Of
Marco Mach
Upside down world: The strong troll looks out of the ice-cold water, crippled and soaking wet. And the chain-rattling, creepy ghost is stuck in the cot with the cuddly rabbit, visibly annoyed. The troll, the ghost and a witch are the new members of the character universe that children’s book author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler have been creating together since 1992. In her latest book, three bullies – a troll, a ghost and a witch – compete to scare their new neighbor. The bully who manages to steal the little girl’s white-polka-dot blue handkerchief is supposed to win. But that doesn’t work because the girl isn’t afraid at all. In the end it is the clever mouse who shows the three louts how to do it better. She manages what the actually terrifying characters failed to do. The bullies then pack their suitcases, dumbfounded.