The picture book debut 9 kleine Menschen (9 Little People) is aimed at nursery school aged children. Regina Feldmann begins the story with a series of concise and catchy rhymes: “9 little people are coming out today.” And that is what the main characters in this picture book have in common. They were all born on the same day and have the same needs: hunger, love, security, playtime and peace. But their lives are diverse. “Diversity and inclusion in children’s books is so much more than just having a different color of skin. It is also not only about getting to use every pen and every color just once. Above all, it is about avoiding clichés and presenting different body shapes, abilities, orientations, and social backgrounds—e.g., a tattooed grandmother or a pregnant woman in a wheelchair,” says illustrator Martina Stuhlberger. She illustrates the double pages with verve and bathes the big-city scenes in airy pastel colors. Anna Mendel took on the task of sensitivity reading: “For me this means, above all, reducing discrimination in text and images, so that from the very start children are offered alternatives to what they have seen and known up to then. Regina Feldmann and Martina Stuhlberger did an excellent job in this regard, even before I began working on it,” she concludes.
Susie im Supermarkt (Susie at the Supermarket) by Daniel Fehr and Claudia Burmester focuses solely on one little girl. Yet, her mother has no time for her. It is Saturday and the mother has to work as a cashier. Meanwhile, Susie observes the people shopping at the supermarket. The story is told from a child’s perspective. While reading the book aloud, one is confronted with topics such as poverty, which also sensitizes the reader to the difficulties single parents face and offers thoughts on how to make the best out of a difficult situation. “I immediately liked Daniel Fehr’s short and pithy text. I was thrilled about the nomination for this year’s Vielfalter Prize,” said Burmester.
Ein Liekesch für Jascha (A Liekesch for Jascha), written jointly by Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani and Frauke Angel and illustrated by Barbara Jung, also made it to the list of nominees for the Vielfalter Prize. It is also shortlisted for the German Children’s Book Prize 2025. It tells the story of a child who hasn’t yet learned the German language. This leads to a misunderstanding that provides the catalyst to the story. Jascha is on the search for this strange thing called Liekesch. “I write realistic material and depict life as I observe and know it. And my life is diverse,” says author Frauke Angel. The warm-hearted story captivates readers from the very first sentence, which is further enriched by Barbara Jung’s original design. The cover, city map, characters, and letters written by Frank, another main character, bring the book to life and provide a vividly colorful backdrop for this compelling story of integration and friendship.
Things also get colorful in the class of diverse characters that Tanya Lieske presents us in two volumes: Die verschwundene Mathilda (The Missing Mathilda) and Die Schlamassel-Fahrt (The Messy Ride) from the children’s book series Wir sind (die) Weltklasse! (We Are (the) World Class!), illustrated by Sybille Hein. Children from diverse countries are brought together in the Hedgehog Class – and they are indeed fortunate to have the capable and attentive teacher Ms. Meister. „While creating the illustrations, I made a point of showing that the children are from different cultural backgrounds. That said, the children in this class see themselves simply as children, regardless of their backgrounds, cultural influences, and external differences,“ says Sybille Hein. Her vivid illustrations are a real stroke of luck, because children’s books are rarely so humorous, turbulent, and endearing. We are looking forward to the next volumes with great anticipation.
The non-fiction work Diskriminierung geht uns alle an (Discrimination affects us all) for young people aged 12 and up broadens readers’ horizons by explaining all the terms one needs to know on the subject: The editor, Josephine Apraku, brings together ten voices that make up the ten chapters of the book. The people features tell their stories both objectively yet also personally. „It was very important for me to include people, who are experiencing not just one, but many forms of discrimination simultaneously. Children are often affected not only by adultism, but also by racism, sexism, or class discrimination. I think it’s important that they understand that it is not their fault as individuals, but rather a structural fault,“ says Apraku. Questions encourage active participation and reflection. After reading this stimulating and enlightening book, one cannot help but wish that people of all ages would treat each other with openness and without prejudice.
Antje Ehmann works as a freelance journalist, speaker, and juror in the field of children’s and young adult literature.
Translated by Zaia Alexander
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