Draw + play : 28 EU countries, 28 activities to draw, cut, paste and play.
Date: 2015-10-12
Institutions: Representation in the United Kingdom – London
Subjects: EU Member State, European Union

MY 
UNION

EUROPEAN 
ACTIVITY

 BOOK!

28 EU countries
28 activities to draw,
cut, paste and play

Representation 
in the United Kingdom

28 EU countries
28 activities to draw,
cut, paste and play

Representation 
in the United Kingdom

Illustrations: © Cento Yuste 
Czech Republic page (Večerniček character): © Radek Pilař. Licensed by Merchandising Prague 
Lithuania page (the mask): © Tadas Gutauskas
Portugal page (drawing of sardine): © Festas de Lisboa/José Feitor

We are grateful to the following organisations for their contribution:: Republic of Fritz Hansen (for Denmark);  Teeme ära Collective 
(for Estonia); and for the many colleagues participating in this project: Radosveta, Marcela, Per, Mare, Aedammair, Michelle, 
Alastair, Giorgia, Marta, María, Amira, Heinrihs, Daiva, Laima, Csaba, Hedda, Edyta, Leonor, Ileana, Lucija, Martina, Anette and 
Wolfgang.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015

Print 

PDF 

ISBN 978-92-79-50397-9 

doi: 10.2775/55372  

IK-04-14-517-EN-C

ISBN 978-92-79-50398-6 

doi: 10.2775/764784 

IK-04-14-517-EN-N

© European Union, 2015
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

STICK THE  
BELGIAN FLAG
HERE

BELGIUM

(BELGIQUE – BELGIË)

Manneken Pis means ‘little man 
pee’ in Flemish. This tiny bronze 
fountain statue is a symbol of 
Brussels, the capital of Belgium. 
People from Brussels like to dress 
him in different costumes for 
special events and festivities and 
thousands of passers-by take 
selfies with him every year.

Dress the Manneken Pis with the costume you like the best
from the cut-outs page.

BULGARIA

(БЪЛГAРИЯ)

STICK THE 
BULGARIAN  
FLAG HERE

These joyful ladies in their 
colourful dresses are singers in  
a female choir. One of the singers 
is wearing a martenitsa.  
At the beginning of spring people 
give this adornment to their loved 
ones to wish them happiness and 
good health. Tradition says that 
the martenitsa should be worn 
until you see a stork, a swallow  
or a budding tree.

Colour in the ladies’ dresses!

STICK THE  
CZECH FLAG
HERE

CZECH 
REPUBLIC

(ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA)

There’s no Czech boy or girl 
that doesn’t know the little 
Večerníček! He has been on 
TV greeting children with his 
“Dobrý večer!” (good evening) 
for more than 50 years now. He 
presents a short cartoon section 
that all children look forward to.

Here is a photo of a Czech home in 1965.  
Find the seven objects that don’t belong there!

DENMARK

(DANMARK)

STICK THE 
DANISH  
FLAG HERE

Modern design is part of Danish 
national identity and daily life. The 
chairs you will discover here have 
strange names such as egg, ant 
or swan.  They look like the things 
they are named after, don’t they?  
They were created by the great 
Danish designer Arne Jakobsen 
in the 1950s and even now they 
look very modern! These chairs 
might spark your imagination! 
That’s what design is all about!

Join the dots to find the shapes of these chairs and colour them in!

()STICK THE 
GERMAN  
FLAG HERE

GERMANY

(DEUTSCHLAND)

The Grimm Brothers, born in 
Hanau in central Germany, wrote 
many children’s stories such as 
Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel 
and Gretel and many others. They 
were inspired by old German fairy 
tales from years ago.  

The picture is from the story of 
Hansel and Gretel: two siblings 
discover a cottage built of 
gingerbread and cakes with  
sugar window panes. Little do 
they know the house belongs to  
a wicked witch!

Colour in the witch's house!

 ESTONIA

(EESTI)

STICK THE 
ESTONIAN  
FLAG HERE

You don’t need toys to have fun! 
Estonians had a brilliant idea to 
clean up illegally-dumped rubbish 
in forests, lakes, seashores and 
rivers. They made a fun campaign 
and created a groovy vibe around 
it. They called the movement 
‘Teeme ära!’ (Let’s do it!) and 
got a huge number of people 
involved: more than 50 000 in 
2008. The idea travelled around 
the world and by 2015, 12 million 
volunteers in 112 countries had 
helped to clean up parks, forests, 
playgrounds and neighbourhoods.

Tere*!

* ‘Tere’ means 
‘hello’ in 
Estonian

Spot the items that don’t belong in the forest.

() 
STICK THE 
IRISH  
FLAG HERE

Ireland

(ÉIRE)

Everybody knows Irish people 
love music! Their musical 
tradition is alive and vibrant; 
you can even hear its influence 
in popular music today. 
This band is playing some 
traditional instruments,  
which are decorated with  
Celtic patterns.

Colour in the Celtic patterns on the bodhrán and the landscape

STICK THE 
GREEK 
FLAG HERE

Greece

(ΕΛΛΑΔΑ)
In the old mithology of Greeks 
there are gods and godesses but 
In Greek mythology there are 
also lots of fascinanting monsters. 
gods, goddesses and lots of 
Some were strange combinations 
fascinating monsters! Some 
of human and animal attributes: 
are strange human and animal 
the Minotauro was a man with the 
combinations such as the 
head of a buul, Polifemo was a 
Centaur, half man and half 
giant with just one eye, 
horse, the Minotaur, a man with 
a bull’s head, and the Cyclops, 
a giant with only one eye. 
Sometimes sirens appear with 
a fish’s tail and other times they 
have the body of a bird, like the 
one you see here.

Create your own Greek monsters with the pieces on the stickers page 
and give them names.

()FLAG HERE SPAIN

STICK THE 
SPANISH 

(ΕSPAÑA)

The ‘Camino de Santiago’, or 
‘Way of St James’, is a very old 
pilgrimage route linking various 
parts of Europe to the shrine 
of the apostle St James the 
Great in the city of Santiago de 
Compostela in the north-west of 
Spain. Travellers walk, or ride a 
bicycle or a horse, guided by the 
‘shell’ sign, which is the symbol  
of the camino.

Mark the ‘camino’ with the shell signs on the stickers page
and find the seven other shells in the picture.

* ‘Buen camino’ means  
‘good trail’ in Spanish.

  
STICK THE 
FRENCH 
FLAG HERE

FRANCE

(FRANCE)

French people are proud of their 
cuisine, great chefs, chocolatiers 
and especially of their pastry! 
The croissant is one of their 
favourite foods for breakfast. 
Although the specialities in the 
picture are typically French, they 
are called ‘viennoiseries’ (things 
from Vienna) because they were 
actually introduced in Paris by 
a Viennese baker in the 19th 
century. As you can see, each 
pastry’s name is inspired by its 
shape.

Design your own French pastry and invent a name for it.

Draw a pattern on the soldiers’ cravats and colour it in!

STICK THE 
CROATIAN 
FLAG HERE

CROATIA

(HRVATSKA)

Have you ever wondered why  
men wear ties? The ‘cravat’  
(it sounds a bit like ‘Croat’, doesn't 
it?) was worn by brave Croatian 
soldiers to tie round the top 
of their jackets. This scarf was 
named after them. Its use  
spread throughout Europe in the 
17th century. 

STICK THE 
ITALIAN 
FLAG HERE

ITALY

(ITALIA)

First you roll out the dough and 
spread the pomodoro (tomato) 
on top and then you add your 
favourite toppings. You’ve got it! 
Pizza, the great Italian invention 
that everybody loves!

Draw and colour the ingredients to create your favourite pizza!

STICK THE 
CYPRIOT    
FLAG HERE

CypruS

(ΚΥΠΡΟΣ)

According to the ancient Greek 
legend, Aphrodite, goddess 
of beauty, was born in Cyprus.  
Her skin was said to be ‘whiter 
than ivory, her hair as golden 
as the setting sun and her  
eyes were as blue as the 
summer sky’.

Colour in the goddess following the description.

STICK THE 
LATVIAN 
FLAG HERE

LATVIA

(LATVIJA)
()

Behind the nice geometrical 
designs in traditional Latvian 
crafts there is a world of 
symbols that takes us back to 
ancient gods and mythology. 
The symbol on the boy’s jumper 
and hat is ‘Auseklis’, a sky god 
representing the morning star 
or Venus. The two examples of 
‘Austras tree’ (tree of life) 
below symbolise growth and unity 
between Earth and heaven.

Use the grid to create your own tree of life.

STICK THE 
LITHUANIAN 
FLAG HEREE

LITHUANIA

(LIETUVA)

Do you know what basketball and 
devils have in common?
This question is simple for 
Lithuanians. Basketball is their 
national sport and the fans 
prepare themselves very carefully 
for every important match 
by wearing frightening devil 
masks. You will spot Lithuanian 
supporters immediately! 

Colour in the devil’s mask following  
the colour indicated by the outline.

LUXembourg STICK THE 

LUXEMBOURGISH 
FLAG HERE

(LËTZEBUERG)

On Easter Monday morning 
throughout the old town of 
Luxembourg one can hear the 
nightingales' and cuckoos' song. 
The town people are celebrating 
Émaishen, a clay bird whistle 
festival known in Luxembourg as 
‘Peckvillercher’.

Find the two pairs of identical Peckvillercher whistles.

STICK THE 
HUNGARIAN 
FLAG HERE

HUNGaRY

(MAGYARORSZÁG)

Hungary is the home of the 
pulis, these lovely dogs with 
dreadlocks! The puli, also known 
as the Hungarian puli and the 
Hungarian water dog, is still used 
in its homeland to herd sheep. 
Hungarian shepherds take great 
pride in the puli and its abilities; 
there's a saying among Hungarian 
shepherds: ‘He's not a dog,  
he's a puli.’

Draw the other  members of this  Puli family. 

MALTA

(MALTA)

STICK THE 
MALTESE 
FLAG HERE

The Maltese Islands' clear blue 
Mediterranean waters and the 
combination of sheer cliffs, caves, 
shelves and sandy and rocky sea 
beds have provided a home to a 
large variety of sea life, making it 
ideal for scuba diving.

Find some of the inhabitants of these waters on the stickers page. 

STICK THE 
DUTCH 
FLAG HERE

NETHERLANDS

(NEDERLAND)

Young and old, rich and poor, 
everyone rides a bike in the 
Netherlands! At some schools 
90 % of the pupils and teachers 
cycle to class. There is a network 
of cycling paths to make the 
ride safe and enjoyable and 
there are huge bike parking 
facilities everywhere. 

Draw more bikes to fill the parking spaces!

AUSTRIA

(ÖSTERREICH )

STICK THE 
AUSTRIAN 
FLAG HERE

This is Papageno, one of the  
most loved characters of  
The Magic Flute, an opera  
by the Austrian composer 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 
Papageno is a bird-man who joins 
Prince Tamino on his adventures. 
He is a funny and kind character 
who is desperate to find love, build 
a family and have many children. 
In the end he is rewarded for his 
good nature and he meets his 
Papagena ― she is just as  
he imagined!

Colour in Papageno’s feathered costume and design a costume for Papagena.

STICK THE 
POLISH 
FLAG HERE

POLAND

(POLSKA)

Wrocław’s krasnale (dwarfs) 
are part of the local landscape 
and have made friends with the 
citizens. They live secretly in the 
streets and narrow alleys, hiding 
from passers-by. If you look 
carefully, you will spot them  
with their long beards and their 
little hats carrying out all types  
of activities.

I am Papa
Krasnale!

Find the dwarfs on the stickers page.

STICK THE 
PORTUGUESE 
FLAG HERE

PORTUGAL

(PORTUGAL)

The ‘sardinha’ is the absolute star 
of the June festivities in Lisbon. 
Locals and visitors feast on 
freshly-grilled sardines and 
enjoy the lively festivities 
around the city! Each year 
there is an international contest 
to choose the most original 
drawing of a sardine. The winners 
get to see their artwork on show 
in Lisbon’s streets, shop windows, 
trams and street dances! 

Do you want to design your own original ‘sardinha’?

 
STICK THE 
ROMANIAN 
FLAG HERE

ROMANIA

(ROMÂNIA)

People from all over the world 
decorate Easter eggs, but in 
Romania’s northern region of 
Bukovina, this tradition has 
evolved into an art form. Women  
of this region exquisitely hand-
paint the eggs with traditional 
designs in red, black and yellow, 
using bees wax and natural dyes.

Colour the Easter eggs following the indicated colour code, in yellow, red and black.

Slovenia

(SLOVENIJA )

STICK THE 
SLOVENIAN 
FLAG HERE

Just where the Alps meet the 
Adriatic, Slovenia is home to some 
rare animals. In its forests live 
brown bears that have almost 
disappeared elsewhere; and in the 
waters of its dark underground 
caves lives the proteus or ‘human 
fish’— once thought to be “a baby 
dragon” — one of the weirdest 
animals in Europe.

Find the route for proteus to the centre of the cave.

Slovakia

(SLOVENSKO )
()

The log houses in the village 
of Čičmany, in Slovakia are 
beautifully decorated with white 
geometrical patterns painted with 
lime. They embroider the same 
motifs on their clothes, shoes,  
 tools etc.

Cut and paste the pieces to help this lady finish decorating her house. 

FINLAND

(SUOMI )

STICK THE 
FINNISH 
FLAG HERE

Finland and Sweden, to the 
far north of our continent, are 
countries of vast green forests, 
beautiful islands, windswept arctic 
fells and countless blue lakes. 
The pristine and picturesque 
landscapes of Finland provide 
habitat for many wild animals, 
like the ringed Saimaa seal, the 
only seal on the planet that has 
adapted to live in fresh water.

STICK THE 
SWEDISH 
FLAG HERE

SWEDEN

(SVERIGE )

Like its Nordic neighbour, Sweden 
is a beautiful country for lovers  
of wild nature. Swedes particularly 
take pride in the moose as an 
important national symbol of the 
Swedish landscape. But be careful 
not to get in the way of a moose, 
it may be dangerous for you … and 
for the moose!

Fill this scene with the animals from the stickers page. 

STICK THE 
BRITISH 
FLAG HERE

UNITED 
kingdom 

The world’s first public railway 
to use steam locomotives was 
officially opened in the United 
Kingdom on 27 September 1825. 
Its first line connected collieries 
near Shildon with Stockton-on-
Tees and Darlington, just 25 miles. 
Only 10 years later this wonderful 
invention connected places and 
transported people and goods 
thousands of miles all over  
 the world.

Draw goods and passengers in the carriages.

Cut and paste to dress 
the Manneken Pis 
of Belgium.

Cut and paste to finish 
the wooden house of the 
Slovakian lady.

Stick these creatures in the Maltese sea.

Stick the pieces of your own Greek monsters.

LATVIA

HUNGARY

FINLAND

SLOVENIA

SLOVAKIA

SWEDEN

GREECE

CROATIA

ROMANIA

CYPRUS

POLAND

ITALY

FRANCE

UNITED KINGDOM

LITHUANIA

GERMANY

NETHERLANDS

BELGIUM

BULGARIA

CZECH REPUBLIC

AUSTRIA

DENMARK

SPAIN

ESTONIA

IRELAND

PORTUGAL

LUXEMBOURG   

MALTA

i

)
n
a
p
S
(

i

”
o
n
m
a
c
“

e
h
t

r
o
f

s
n
g
i
s

d
n
a

s
g
a
ﬂ

n
a
e
p
o
r
u
E

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Match these stickers to the 
Wrocław dwarfs (Poland).

Stick these animals from 
Finland and Sweden.

ELK is the largest 
species in the deer family.
It’s a wild animal
This is a male (females 
don’t have antlers).

SAIMAA RINGED SEALS 
live only in the lake 
of Saimaa, in Finland.  

REINDEER is a smaller kind of deer.
In Lapland, they are domesticated by men 
and raised in herds. They also pull pulks (sledges) 
(like Santa Claus’ ﬂying reindeer).

The European Union is home to diverse 
cultures, traditions, languages, amazing 
landscapes and more than 500 million 
people. Discover each Member State in this 
interactive activity book. Draw, cut and 
paste, design and much more! 
This book is aimed at children aged 7-11.

MY 

EUROPEAN 

UNION

ACTIVITY

 BOOK!

28 EU countries

28 activities to draw,

cut, paste and play

Representation 

in the United Kingdom