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 show more 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. show less

Originally published in Switzerland as Lisa will einen Hund, this delightful picture-book follows a young dog-lover named Lisa, whose many attempts to convince her parents to let her have a dog are invariably met with a negative response. "Our apartment is too small for a dog," her parents tell her, so Lisa sets out to satisfy her canine craving in another way...

Austrian artist Helga Bansch's artwork is charming: quirky, endearing and expressive. Lisa's emotional vacillations, from show more consciously persuasive virtue to petulant anger, come across very well. I appreciated the heroine's creative solution to a difficult problem, and recommend I Want a Dog! to all young readers (and their parents) who long for a pet they cannot have. show less

Honestly, I was kind of iffy about a major aspect of Rosie the Raven at first. I love unique illustrative styles, and the artfully rendered mixed media-style pictures definitely fulfill that requirement. I also love whimsical and bizarre stories for children's picture books, because all children need a healthy dose of "what in the world is going on?" in their lives.

But I struggled to reconcile any real justification for Rosie, a human, being born to a family of ravens. I completely show more understand and embrace the concept of suspending belief for the sake of fiction, but there was no mention of magic, random egg-laying humans dropping one of theirs in the nest of ravens, or really any even far-fetched reason as to how the book's premise came to be. I was going to only give it 4 stars for that reason, since no attempt at plausibility - fantastical or not - was even made.

As I read on, I realized that was probably the point. Rosie was profoundly different from her family in every conceivable aspect, and for no discernible reason. This reflects the reality of families containing members who, for whatever reason - be it by basic psychology or physical/mental - very obviously stand out as "different." In real life, genetic chance is the only real reason for this, which I gleaned was the case with Rosie. Minute, but still existent, genetic chance.

Mirroring these true-to-life scenarios, Rosie was terribly insecure about her differences and endeavored to change herself. Her loving family, meanwhile, did not view her as a burden in the least, even though she had special needs to which they happily catered. She continues to live with her parents beyond the "normal" length of time established by her siblings, but instead of being treated as a burden or otherwise generally incapable, she employs her differences to contribute to her family in the ways that she can. Ultimately, she accepts and is happy with herself... which is how her family felt about her all along.

This book would be profoundly beneficial to read to all children, particularly including those know those with special needs or who have special needs themselves. I was given a digital copy for review via NetGalley, but I definitely hope to add this one to our library of physical books. show less

What a lovely book! Descriptions of this book almost always use the term "whimsical" and for good reason. With minimal text, the book takes a look at animals at rest, and half way through the story gets turned upside down. The illustrations and the flipping of the book enhance the dream-like quality of the story and the topsy-turvy nature of dreams themselves. Bansch's use of multi-media creates an element of things not being quite right, as they often are in dreams, and in particular her show more use of old maps in the illustration adds a nice touch. Even in the "right" world, the illustrations hold plenty of interest for young readers. What is the wolf in the bat's cave thinking, what in the world are the ducks up to at the dog's house, and clearly the owl has had enough of the polar bear's snoring!
It's a clever enough premise, flipping the world over in dreamland, but the illustrations really make the difference with this book and elevate it so it doesn't feel like a gimmick. And what child wouldn't like to go to sleep and dream of chocolate and raspberry ice cream? show less