Switzerland
(French)
157
Delaunay, Jacqueline (text/illus.)
Reine (Queen)
Genève: Joie de Lire, 2008. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-2-88258-444-1
Mountains – Cattle herding to highland pastures – Cow – Rank
The tradition of naming the winner of the annual cow contest »queen«, in conjunction with the herding of cattle to highland pastures, is still today kept alive in the Swiss Eringer Valley. The unique Eringer cows are a peaceful race, yet they vie aggressively for rank. For five years already, Lionne has been queen. But now the young shepherd Pierre wishes that his cow Saphir win. She was the favourite cow of his deceased mother, yet his father wishes only to sell her to the butcher. Animals, people, and landscapes are represented very elaborately and with naturalistic precision in this large-format picture book. In particular, the »close- ups« of human beings and cows are marked by a loving melancholy. (5+)