German / Austria
Na Zoowas! Wie die Wilde Kraa den Tiergarten aufmischte
(Utterly zooprising! How Wild Kraa rocked the zoo)
Laibl, Melanie
(text)
Schwalbe, Linda
(illus.)
Graz [et al.]: Leykam, 2025. – [44] p.
ISBN 978-3-7011-8382-1
Freedom | Picture book | Zoo | Revolution
Reading age: 5+
White Ravens issue: 2026
Revolution! After much pondering, Wild Kraa – a crow – has finally come up with a plan. Excited, she flies from one zoo enclosure to another: first to the Where-Wheres (meerkats), then to the Ook-Ooks (orangutans), and last to Sizzle (the snake) and Squeak (the gerbil). Surely, they must all feel trapped! But when she asks, »Who wants to say goodbye to the zoo?«, no one speaks up. The beasties enjoy their comfortable life behind bars – hazard-free, with regular meals and entertaining shows put on by the Look-Looks (visitors). Kraa is disillusioned, angry, and disappointed – until, very quietly, someone finally speaks up who does want to break free … What is freedom? And what is it worth? Melanie Laibl and Linda Schwalbe explore one of humanity’s central questions using creative and playful language. The expansive, vividly coloured illustrations employ magnificent new ways of staging Wild Kraa and the other beasties. The book is an aesthetic delight, full of fun and food for thought! [IG]