German / Germany
Ein Stück Käse
(A piece of cheese)
Auer, Judith
(text/illus.)
Mannheim: Kunstanstifter Verlag, 2020. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-3-942795-91-3
Cunning | Compliment | Fable | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2020
Fables never go out of fashion. It is true that they often have a somewhat dowdy charm, because their (main) purpose is conveying “the moral of the story”, the essence of the fable, so to speak. Nevertheless, it all depends on how it is done; and Judith Auer does it really well! In “Ein Stück Käse”, she employs the technique of colour pencil hatching to give Aesop’s fable about Raven and Fox a fresh look, using clear colours and displaying a great sense of composition and facial expression. The flame-red fox charms the raven so skilfully that the bird forgets to keep its beak shut and starts singing. Naturally, the piece of cheese, which the cunning predator is after, falls straight into Fox’s snout – duh... Neither Fox nor Raven come across as particularly good fellows, but that’s yet another “moral of the story”: In ambiguity you shall find glory! [IG]