The journalist, author and founder of the International Youth Library in Munich, Jella Leppman, formulated more than 60 years ago that children’s books and children themselves are good ambassadors of peace. Ralph Schweikart, Chairman of the Working Group for Young People’s Literature, recalled the topicality of these sentences on Friday at the presentation of the German Young People’s Literature Prize. The fact that, especially in these times, children’s and young people’s literature is preparing for life more than ever and stands for hope, that children’s books and children themselves can ensure understanding in society, was the motto of an evening that was as combative as it was cheerful.
And: It was an evening of surprising decisions.
An everyday story with tangible convictions won in the picture book category: In “Our Pit” by the Swedish picture book artist Emma Adbåge (Beltz & Gelberg), the children don’t let overprotected adults spoil their playing. Anarchy, adventure, the unswerving insistence on one’s own freedom clear up the last remnants of the cuteness claim to the picture book: “They are not snotty noses, but defiant noses,” said the moderator of the evening, Vivian Perkovic.
It continued with a surprise: In the children’s book section, there were instructions for creativity and language fun “Hey, hey, hey, taxi!” by Sasa Stanišić (Mairisch), illustrated by Katja Spitzer, among the nominees. Federal Minister Lisa Paus announced “The Search for Paule Fink” by Ali Benjamin (Hanser), a school of solidarity that uses all kinds of media and styles, as the winning title. The translators Jessika Komina and Sandra Knuffinke received the bronze “Momos” and reported on exploring the different styles and voices, the interviews, e-mails and lists with which the book tells the story. Between a Shakespeare Challenge as a school project and Greek mythology, the narrator Caitlyn finally finds herself in a potpourri of togetherness.
Depth and honesty in the presentation: that is the ink with which one can write
The slogan “Against forgetting” is almost a commonplace, but it is definitely one of the major motifs, the engines of storytelling, especially in coming-of-age novels. The nominated titles in the Young Adults category offered a variety of variations on this theme – a narrow volume that reads like a lesson was awarded the prize: “Dark Night” by Kirsten Boie (Oetinger).
A tear runs through the cover image. A rift runs through the small Bavarian town of Penzberg in the last days of the war. A crack runs through the place to this day. The story is also divided into “The Day of Murder” and “The Night of Murder”. You could tell that the relentless and artful memory of one of the final phase crimes of the Nazis also moves the author personally. Awarded the German Youth Literature Prize 17 years ago for her complete works, this is the first prize that Boie has received for an individual title.
This was continued thematically: in the non-fiction section, the autobiographical Graphic Novel “The Scent of the Pines” (avant) the prize – and with it graphic storytelling as a new form of conveying factual knowledge. In it, Bianca Schaalburg tells her family story and develops her own color scheme for the respective periods in order to make family history, secrets and lies visible.
The youth jury went the furthest. As in previous years, the jurors performed the selection of their titles as theater scenes, the synopses were danced, so to speak. The decision was obvious “Hard Land” by bestselling author Benedict Wells (Diogenes) about a youth in the US state of Missouri in 1985. “The borders are not there,” he said. The audience acknowledged this with thunderous applause. What counts are the universal themes like loss and loneliness and the depth and honesty in the portrayal: that’s the ink you can write with.
Lisa Paus (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, handed over the complete work “Momo” to the illustrator Hans Ticha.
(Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa)
It’s also the ink, it’s the colors for drawing: This year, the special prizes were awarded to illustrators. The special prize “New Talents” went to Mia Oberländer for her Graphic Novel “Anna” (Rotopol) about a girl who is teased because she is particularly tall – a liberation in pictures, in expressive visual language, full of visual exaggeration. Finally, the “special prize for the complete work” went to Hans Ticha, the artful anarchist and pop artist, typographer, book designer and children’s book illustrator, who worked in the GDR with poets such as Peter Hacks and Rainer Kirsch and not only in ” Today is traffic day” turned upside down. When asked what he wished for the young colleagues, the new talents, he said: “Well, what can I say about that. Happiness!”