this book is addressed to parents who will read and re-read it to their young children, but it is also addressed to older children, who will take their first steps in reading through Makis Tsitas’s magical world.”
Lydia Psaradelli, radioalchemy.net, 27/04/17

“Makis Tsitas has given us a literary present for us to discover how entertaining reading can be. And we do hope that there will be more of little Dora’s adventures so that we may learn more about her. And above all, so that we finally learn what is she is going to be when she grows up.”
Kostas Stoforos, literature.gr, 23/04/17

“Makis Tsitas, who was awarded the European Union Prize for Literature for his novel God Is My Witness, creates the liveliest of characters on paper. Dora, who introduces herself to us through this book, will become his young readers’ new friend.”
Gogo Karkani, Elle magazine, April 2017

“In his brand-new children’s book, Makis Tsitas gets closer to the contemporary everyday world of children through the mind and soul of his little character, Dora. Who is Dora? Dora is a 6 year-old girl. But what does a 6 year-old girl of today think? How does she perceive her world? And what really is her world? Makis Tsitas’s pen shows that a little child’s world remains a world full of colors, and it operates through a set of simple and honest principles.”
Maria Papamargariti, Tetarto magazine, 27/03/17

“Makis Tsitas x-rays the soul of children. He reads the minds and hearts of his little friends, and gives them space in his books, he gives them voice and precedence, he loves them. He enlightens and glorifies the unfettered and genuine world of children. Through her exaggerations, Dora becomes unique, and she is clearly an authentic representative of the sweet, childlike soul that has not been filled yet with useless information: that has not been worn out or corrupted, and which has the power to overwhelm even the adults that meet her.”
Asimina Xirogianni, Fractal, March, 2017

“This is a beautiful little story by the multitalented Makis Tsitas, written with a great sense of humor, and in short, direct sentences. Makis Tsitas introduces Dora, his little heroine, and manages to present whatever she’s capable of thinking and desiring in a very inventive manner. Renia Metallinou’s appealing illustrations follow the text and make it lively and intriguing to the reader. It is a story that can be read at home, at school, or at the library.”
Elena Artzanidou, thinkfree.gr, 21/03/17

“Using a simple and spare style, disarming naivety and sensibility, honesty and credibility, the author of My Name Is Dora, of Kostas the Stray, of My Big Brother and many other important heroines and heroes, communicates messages in his books without resorting to unnecessary words and meaningless literary techniques. Hence, his brand-new little Dora is an optimistic and adventurous read, simple, tender and with a discreet sense of humor; it is a book that both young and older readers will love.”
Eleni Choreanthi, Fractal, March, 2017

“This book is like a photographic camera, whose aperture opens and closes, capturing a few highlights of the 6-year-old Dora’s life, creating an entertaining and accurate graphic of a child during that first, important click in life; at the moment when everything is undefined, incredibly innocent, and sufficiently childish. It is a story deliberately without a climax, an escalation, a plot and a conclusive ending. So you can fit as many events as you want into it; so you can decide your own endings; so that you can flick through the pages of a brief, first-person diary of a child that seems so much like you (little reader) and you (older reader). This is a diary that perfectly illuminates a child’s own way and manner of thinking.”
Apostolos Pappos, elniplex.com, 19/02/17

“Makis Tsitas knows how to read children’s minds, how to penetrate into their souls and how to discover their desires. Or rather, he has the talent to create stories in such a way as to guide them. To his latest character, Dora, he offers a variety of alternatives. Dora will definitely do something with her life, and she will manage to fit the elephant in her room. It is as if Tsitas is saying: you must know how to ask for and achieve things, know when to turn things down, and how to make a choice and move on.”
Anthoula Daniil, frear.gr, 08/02/17

“Knowing deeply his young readers’ psychology, the writer offers them a charming book that will surely entertain them.”
Litsa Psarafti, Diadromes magazine, Issue 124, Winter 2017

“The publication of this book has made its mark […] Due to the clarity of her words and the humbleness of her actions, its heroine, Dora, has enchanted her readers, both young and old.”
Giannis Gatzikos, Eleftheros Chronos newspaper, 18/12/04

“It is a joyful book, inventively written and with a great sense of humor. The appealing illustrations render the book an even better read.”
Litsa Psarafti, Diadromes magazine, Summer 2004

“This is an original and fresh book.”
Veatriki Kantzola-Sampatakou, Prothiki magazine, June 2004

“It’s the first time I read such an original book, in terms of both topic and form…”
Charis Mavromatis, Apogevmatini newspaper, 27/06/04

“As he did in his previous book starring the same unpretentious and unpredictable young lady, Makis Tsitas offers us, through this story, bits and pieces of the thoughts, plans and dreams of a six-year-old little girl, and manages to illustrate, in the most vivid of colors and in only a few pages, the world of a contemporary child. He does so in a delightful and often humorous manner.”
Eleni Sarantiti, Eleftherotypia newspaper, 18/06/04

“A daring publication in the field of children’s literature, since the view of the author and creator of this heroine departs from both commonalities and typical norms, and with a fresh set of eyes approaches the reality of today, the needs of the young girls living in it, and many, many more issues.”
Kostas Balachoutis, Difono magazine, April 2004

“We are talking about a particularly cheerful and fresh book, which is a total page-turner… it is a book that both kids and adults will definitely adore.”
Ethnos TV magazine, 04/04/04

“…This is a contemporary, fresh, humorous and charming story by Makis Tsitas, who manages to talk about children as if he were a child himself, but avoiding pomposity and lecturing. He introduces his little heroine, Dora, using simple and understandable language…”
Titina Danelli, Rizospastis newspaper, 21/03/04

“This book is original, appealing, and enjoyable. The little heroine, Dora, carries us away with her innocent, childlike, and expressive language as she narrates moments and thoughts from her own life. The book is so simple and spare that it can conjure, in each and every one of us, the child that still resides within.”
Stella Karamolegou, Traffic newspaper, 29/02/04

“It is a wonderful and humorous book!”
Kostas G. Papapanagiotou, Eleftheri Ora newspaper, 24/02/04

“This is a book addressed to the most sensitive of ages, coming from a sensitive man himself.”
Fotis Chronopoulos, Eleftheros Typos tis Kyriakis newspaper, 15/02/04

“This is a beautiful and very tender book […] The author’s language is simple and easy to grasp, and it speaks directly to the heart.”
Tina Sgouropoulou, Vradini newspaper, 12/02/04