What does the future hold for us? How will we live Will we be alright? Questions like these are not only raised at the turn of the year. In the current year, children’s and youth literature deals with visions of the future, particularly through climate change. Sometimes as a dystopia, sometimes as a call or instruction to save the world, sometimes as a thought experiment as in the case of “The Best Worldsfall” by Andrea Paluch and Annabelle von Sperber. Whereby the title of the large-format, digitally designed picture book clearly shows in its obvious contradiction that the end of the world does not necessarily mean the end of mankind. But probably about how we live today and what we perceive as “normal”.
It also shows what a world could look like in which people orientate themselves towards nature in all areas of life
Using the example of a family – grandma, father, mother, three children and a dog – in brief stories and lush hidden object images, in which the family members can be searched for clues in the texts, thought is given about what life could look like in the future. For example, when people live in a spaceship instead of on earth, when oxygen is scarce, sea levels rise dramatically, the protective ozone layer is finally destroyed, or all water sources dry up. But it is also shown what a world could look like in which people orientate themselves to nature in all areas of life, in which all cars are abolished, children and adults have the same rights, or all animals live in freedom. The future scenarios alternate between gloomy dystopia and pastel-paradisiacal utopia and make it clear: The question we have to ask ourselves is not: How will we live? But: How do we want to live in the future? (from 8 years)
Andrea Paluch, Annabelle von Sperber: The best end of the world. What will become of us? Twelve exciting images of the future. Klett children’s book, 2021. 24 pages, 16 euros.