Nejra Turadinović and Her Children's Illustrations ^{CEFR B2}

This profile of Bosnian-Herzegovinian professor and artist Nejra Turadinović traces her renewed work in cartoons and illustrations for children. The piece first appeared in Balkan Diskurs on February 13, 2026, and is republished on Global Voices under a content partnership with the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC).

Turadinović’s interest in drawing began in youth. She has illustrated more than twenty children’s books for domestic and foreign markets, and her style is described as unique and instantly recognizable. As a child she read many illustrated books, including the Bambi and Vjeverica libraries, which she still collects.

The article also outlines a brief history: the first caricatures appeared in 16th-century Italy and later spread in France and Great Britain. Caricature often appeared in print media for political expression and satire, and cartoonists sometimes risked persecution. Illustration more broadly helps tell visual stories in books, articles, advertising and other media, and in children’s books it often acts as the main storytelling device.

Turadinović holds a master’s degree in civil engineering and works as a high school teacher and college assistant. She draws every day, makes small illustrated greeting cards she calls "mostly humorous illustrations that contain subtle connections with certain messages," and accepts custom work in her cartoonish style. A meeting with artists Sabina and Zdravko Cvjetković revived her interest in drawing. She describes the practice as an escape from reality, meditation and therapy, and says she wants to become known for her style, though her next projects are not yet clear.