Foreign Rights List
Rotraut Susanne Berner
Christmas in Wimmlingen
Weihnachten in Wimmlingen
Waiting for the Presents
On December 24th, citizens of Wimmlingen meet and gather in the Park Café to celebrate together as they await Christmas Eve.Petra brings her craft supplies, and Daniela offers hot soup. After the meal everyone helps build a snow family and romps around during the snow flurry, afterwards warming up with punch and cinnamon stars. Pedro, Ina and Ludwig lead a carol sing. As the sky darkens and people think about returning home, it’s thick with snow outside. But how will the Wimmlingers manage to get home in time to sit under their Christmas trees? Aha! Here come Fred and Carlos with the snowplow to bring everyone home!
Vitali Konstantinov
Crazy Strings
Crazy Strings
Musical Strings on Every Page
Wherever there are people, there’s music. And where there’s music, there’s usually a stringed instrument. This book takes us on a tour of world music and shows us over fifty plucked instruments from over 44 countries – from banjo to ukelele, from bouzouki to balalaika.
A short and helpful introduction demonstrates some basics of music theory. Following that is an immersion into the fabulous world of Crazy Strings – an age-old source of music. We begin with the six-string guitar, the world’s most widely used plucked instrument, and end with one-stringed instruments like the berimbau which is known for its use in the Brazilian martial arts dance capoeira. The twenty-four pages in between reveal the astonishing diversity of plucked string instruments. Best of all is that many of these instruments can be made by hand (building instructions are included)!
Vitali Konstantinov, himself an enthusiastic musician, applies his entertaining comic-illustration style to the description and history of the most interesting plucked instruments in the world, and the interesting people that play them!
Meike Töpperwien, Cornelia Franz
It's Called Good Luck
Das nennt man Glück
Today Is Our Lucky Day
A family with five children looking for an apartment? In Hamburg? Even though they don’t have much money? No way! And yet . . . Janan and her brothers take matters in hand. It occurs to them how they can earn some money to help pay for a decent apartment. Even when their plans fail at first, the Mirza family doesn’t give up. Then, it’s their Lucky Day!
A turbulent family story about the need for housing, along with cheerful illustrations by Meike Töpperwien.
Julie Völk, Judith Burger
Grandpa's Heart
Opas Herz
Good Thing that Grandpa's Always Right
Hans has waited so long to see Grandpa and Grandma! But everytime he asks, Mama and Papa make an excuse not to go. This time, they packed up and left quickly. Why? Because something’s happened: Grandpa’s heart is fluttering!
Hans doesn’t understand what it means to have an irregular heartbeat. But he knows this: first one is little, then big. First one is sick, then healthy again. It’s just that way! At least, that’s what Grandpa says. And Hans knows: Grandpa’s always right.
A heartwarming tale of a special relationship, sensitively illustrated by Julie Völk. For reading aloud and as a primer.
Janine Czichy, Ilka Sokolowski
Wildlife in Ancient Trees
Wildes Leben in alten Bäumen
Do You Know Who is Living in an Old Tree?
Trees are fascinating creatures. They provide us with vital oxygen, keep the air clean and ensure a good climate. They can become very old too! During their long lifetime, they provide food, shelter and a home for countless animals. We will meet many of these animals in this book – from stag beetles to black storks, from beavers to bats. As we get to know these veteran trees, we’ll learn who lives in the alluvial forest and by the river, what the moor and heath have to offer, what secrets there are to discover in the beech forest and what makes an oak forest so special. Even old fruit trees are teeming with wild life!
With a tree encyclopaedia at the end of the book and tips on planting your own tree.
Theresa Schwietzer, Anita van Saan
Little Fox, You're Getting Bigger
Kleiner Fuchs, bald bist du groß!
A Fox Grows Up
From a secluded building in the middle of the forest, a young fox catches sight of the light of the world. After just a few weeks it leaves the den. The young fox loves to circle around its mother and to wrestle with its siblings. The mother fox shows the young ones how to find food to eat and where its enemies are lurking. Soon the young fox has grown into a clever hunter – always on the lookout for adventure.
This is a nature primer about a beloved indigenous wild animal: the red fox. The story of this young animal is accompanied by evocative pictures with factual information about the fox and the typical plants and animals of the forest.
Katrin Stangl
Strong as a Bear
Stark wie ein Bär
Great Picture Book Art by Katrin Stangl
Are you wild as a tiger or shy as a roe deer? As talkative as a parrot or still as a mouse? Maybe you’re as stubborn as a mule, mad as a bull, or dirty as a pig? Kids are all that and more. Katrin Stangl’s animals and children agree that versatility makes life fun. The book’s brightly colored, compact, and clear illustrations tell short stories that inspire reflection.
Maja Nielsen
The False Life
Das falsche Leben
Life in Divided Germany
Hannover 1979. The bags are packed, the school is notified – Thomas, 16 years old, is literally ready at the drop of a hat to move with his family to the German Democratic Republic. The reason for the hasty move is not his terminally ill grandfather in Usedom, as his father has claimed. It is the Cold War era, rife with espionage in the East and West alike. Thomas‘ father is a spy whose role was uncovered in a failed mission, and who must now return to the GDR. Thomas finds himself living a false life in East Berlin. He attends a school governed by the state security agency that requires flag oaths and military instruction. All the family’s attempts to return to the West fail. Then Thomas and his parents end up in the notorious state prison Bautzen II . . .
A true story by Maja Nielsen from the time of the divided Germany. Like Nielsen’s successful novel THE TUNNEL CONSTRUCTOR it’s dense and suspenseful.
Katrin Stangl
Does Bread Float in Milk?
Schwimmt Brot in Milch?
Invitation to Discover the World
Can a person whisper out loud? Or splash a puddle dry? Wake up stuffed animals by moving oneself? Children discover their world by watching, asking questions and trying things out. In these richly colored picures, Katrin Stangl answers questions that all of us may have asked ourselves at one time or another. But then the game starts – every question has multiple answers. And the answers themselves generate more curiosity!
A fun-filled argument for outings that can help us discover and understand our world. Recognized as the most beautiful picture book of 2018.
Thomas Müller
Eagle, Bear And Marmot
Adler, Bär und Murmeltier
To the High Places with Wild Animals
No other landscape is so diverse and makes such a deep impression. From the mountain forest to the meadows, the rocky zone and high into the glaciers, mountains offer a wide variety of living environments at different heights. Many animals - even the camouflaged ones that we rarely see - call this home. They can all be discovered in this large format, practical book that shows colorful life in the mountains in all its variety.
Besides the familiar ones, like the sparrow, the fox and the bear, we discover animals that are difficult to spot and are seldom noticed because they blend in to their surroundings so well. Birds, mammals, insects, and amphibians and reptiles - for all of them the mountains are an incomparable habitat.
Award-winning illustrator Thomas Müller makes the mountain animals come to life with every careful brushstroke.
The Mountains - The Alps - The Four Height Stages of the Alps - The Mountain Forest - The Meadows - The Rocky Zone - The Glacier Zone - How the Mountain Region Changes
Cornelia Franz
Wild Land
Wildesland
Alone in the Wilderness
Matthis has been roaming the summer forests of Norway with his dog Tara for days. He collects berries, catches fish, makes fires or swims in one of the many lakes. If it weren't for the thoughts of the fight with his parents, the words he had shouted after them, the accident... If only he wasn't always so unrestrained! Out of nowhere, a mysterious girl suddenly appears in the forest who knows how to fry earthworms. Jule speaks little, except when she tells stories about trolls. And she always disappears just as suddenly as she appeared... An adventurous summer story about loud and quiet feelings and life in nature.
Lena Zeise, Maja Nielsen
Jane Goodall
Mit Jane Goodall bei den wilden Schimpansen
The Life of the World-famous Researcher – a Story for Young Readers
Even as a young girl, Jane Goodall, the world’s best-known primate researcher, dreamed of living like Tarzan in the jungle, surrounded by wild animals. And her dream came true! This book tells her story.
Later, through a lot of effort and a stroke of good luck, this young woman who passionately loved animals and observing them won the opportunity to observe a group of chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. She made discoveries unlike any researchers before her. Probably no one knew our hairy relatives any better than she did!
This absorbing story and the naturalistic, atmospheric illustrations evoke the jungle and its animal residents to life for young readers, showing them as if through Jane’s own eyes.
The book was prepared with the participation of the Jane Goodall Institute
--Jane Goodall’s mission is especially directed toward young people: “Roots and Shoots” is a global humanitarian and ecological project for youth.
Sabrina Maria Quint, Henrike Wilson
Max, the Vegetable Hero
Max, der Gemüseheld
Some Like It, Some Don't!
Ferdi Fox loves to eat fruit and vegetables. The other forest animals don't understand that. Just green things? That can't be right - they're not even that tasty! Ferdi starts to wonder if something is wrong with him. Wolf and Bear look on approvingly as Ferdi creeps into the barn and grabs a chicken. Soon, good smells are coming from Ferdi's kitchen. They knock on Ferdi's door asking if they can join Ferdi for lunch, and then a big surprise awaits them.
What people love to eat is always interesting to find out. This book shows that it pays to look beyond our own plates and to taste new dishes. And we learn that food eaten with friends tastes the best of all!
Kristina Andres, Beate Teresa Hanika
When Mother Fox sleeps!
Wenn Mama Fuchs schläft
When Mama Fox needs a rest . . .
When the little fox wakes, something seems different. Is it the sunbeam that shines in the foxhole? The little fox yawns and shakes himself. Then he sees it: mama fox is asleep. She didn't make breakfast and hasn't cleaned the den. As he nudges her, she just rolls over and pulls herself closer together. The little fox decides to ask the other animals. Maybe they know what's the matter with mama.
In text and delicate watercolors, here is an atmospheric and warmhearted story of how grownups also need time for themselves. And that's good for little foxes!
Jana Walczyk, Bärbel Oftring
I'll Build You A House, Little Bat!
Ich bau dir ein Haus, kleine Fledermaus
Let's Build a Home for the Bat!
This nonfiction picture book introduces us to the world of bats. Together with Sophie, Karli and their grandparents we observe bats in the garden, go on a bat hunt and build a bat shelter.
In informative double-page spreads we gather information on these tiny mammals: what they eat and how they survive throughout the year. How do they find their way, who are their enemies, and what can we do to protect them?
This story for early readers (age 4 and up) is full of factual information supported by naturalistic and informative illustrations, so that in the end readers become true bat experts.
And so Karli and Sophie aren't the only ones able to build a bat shelter, bat lovers of all ages will find instructions at the end of the book for building their own shelters.
As usual, the text by biologist Bärbel Oftring and illustrations by Jana Walcyzk are atmospheric and scientifically accurate.
Eilika Mühlenberg
Swimming Pool
Schwimmbad
Let's go for a Swim!
In this large-format nonfiction picture book we learn everything about the swimming pool. A simple story of a father and son – the son is afraid to swim – leads us through the colorful pages. We accompany them from the main entrance to the changing room, into the pool itself – and then from the showers, the hair drying room and the exit.
An enjoyable tour of the pool environment – lovingly illustrated and with a photo collage assembled by author Eilika Mühlenberg. With lots of small details to smile about and surprise the reader!
Julie Völk
Dragon's Birthday
Drachengeburtstag
Birthday Surprise for a Dragon
It’s Fred the Dragon’s birthday! And to celebrate properly, he starts the day by treating himself to coffee and milk in bed, and then a delicious breakfast before he plunges excitedly into preparing for his party. Toni and the dog will come, but unfortunately his other friends either have made other plans or it’s too far to travel. Fred bakes a cake, picks flowers, cleans and decorates. As he brings the table into the garden, he has a huge birthday surprise: all his friends are there! They were hiding in the house. So there’s a lively party with cake, candles, balloons and soap bubbles. What fun it is, when you have friends like these!
Lena Hesse, Silke Lambeck
The Ahoi Gang
Die Ahoibande
The Ahoy-Gang is coming!
How did Willi get his name? Why does Jojo disappear at every opportunity? How come Paule is always talking with Old Hannes? And: Is Schulz really an islander, even though he comes from Berlin? Those are some of the questions asked on the tiny North Sea island where the four live. Okay, make that three, since Schulz is mostly, but not always there. All the same, they are a true gang. And there's always an adventure when they get together, whether it's spring, summer, fall or winter.
What happens to them - finding beached seals or stolen Viking treasure, or taking part in an island competition - you can read it yourself. Or have someone read it to you. Or read it to others. Ahoy!
Barbara Jung, Frauke Angel, Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani
A Liekesch for Yasha
Ein Liekesch für Jascha
A Story about arriving and friendship
Or: A superpowered friendship
Yasha needs to build up his upper arms, and fast, in order to be more popular in his class, or so he thinks. His gym teacher gives him tips, but Yasha thinks the only solution is that he has to have a liekesch. Where can he find one? And what will it cost? Yasha has recently arrived in Germany and doesn't really know his way around yet. But maybe the neighborhood sporting goods store has a liekesch!
The search for a liekesch leads not only to Frank, who owns the store, but to all kinds of complications and adventures . . . and to a superpowered friendship!
Daniela Kulot
Most of All, I Like to be Happy!
Am liebsten bin ich froh!
Today I'm happy! How about you?
Sometimes I’m sad, or angry, or brave. But most of all, I like to be happy.
Young children are just learning to identify and name feelings. The colorful illustrations, accompanied by simple rhymes, invite conversation and help children learn about feelings and how to live with them.
Cheerfull illustrations with familiar situations and simple rhymes!