German / Germany
Zwei für mich, einer für dich
(Two for me, one for you)
Mühle, Jörg
(text/illus.)
Frankfurt am Main: Moritz Verlag, 2018. – [25] p.
ISBN 978-3-89565-357-5
Sharing | Quarrel | Fairness | Bear | Weasel | Picture book
Reading age: 3+
White Ravens issue: 2018
Three mushrooms, two animals: There’s the rub. Who gets two, and who gets just one? The bear found the mushrooms, so naturally he’s entitled to two. However, the weasel cleaned and roasted them, which surely should be rewarded with two mushrooms? That just seems fair. Or not: the bear is much larger and hungrier than the weasel. The argument heats up, forks are used to gesticulate, and a triumphant grin one moment cedes to bald outrage in the next. Yielding is not an option, but neither is sharing. So, with the two fighting, a clever third seizes his opportunity. A fox saunters by, gobbles up a mushroom, and thereby solves the problem. Bear and weasel feel dejected until they realize they still have three strawberries. Jörg Mühle creates a great success with “Zwei für mich, einer für dich”: He tells the tale trenchantly, using keen observations, clever illustrations, and much sense for the dramedy of everyday life.