Six brothers are drafted into the army. On their way to the front, they need to report to a border post and bring a gift for the sake of peace. The brothers have neither valuable offerings nor money to cross the border, but they do have stories to tell: about an orphan who lived at the bottom of a well, a baker, a cursed lake and the rescue of a brother, a sand bride, a young saint capable of preventing a war, and finally, a dwarf who became a puppet.

The brothers tell and retell these stories to the lonely and forgotten sentry at the post, telling them as if someone's life depends on it. Which, in fact, it does.

In this anti-war novel, Dutch author and prestigious literary award winner Benny Lindelauf showcases his highest stylistic mastery. His prose evokes the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Patrick Suskind. Ludwig Volbeda, who also illustrated Lindelauf's previous novel, complements the book with melancholic and meditative depictions of desolate landscapes in muted colors.

5 reasons to buy the book "Big Stories for a Small Soldier":

- The book as a work of art: the highest stylistic and artistic mastery of writer Benny Lindelauf and illustrator Ludwig Volbeda;
- Winner of the prestigious Dutch literary award "Silver Slate Pencil" in 2021 as the best children's book;
- The narrative technique of "stories within a story" immerses the reader and keeps their attention until the end;
- A book about how all wars are followed by peace, and all stories come to an end;
- Translated from Dutch by Ekaterina Asoyan, Irina Leychenko, and Irina Mikhailova.