The Leopard in the Window

EU-PO? LY-PO? is the secret question Melia and Myrto exchange just before falling asleep. Two little sisters living on an Aegean island in 1936 listen to their grandfather talk for hours about his "ancients", they can't wait to meet their friends from the "tsardakia" when summer comes, but most of all they love the magical stories of the "kaplani" told to them by their cousin Nikos, a student from Athens.

The "kaplani" – as it is called on the island – a stuffed tiger, locked inside the display case in the large living room of the house, sometimes looks with its blue and sometimes with its black eye, depending on its mood.
What happens on a hot August day that upsets the lives of the girls and their family? Who wants to harm the "kaplani"?

Alki Zei, I believe, should be hailed as a literary phenomenon. The book, with its natural, effortless flow – you laugh on every page – enlightens and educates. It puts its finger on the wounds that have for years oppressed and tyrannized Greek life.

Elli Alexiou

Rich educational material is available for the book.

There are suggested activities for the book.
Listen to the reading of the book by actress Olia Lazaridou in 10 episodes.
Create your own "Kaplani" and its friends with water, flour, cardboard, and paints.

The above activities were carried out by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.