Helga Bansch

Austrian picture-book author and artist Helga Bansch delivers a delightfully witchy adventure in Hexlein, published in Vienna by Jungbrunnen Verlag (Fountain of Youth Publishing Company). Every seven years, the narrator here inform us, the witches steal a child from his or her bed, and bring them back to their own kingdom, Hexomanien. Here the child is put through an intensive witch's training, learning the language of cats, the witchy method of cooking/brewing, the uses of a magic wand, and the skill of broomstick flying. When the child passes an exam, a riotous celebration is thrown, after which the child, having fallen asleep, is returned to his or her bed. Waking as if from a dream, this little Hexlein is subtly transformed...

Although I have enjoyed some of Bansch's work in translation - I Want a Dog, which she both wrote and illustrated, and Here Comes Rhinoceros, which she illustrated - Hexlein is the first of her books that I have read in the original German. I tracked it down because of my interest in witchy picture-books, and I was not disappointed. The story is engaging, alternating between spooky and heartwarming elements, with plenty of appealing witchy details. The book description tells us that the child selected for this magical training is transformed, and made less timid, a process that is captured by the text on the front and rear endpapers, which describes two very different creatures. At the beginning, we are told that the child is cowardly, frightened of quaking grass and devil's fiddle ("Zittergras und Teufelsgeige"), but at the end we see the child hopping on their broom with a shout, flying through the dark night. I didn't expect to have any trouble with the language here, as I have studied German at the university level, but I found that certain words stumped me - what on earth is a "Angstzibeben?" (a "fraidy-raisin?") - but that was its own kind of fun, as I eventually concluded that some of the vocabulary here is made up, unique to Banch's book, in the same way that certain words in Seuss are unique to his work. Leaving aside textual questions, the accompanying artwork here is immensely appealing, drawing the reader into a magical world. Witches in all sorts of colorful dresses, cats in every hue, fun bottles containing witchy ingredients - all of the quirky little details here were charming. All in all, a wonderful witchy read, one I am glad to add to my "witchy-witches" collection, and one which I recommend to German-speaking picture-book readers seeking either witchy tales in general, or stories about gaining some self-confidence.… (meer)

I am not sure how a little girl hatched from a raven's egg, but that is not the point of this story. Rosie hatches along with her 4 sisters and brothers. She looks different than they do, no feathers, no wings and she can not caw. She tries to be like them by eating worms and grubs as well as trying to caw until she was hoarse. Father raven brought her clothes to wear so she wouldn't get cold. Finally Rosie realizes that she is different and can do other things to help her family.

This is a story of unconditional love, recognizing what you are good at and using your strengths not just trying to be like others. Cute illustrations add to the story and make it easy to understand for children. I would recommend this book to elementary school libraries as well as classroom and home libraries.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)