Constanze von Kitzing (author site) is the author and illustrator of lovely, modern children’s board books. She is well known for her series about a diverse group of preschool children, who have adventures together with their teachers and parents.
Her Wimmelbuecher are really lovely and humorous. Here’s an image from the first book in the series, Komm wir zeigen dir unsere Kita.
While we enjoy the Wimmelbuecher, our favorite titles are her smaller, thicker board books that show the children talking about themselves and their interests. These three volumes are the perfect size for a young child to hold for themself and they are sturdy enough to take a lot of use.
In Ich mag… we learn about their favorite things, and in Ich bin jetzt… we learn about emotions they are feeling. In Ich bin anders als du – Ich bin wie du we learn about the similarities and differences between the children and their families. All three of these books have a nice rhythm and a bit of suspense, as von Kitzing splits each sentence across multiple pages. There is often a surprise or a joke in the second half as the children think or do something unexpected.
Ich bin anders als du – Ich bin wie du is a Wendebuch, meaning it has an interesting ‘flip’ format where you read each half of the book from the outside in and they meet in the middle.
Von Kitzing’s works are well worth seeking out and can be enjoyed by a wide age range. Fortunately, they are imported in quantity by the seller GreatBookPrices on Abe Books (link). While I actually bought all three for our home library, if I had to pick just one, I would go with Ich bin jetzt…, because of the wonderful way it explores emotions.
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