Lorenz Pauli (Text), Kathrin Schärer (Ill.)

mutig, mutig

«Die Maus, die Schnecke, der Frosch und der Spatz sitzen am Ufer des Weihers. Die Maus ist da, weil sie nicht wusste, wohin sie sonst gehen sollte. Die Schnecke ist da, weil die Maus da ist. Der Frosch ist einfach auf einen Sprung vorbeigekommen …»

Before the actual adventure even begins, the four protagonists leap out at us from the cover. Soon they reach the pond and have no idea what to get up to – yet. The frog, finally, has the dazzling idea: a contest – who is the bravest of them all? One by one, all four put their courage to the test and find out that these tests correspond to their own personalities: the mouse dives the length of the pond, the frog gobbles up an entire lily pad, the snail dares to leave its house for an entire circumnavigation and the sparrow ... Well, that is to remain a secret here. Let us only reveal that the otherwise very cheeky bird, just like its four friends, passes his personal test of courage.

Lorenz Pauli has written a story in simple sequences that inspires children create their own dare. The way the text is constructed and especially the increasingly dynamic illustrations of Kathrin Schärer single out this picture book from the masses. The illustrator has a wide repertoire of graphic resources at her disposal, with which she either distends the story in crucial moments or enriches it with tiny details. No wonder one takes the swimming mouse, the sulky frog, the completely exhausted snail and the constantly humming and hawing sparrow into one’s heart from the first moment.

(Barbara Jakob, translation by Simon Froehling)
Source: SIKJM Database

Translation of title: brave, brave

Atlantis, Zürich 2006

ISBN: 978-3-7152-0518-2