Torben Kuhlmann re-illustrated the first book published by NordSüd Verlag

<strong>The story behind this children's picture book is absolutely fascinating!</strong> It all starts in Skopje, Macedonia (formerly Yugoslavia), where Dimitrije Sidjanski is born in 1914. After studying in Belgrade and later in Paris, he becomes a lawyer. Born on the verge of the first World War, he also witnesses the second World War and is even captured in Germany. In 1945 he manages to escape and flees to Switzerland, where he starts to write short stories and novels. Four years later he meets his future wife Brigitte and together they found the publishing house NordSüd Verlag in 1961. The very first book that was published in 1961 by NordSüd Verlag was 'The Clown Said No', written by Dimitrije Sidjanski himself but published under the pseudonym Mischa Damjan. The illustrations were made by Gian Casty, an avant-garde glass artist from Graubünden (Switzerland). <strong>Did you know that this same book was republished several times to mark different anniversaries of the company and that each time another illustrator was invited to make new drawings?</strong> In 1986 Sidjanski retold his story to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company. The drawings were then made by Józef Wilkon, a Polish master of the modern picture book. In 2001 the company existed 40 years and a third edition of the book appeared. This time with illustrations by Christa Unzner. To celebrate the 60th year of existence, the book is now published for the fourth time. And the drawings are made by one of my favourite illustrators: Torben Kuhlmann. *** <strong>In 'The clown said no' we read about Petronius the clown and a whole bunch of circus animals who one day all say "No!" to performing their usual circus act.</strong> Although this is a children's story, it includes many interesting inherent messages: how everyone can make their own choices and has to assume the consequences, that it's okay to dream (both big and small dreams), … These themes have certainly stood the test of time. Maybe the setting is less timeless, as the use of animals in circuses is (luckily) part of a vivid debate (for more information about the situation in Europe you can take a look <a href="https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/news/european-parliament-shows-broad-political-support-stop-circus-suffering">here</a>). Nevertheless the messages make it a nice story. The only thing that wasn't entirely right was the naming of the lion. On some of the pages he's called Augustus, and on others Gustav. Probably these are respectively the English and German names of the character and this incongruency will probably be corrected in the definitive version (I read an ARC) of this new edition. <strong>Dimitrije Sidjanski wanted to tell the kind of stories that were suitable for children.</strong> Hence his guideline "Stories for children and poets" which is also the motto of the circus in this book. But I'm sure it will appeal to readers both young and old, even 60 years after its first publishing. <strong>Torben Kuhlmann is a German award-winning author/illustrator.</strong> He studied 'Illustration and communications design' at the Hamburg University of Applied Science. As 'book illustration' was his main subject, he had to create a book as his final work. Thus in June 2012 he graduated by writing and illustrating his first children's book 'Lindbergh - The Tale of a Flying Mouse'. It quickly became a bestseller and other mouse adventures followed: Armstrong (2016), Edison (2018) and Einstein (2021). To get an idea of his magnificent drawing style you can take a look at <a href="https://www.torben-kuhlmann.com/">his website</a>. <em>*Thanks to NetGalley and North South Books for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.</em>