Josip Ribičič facts for kids
Josip Ribičič (born November 3, 1886 – died June 7, 1969) was a famous Slovene writer. He is best known for writing many popular books for children.
Early Life and Teaching Career
Josip Ribičič was born in a town called Baška. This town is on Krk island, which is now part of Croatia. His father was a Croat from Dalmatia, and his mother was a Slovene from a village near Kanal ob Soči in Slovenia.
Josip went to elementary school in a place called Lig. After that, he studied at a teacher's college in Koper. From 1909 to 1911, he worked as a teacher in different elementary schools in the Austrian Littoral region. In 1911, he moved to Trieste. There, he taught at a private Slovene-language school. He married a local Slovene woman in 1913.
Moving to Yugoslavia and Later Years
In 1925, Josip Ribičič moved to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He did this to avoid difficult times under Fascist Italian rule. He first worked as a teacher in Rakek. From 1929, he taught in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
During World War II, in 1942, Italian authorities arrested him. He was accused of working with a group called the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People. He was sentenced to prison for 12 years. However, he was released in 1944 by the Nazi German authorities.
After the war ended, he continued teaching for a short time. In 1949, he started working for the Slovenian Ministry of Education. Josip Ribičič passed away in Ljubljana. He was the father of Mitja Ribičič, who became a well-known statesman. He was also the grandfather of Ciril Ribičič, a Slovenian jurist and politician.
His Literary Works
Most of Josip Ribičič's writing was for children. His books often had a special artistic style from the late 1800s, known as fin-de-siècle esthetics.
One of his most famous books is Nicholas's Night (Slovene: Miklavževa noč). This book was illustrated by Milko Bambič. It was very special because it was the first Slovene-language youth book printed with color lithography. This means it was one of the first children's books in Slovenia to have colorful pictures!
Ribičič also wrote some books for adults. An example is Ruins (Slovene: Razvaline), published in 1917. This book is a collection of short stories and funny pieces. They talk about experiences during World War I. In 1976, a publishing company called Mladinska knjiga collected all his works and published them in 7 volumes.
