The most terrible monster in the whole world is here! Everyone runs away, screaming in fear! But no, not everyone: we, the brave picture book readers are not afraid. We will not be scared by a grimace and hideous face! The monster is trying harder and harder, tries to startle us, tries a disguise and…
Picture Books
A bear sits on a bench at the bus stop and tells everyone who passes by that he is waiting for Goliath. Goliath is strong and clever: “He can even count up to 18!”. At last, a bus arrives—but no one gets off. But Bear is certain: “He’s coming. He won’t let me wait in…
Nadia Budde’s hero is no longer the master in his own house, because he has a permanent resident: the rat. Day after day he finds the rat on his doormat when he gets home; huge and in good humour. Once she’s inside the house, she puts on his slippers and makes herself at home: on…
A picture book for close inspection When you open this book you find an abundance of images with challenges and questions that require a very close look at the illustrations. The scenes are set on a sheet of floating ice in the sea or in the busy jungle. They sometimes revolve around little octopuses, at…
Take a trip through the zoo with this irrepressible pigeon, as she preens and poses alongside all the animals, right up to the sharp teeth of a grumpy lion… Fantastic satire with deadpan black humour! by Michal Shalev “Simple written text with superb pencil and watercolour illustrations. The crocodile runway is terrific. If you miss…
Helios’ arrival in the world generates a lot of curiosity in Estrella, his brother, who observes fascinated by this little person who now forms part of the family. But little by little, fascination turns into suspicion when she sees that Helios has become the center of their parents’ attention, when before, she was that center….
Many things are floating around in Minna’s head and not only because she will soon go to school. She leads a turbulent life with her cool brother, who only likes dangerous things, her stressed dad, who occasionally leaves the house without socks and Tarzan, who frolics around in mum’s tummy to such a degree that…
We are all familiar with this story: the occupied hostel in Bethlehem, the angel, the shepherds in the fields, King Herod, the infanticide. But here, we don’t read the story in Luther’s words, but retold in such a way that the people’s longing for peace is at the heart of it. And we read it…
Berlin based comic artist Henning Wagenbreth has discovered a number of ballads in Robert Louis Stevenson’s work that are entirely unknown. Fascinated by the power of these stories, he has translated one of them into German and has illustrated it: The Pirate and the Apothecary—”a jewel filled with colourful facets of good and bad, honour…
The only delightful thing about Cleopatra is her name. She is a laughing hyaena with everything that comes with a hyaena: a pungent smell, shrill laughter, spotted shaggy fur. Cleopatra runs a little shop at the end of the world, right next to the garbage dump. This is where she finds everything she needs in…
The crossover between a human being and an animal is blurry. In any case the crossover between some people and animals. Who doesn’t know the swimmer at the open air pool who emerges from the water with a bald round head, round eyes and a large moustache and resembles a popular sea animal so amazingly…
We all occasionally dream of being a little prettier. Taller, slimmer, a bit more muscular, somewhat blonder. We are not alone with our vanities! Nadia Budde gets a lot of zany characters on the pages of her picture book – neighbours, relatives, friends – and we immediately realize their little imperfections. Too many kilograms, a…
Cat Fred and goose Anabel have enjoyed a wonderful summer in each other’s company. But then autumn arrived. Anabel started to get cold and had to fly south. But Anabel can’t bear to be without Fred. And Fred misses Anabel, too. After all, spring follows winter. And it turns out that Anabel and Fred weren’t…
Every day, the strongest man in the world has to face limitations imposed by his age and height. People confuse him with his aunt on the telephone, he has to take the stairs to his apartment, because he can’t reach the button for the elevator. He gets sick in the car, broccoli terrorizes him, and…
Quima goes for a walk and discovers that something is following her everywhere, even if she tries to get rid of it: it’s her shadow. This discovery leads her to wonder about the origin and essence of shadows: what are they? What are they made of? Where do they come from? To find out, Quima…
Quima is unable to go to sleep. No matter how often her parents ask her to try. She has lost Sleep. Her parents help her look for it and in the end, they find it hidden in the duvet. Sleep is trying to flee, but they have to catch it if they want Quima to…
You don’t have to be big and fat in order to know what it would feel like. Not to fit into your clothes and not to fit in anywhere. This is what Jelena suffered. Jelena was so fat and so tall that she didn’t fit into her mother’s small shooting gallery. And as the funfair…
What is this? That’s how a curious person asks and he asks from morning till nighttime, so that he will be wiser. What is this? A fairy, a shrew mouse, a wart hog, a doll munching beast. That’s how someone, who has already seen more of the world, would answer without hesitation. But as he…
52 Opportunities to Talk About Lies and the Truth Does everyone lie every now and again? Is it allowed to tell white lies? Why do we want to know the truth? Is there always just one truth? Can animals lie? Lies can have far-reaching consequences. But they can also be a last resort. When do…