Ida and the World Beyond Mount Kaiserzipf

by Linda Schwalbe, David Henry Wilson (Translator)

Overview

Ida Pfeiffer has a mind of her own.

Although she lives at a time when girls are expected to be mothers and housewives, Ida dreams of being an explorer and going on expeditions. She bravely sets off on her first trip around the world, an adventurous journey over land and sea, discovering faraway lands and meeting friendly people along the way.

With expressive colors, dynamic shapes, and a simple but evocative text, Linda Schwalbe’s debut picture book is a joyful tribute to Ida Pfeiffer—one of the first female explorers to travel around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735844209
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 12.25(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Linda Schwalbe studied illustration at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle and at the Berlin University of the Arts. Inspired by discoveries and adventures, music and nature, she is happiest painting with acrylics. She is the author/illustrator of Ida and the World Beyond Mount Kaiserzipf and the illustrator of Gaudi–Architect of Imagination, and a winner of the prestigious Serafina Award. She lives and works in Leipzig, Germany.

David Henry Wilson, born in London, is a playwright, novelist, children’s book author, and translator. His plays have been produced in many well-known theaters in Great Britain as well as abroad, and his children’s books—especially the Jeremy James series—have been translated into many languages. His novel The Coachman Rat received critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. For many years he lectured at the universities of Bristol (England) and Konstanz (Germany), where he founded the university theater. His translations from French and German cover many subjects, ranging from literary theory, art, travel, and general culture to children’s novels and picture books.

Editorial Reviews

Ida’s untamed spirit is gloriously captured in the boisterous colors and naive style of Schwalbe’s acrylic paintings, which offer glimpses of Ida’s excursions to Indonesia and Madagascar, as well as a stomach-churning sea voyage that left her explorer’s heart undeterred.

Booklist - Julia Smith

2020-06-16
This Swiss import introduces an intrepid woman whose world travels and writings were extraordinary for her time.

Ida Pfeiffer (1797-1858) was one of seven children in her Austrian family. One to three sentences per composition convey the narrator’s circumstances and intent, allowing the images to carry details and feelings. A collector of natural specimens and companion to her adventurous brothers, the protagonist was later reined in and married off by her mother. Two sons followed, but they grow and leave in the space of three pages. (The husband was already out of the picture.) The narrative emphasis is on Pfeiffer’s subsequent adventuresome voyage and exploration of flora, fauna, and other civilizations. (In reality, she made several; this story compresses them into one.) Readers will be amused that she had to tie herself to her bed during a storm at sea to avoid falling out. The vivid colors are emotive rather than natural; the shapes are stylized. Pfeiffer has lavender skin and green hair. Friendly jungle inhabitants are a slightly darker purple; wearing masks, they greet her and later include her in a firelit celebration. The book’s large trim size and panoramic spreads suit the scale of her childhood dreams and later escapades. The warm palette and teeming life of her new friends’ island contrast with the barren trees dotting the dark landscape the day her brothers left home.

While not strictly biographical, the story captures the curiosity and courage of a woman who finally followed her dream. (afterword, map) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews