ILLUSTRATIONS FOR A FANTASY BOOK
"BATUT - THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY"
TSILI PUBLISHING 2025
Author: Tsipor Frumkin
Editor: Lee Evron
For young readers of all ages
The idea was to draw the
characters of this marvelous
story as if they were posing
for a portrait.
Drawing technique -
Pencil and black pen on paper
Tsipor's text – beautiful, humorous and incredibly precise, gives living beings a special expression - and inanimate objects their unique life and role in the fabula. All these turned my challenge of looking for every character’s appearance into a delightful and passionate journey.

Batut, The heroine of the book. The loss of her father, her curiosity and ambition to discover The truth behind his death, and a number of surreal incidents encourage her to embark on a fantastic journey and go through some marvelous and dangerous, unforgettable experiences, in which some of the mysteries will be resolved while others remain in the dark, for the time being.

The Straw Widow, a scarecrow – Batut's companion in the long journey stretching before her, is very ambitious, yet sensitive and sticking to her strong opinions on almost every subject in the world. In addition she's gifted with a variety of skills.

Bartolomeu Dias, the famous Portuguese explorer from the 16th century, discovered, among other achievements, the Cape of Good Hope – and later was drowned with his ship in the depths of the ocean. There he found himself alive, but all alone at the bottom of the sea. In the book he continues to live and plays a particularly important role in the development of the fabula.

This is Bartolomeu Dias’ ship as found later in the book at the bottom of the sea. Its structure was inspired by the original Caravel which took the historical Bartolomeu Dias off the Portuguese shore to the wide unknown ocean.

Dad's Chest contains books and stuff belonging to him; it somehow portrays his whole and singular entity.

The spirit of Batut’s sleep, also called Sleerit , plays an important role in Batut's life. In fact, it was the Sleerit's manipulations that encouraged Batut to embark on her adventurous nocturnal journey.

The Sea Matron, otherwise called `Mother of Pearl', is a multifaceted character, who watches over the inner flame that keeps humans, and everything that surrounds them, alive.

The Sea Matron, or Mother of Pearl, and how she appeared before Bartolomeu Dias.

The Fist is a brutal dictator, ruling over a beautiful island, who turns the lives of the islanders into a nightmare. As the story goes on, The Fist will engage in a crucial battle with Batut and the Straw Widow and some brave and relentless islanders.

Dad's Aunt. Together with her spouse she moved in with Batut, to take care of her after her father died.

Dad's Uncle. Together with his spouse he moved in with Batut, to take care of her after her father died.

BonyBella & DumpyBella are two neighbors of Batut as well as sisters; they live together in a flat, bother everybody with their unbearable behavior and are deeply afraid of falling asleep.

Batut met The Deer and The Doe on a peaceful lake's shore and heard their marvelous story from the doe. Later she told it to her friends; it is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read.
Tsili Books
