The story of Julie who had the shadow of a boy

by Christian Bruel, ill. by Anne Galland
Julie's parents are complaining so much that she is a tomboy, that one day her shadow becomes the one of the little male who caricatures all her moves. She finds this double amusing at first, until she starts doubting of her own identity. But how can you get rid of a shadow that is not even yours?
This title was first published in 1976 in France and had many foreign editions at the time. It had often been reprinted and was an important book for many readers. This new edition with a modern design but original text and illustrations proves how this story is still essential to children's literature.
Rights sold: Spanish (Latin America)
74 pages, 17,5 x 24,5 cm, 5 years +

The big question

by Wolf Erlbruch
The book poses the biggest question of them all: Why am I here? A chorus of voices all have their own answer: a pilot says we're here to kiss the stars; a bird says we're here to sing our song; the number three thinks we're here to count to three. It encourages young ones to consider the question themselves, and to learn nothing is certain except that each of us will pose the question differently and hear different answers. A final answer to the big question comes from a mother holding her baby: "you are here because I love you". All that belongs to the world of the child's imagination finds meaning through pages bursting with Erlbruch's elegant, affective illustrations.
Bologna Ragazzi Award 2004
Prix Sorcière 2005
52 pages, 17,5 x 30 cm, 3 years +
Rights sold: Catalan, Chinese (Mainland China and Taiwan), Dutch, English (North America), German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) and Spanish (world).

Hansel and Gretel

ill. by Susanne Janssen
The story is famous: the famine, the poor woodcutter, the children abandoned in the forest, the path of small pebbles, the witch pushed in her own oven... As many of Grimm brothers' tales, this is not a witty little piece: the cruel stepmother has a morbid influence on her spineless husband who agrees on the infanticide. The whining girl, feudalized by her ingenious brother, will show herself capable of killing to save him.
After an anthological Peter Pan at Editions Être, Susanne Janssen's powerful images renew and disturb the representations linked to Grimm's tale: birds are strange baroque machines, the witch fascinates more than she repels, etc.
An elegant and unprecedended picture book.
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2008
Barreiro Illustrate Prize 2007
Rights sold: German and Korean
64 pages, 21,5 x 34 cm, 5 years +