German / Germany
Die Nacht des Elefanten
(The night of the elephant)
Baltscheit, Martin
(text)
Sieg, Katharina
(illus.)
Münster: Bohem, 2016. – [44] p.
ISBN 978-3-95939-038-5
Night | Darkness | Fear | Picture book
Reading age: 3+
White Ravens issue: 2017
“As TALL as a house. As STRONG as a tree. FEARLESS and proud.” No doubt, that’s the elephant. Well, at least during the day. At night, he may still be tall and strong, but fearless he is definitely not. Every snap, every crackle makes him panic. He immediately bolts and leaves a swath of destruction in his wake. When the other animals ask him what happened, the elephant mumbles something like “storm” or “meteor” – and thus digs a big hole for himself. Now all the animals are afraid and demand to be protected by the elephant at night. He is tall, and strong, and fearless after all…. In a witty and pointed way, this book relates how you can advance to hero status by conquering your fears. Martin Baltscheit’s laconic language and Katharina Sieg’s colourful, exuberant tissue paper collages, as well as her knack for portraying facial expressions, make it a true work of art in every respect; a masterpiece that readers will want to pick up time and again.