About the book: 1968 / In 1966, the International Competition of Books for Children and Youth was held in Prague under the motto “For the Youth of the Atomic Age.” The first prize in this competition was won by the young Slovak writer Vincent Šikula’s story “Holidays with Uncle Raphael.” In a cheerful, unpretentious manner, the story tells about the village of Hruskovec, “an ordinary village, like everyone else,” and about the famous village orchestra, in which he plays the helicon the hero of the story is eleven-year-old Vincent. But behind this unpretentious, cheerful story arises the life of a modern Slovak village with all its worries and joys.