2023-10-31 13:43:00
War is a theme that accompanies us everywhere today. Countless new children’s picture books about war, escape and exile were also on display at the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair. But even the classics, some of which have long gained popularity and recognition, again made people talk about themselves. “This is due to the fact that war is now a hot topic,” emphasizes Anne Bender, program manager at the leading German publishing house Carlsen, in an interview with DW.
“For what?” – this is what the Russian illustrator and writer Nikolai Popov (1938-2021) called his picture book, published in 1996 in Switzerland, just a few years after the fall of the Iron Curtain. In arresting imagery, it tells the story of a dispute between a frog and a mouse over a beautiful flower. All that remains of the flower meadow after the quarrel is a smoking battlefield. The destruction is total, the pain and suffering are limitless. A frog and a mouse are sitting there, above them is the question: “Why?”
In war there are only losers
Popov’s message is clear: in war there are only losers. With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, global demand for anti-war books has increased sharply, publisher Didier Teyras clarifies in an interview with DW. “Not surprisingly, everything is presented concisely and concisely in 15 pictures, and the children understand very well,” says Teiras.
“What is War?”, a children’s non-fiction book by Eduard Altarriba, explains war and its consequences. Photo: Verlag Beltz & Gelberg
This is difficult material, especially for younger readers, but also an invitation to talk with them about a difficult topic – about wars and conflicts. No less touching is Claude K. Dubois’s book Akim Runs. It tells the story of a little boy whose home is destroyed by enemy bombs. Akim manages to escape, but he loses everyone he loves. In the end, a miracle happens in a distant refugee camp: Akim finds his mother. The Belgian Dubois won numerous awards for his book Akim Runs in 2014, including the German Youth Literature Prize. This story is written very touchingly and well illustrated.
Criteria for a good picture book
But what makes a good picture book, especially when it’s about war, which is itself a source of fear? “What’s important is the personality of the main character and a good story,” says Cologne-based picture book expert Maria Linsmann. – A book on the topic of war should explain clearly, without simplifications. At the same time, it should reflect the sadness and seriousness of the topic.” And ideally, as with Akim Runs, there should be a happy ending that gives the child hope.
A fragment of an illustration from the children’s popular science book “What is War?” by Eduard Altarrib. Photo: Verlag Beltz & Gelberg
Nazi propaganda
During the National Socialist era from 1933 until the end of the war in 1945, creators of children’s and youth literature specifically wanted to use their works to indoctrinate the youngest, writes Bielefeld literary critic Petra Josting in a 2008 essay. . “Even young children were subjected to indoctrination and political education in a ‘national’ sense to awaken racial thinking, ‘popular solidarity’, the cult of the leader and enthusiasm for the army and military technology, as well as love for native nature and homeland,” writes Petra Yosting.
In fact, idyllic images of childhood and stories about anthropomorphic animals or plants with souls predominated. Dangerous exceptions, however, were picture books, such as Elvira Bauer’s “Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud bei seinem Eid” (1936) and “Giftpilz” (1938) by Ernst Chiemer, published by Stürmer-Verlag. Both books portrayed Jews as criminals, thieves, and liars.
The use of literature as a propaganda tool, especially for children and youth, was not a Nazi invention. There were such books before and during the First World War. Pathos and confidence in victory were needed: volunteers, crowned with flowers and joyfully waving their arms as they went to war, were depicted on the cover of Rudolf Presbers’s book “Vater ist im Kriege” (1915). In Emma Müller’s work, the World War is allegorically depicted as a funny children’s quarrel by a pond. Books by Louise Glass were published for the little ones.
The world can achieve great things
Exactly 100 years after the outbreak of the First World War, the Museum of Illustrated Books in Troisdorf and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation jointly organized the exhibition “A Children’s Book Explains War” in 2014 – a rare event dedicated to the theme of the century.
Drawing from the book “When the War Came to Rondo”, published by Gerstenberg-VerlagPhoto: Gerstenberg-Verlag
Since then, there have been even more picture books about the war. A book for young readers, “Zari & Nivaan,” was recently published – the story of escaping from war. Anja Reumschüssel’s recently published young adult novel Über den Dächern von Jerusalem is set against the backdrop of decades-long conflict in the Middle East (both published by Carlsen-Verlag). “What is war?” – asks the Catalan writer and illustrator Eduard Altarriba. His children’s non-fiction book, published by Beltz in Hildesheim in 2022, provides the answers. With vivid illustrations and clear text, Altarriba explains where war comes from and the consequences it has. He prefaces his book with a quote from Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes comic: “Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world’s problems?”
Finally, NordSüd-Verlag in Zurich published “Frieden”, a collaboration between Baptiste and Miranda Paul and illustrator Estelí Meza. The message of the book: peace begins with small things, but with its help you can achieve great things.
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