Switzerland
(German)
98
Alioth, Gabrielle
Das magische Licht
(The magic light)
Zürich : Nagel & Kimche, 2001. - 181 p.
ISBN 3-312-00916-2
Initiation - Self-affirmation - Other World - Dream
Gabriele and Set, a boy from an imaginary time, meet in the »Mirror-World«,
the legendary world of Erinn (today called Ireland). Set was sent to Erinn by
his people to stand his first major test; Gabriele, who has a poster of Erinn on
her bedroom wall, was confined to bed by an illness not long ago. Both children
meet their second self, a mirror image expressing the children's mind and soul.
They undergo ritual tests and have to prove themselves against characters from
the Irish world of fairies and legends. For both children the exciting action
comes to an end in their respective times. The story is narrated in an
unspectacular but thoughtful manner. (10+)
99
Eggermann, Vera (text)
Huwyler, Max (illus.)
Dackel und Dogge (Dachshund and Great Dane)
Gümligen : Zytglogge-Verl. Bern,
2001. - [24] p.
ISBN 3-7296-0618-2
Dog - Breed of dog - Height - Appearance - Prejudice – Tolerance
At a dog show, the Great Dane thinks »That can't be a dog!« when seeing
the dachshund; »That isn't a dog« the dachshund thinks of the Great Dane.
Nevertheless, both of them win a prize: for the most beautiful dachshund and the
most beautiful Great Dane respectively. Others win prizes for the most beautiful
poodle, St. Bernard, etc. … When they sniff each other they realize: hmm, they
all smell like dogs. They go »Whoof!« and »Yap!« and then the show is over
and they all pull their masters and mistresses homewards. Without explicitly
talking about it, this book promotes the mutual understanding warning the
readers not to give in to prejudice based on external appearances. Coloured
pencil drawings illustrate the message of this profound story. (5+) ¤
100
Gmehling, Will (text)
Grolik, Markus (illus.)
Der Yeti in Berlin (The
Yeti in Berlin)
Aarau [et al.] : Sauerländer, 2001. - 145 p.
ISBN 3-7941-4709-x
The Himalayas - Berlin - Snowman - Humans - Cultural conflict - Identity
crisis - Magic
The world's only Yeti loves his life in the Himalayas and enjoys every
single day. One day, however, he learns that the humans in the big cities claim
he doesn't exist. He goes on a long journey to dispel this silly rumour. When he
comes to Berlin, he sees a lot, experiences ways of life completely foreign to
him, meets friendly people - but still no one believes in the Yeti's existence.
After a while, even he himself doesn't understand his former life anymore. Only
when he tells a blind boy about the Yeti - pretending it is merely a dream - he
recovers his old self again and finds his way back to the Himalayas. This is an
extremely interesting story with several thought-provoking twists from both the
humans' and the Yeti's point of view. (8+)
101
Kilaka, John (text/illus.)
Ulrich, Anna Katharina
(adapt.)
Hatz, Christine (trad.)
Frische Fische (Fresh fish)
Zürich : Atlantis Verl. Pro
Juventute, 2001. - 28 p.
(Baobab)
ISBN 3-7152-0451-6
Animals - Community - Dog - Petty theft - Punishment - Reconciliation
DOG is the villain who tries to steal food from the animal family, even
though everybody had allowed him to eat to his heart's content. But now, he is
caught and punished - and this is what makes the story particularly interesting
for non-African readers: After DOG has served his punishment (he had to plant a
huge field), the animals forgive him. They do not insist on treating him as
their enemy any longer. The large-format pictures, painted by a new artist from
Tanzania, are also quite unusual: Despite the cartoon-like style, the pictures
clearly express the artist's profound knowledge of naïve African art and
indigenous animals. Brilliant colours and African patterns on the animals'
clothes demonstrate his deep joy of life. This original edition is a translation
from Swahili. (4+)
102
Kinskofer, Lotte (text)
Ballhaus, Verena (illus.)
Der Tag, an dem Marie ein
Ungeheuer war (The day when Mary was a monster)
Zürich : Bajazzo-Verl., 2001. - [26] p.
ISBN 3-907588-23-1
Girl - Appearance - Perception by others - Self-perception - Language -
Self-confidence
Today, Marie's day goes completely wrong: In kindergarten, the other
children tell her she has huge feet, a fat belly, and a nose like a potato; at
home, her brother calls her hands paws, and the boy next door calls her mouth a
trap. With all these expressions turning parts of her body into strange and
monsterous objects, Marie hardly dares to move anymore and her mother finds her
in deep despair. She assures her daughter that she shouldn't take everything
literally. With the help of a mirror and a lot of loving motherly care she
finally manages to comfort Marie. Simple line-drawings on a background of rich
colours show the reader how Marie changes from a girl into a monster and back
again. A cut-out sheet for the readers to play with and gain confidence
completes this comforting tale. (4+) ¤
103
Kipling, Rudyard (text)
Zwerger, Lisbeth (illus.)
Harranth, Rolf (transl.)
Wie das Kamel zu seinem Höcker kam (How the camel got its hump)
Gossau, Zürich [et al.] : Neugebauer, 2001. - [34] p.
ISBN 3-85195-623-0
Camel - Stubbornness - Laziness - Vanity - Punishment
It is a well-known story: In the beginning of time, the camel's prominent
characteristics were stubbornness, laziness, and (above all) vanity. The
animals' supreme ruler, the Djin in charge of All Deserts, appealed to the
camel's conscience - but in vain. »Humph« the camel said, but it said it once
too often: A large hump of fat was magically attached to its body. Now that the
camel did not need any food for weeks, it was forced to work hard and long. The
delicate watercolour paintings lend persuasive power to this new translation of
the classic tale: Rarely have readers encountered a camel as arrogant, or a
stressed out master who inflicts the necessary punishment to the camel as
gracefully. Ornamental vignettes perfectly round off the book's beautiful
design. (5+)
104
Müller, Jörg (text/illus.)
Das Buch im Buch im Buch
(The book inside the book inside the book)
Aarau [et al.] : Sauerländer, 2001. - [32] p.
ISBN 3-7941-4860-6
Child - Book - Game - Optical illusion - Fantasy - Reality -
Threedimensional picture - Infinity - Magic
Full of curiosity, a small girl walks into the mysterious space inside a
book by following the vanishing point which perspectively narrows into a shining
point of light. At its centre she meets a helpless painter who paints the very
same subject over and over again in endless repetition. Using the simple
sentence »Infinity stops right here« the girl breaks the vicious circle and
liberates the painter. Afterwards, she goes back to reality, picture by picture,
with the aid of a pair of 3-D-glasses. The real book also offers these glasses
to its readers to show them the way into the book and back out of it. In his
large full-page pictures the author plays a fascinating and confusing game with
the imagination of his readers. (8+)
105
Vettiger, Susanne (text)
Marti-Pichard, Audrey (illus.)
Das große Glück in der kleinen Schachtel (The
great happiness in the little box)
Zürich : Verl. Pro Juventute, 2000. - 75
p.
(Atlantis-Kinderbücher)
ISBN 3-7152-0435-4
Raven - Cow - Social inequality - Lovesickness - Separation
For evenings like this one, when she can't fall asleep, Carla has thought
up something: she keeps stories in small boxes. Tonight, she tells her teddy the
love story of Victor, the raven, and Charlotte, the cow. Inevitably - the two
unequal lovers cannot live happily ever after. In the end, Charlotte has to
relinquish Victor, who marries »within his own class«, a female raven. The
plot, however, does not focus on the tragic side of the relationship; it rather
dwells on the wonderful and happy time the protagonists enjoyed despite the
resistance from society. Large, sometimes full-page illustrations show the
unequal lovers in a distorted way, illustrating their happiness and their
sadness with a fine sense of humour. (6+)
Special Mention
106
Waechter, Friedrich Karl (text/illus.)
Steinhauers Fuß : ein Märchen (The stonemason's foot : a fairy
tale)
Zürich : Diogenes, 2001. - 57 p.
ISBN 3-257-02073-2
Princess - Worker - Social inequality - Love - Test - Self-affirmation
This is a fairytale about the fortunate love between a princess and a
simple stonemason who defeats Death to win her over. Both the king, who had
planned to sacrifice the young man, and Death, who only gets the challenger's
foot, feel they have been deceived. Yet, even military force cannot separate the
two lovers again. The cut-off foot thoroughly kicks and tramples the soldiers
and then voluntarily grows back unto its owner's leg. Life triumphs over death.
Linocuts, in the style of Art Nouveau and Art Déco, demonstrate the dramatical
events with a lot of artistic verve. Short and powerful sentences and dialogues
correspond to the rhythm of the pictures. The overall design - heavy
chamoix-coloured paper, almost full-page illustrations with units of text
harmoniously placed on the pages - will have a great impact on the reader. (10+)