I’m German and my wife is English. We are bringing their children up bilingually. I especially like the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s picture books because they bring together English and German traditions of story telling and illustration in one book. Are there any other English picture books with illustrations by German or other European illustrators?

Although it is not much proclaimed, picture books are tremendous cultural ambassadors. Through them, children get the opportunity to hear stories from around the world and to see pictures which draw on visual traditions from different cultures.

Typically, young readers have no idea where the story or pictures come from geographically; if they like them, their cultural provenance is not important. And sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint anyway.

Illustrators, like their books, cross borders. While Axel Scheffler was born in Germany he was trained at the Bath School of Art and has lived in the UK for many years. His illustrations for Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo most famously but also for his own pre-school titles about Posy and Pip which include Posy and Pip: The Little Puddle and Posy and Pip: The Snowy Day appeal to children – and their parents - all over the world. In addition, Axel Scheffler has illustrated that most “English” collection of poems (although it was written by an American), TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

Other illustrators whose illustrations have been influenced by their German heritage include HA and Margret Rey, the creators of Curious George – or Zozo as he was originally known in the US.

The stories about the much loved little monkey, star of Curious George, Curious George Takes a Job, Curious George Flies a Kite among others, and his friend The Man with the Yellow Hat, have a very American feel. The backdrop of houses, parks and above all the cars that appear seem to reflect 1940s America perfectly and The Reys, who met and married in Brazil, were living in the US when the books appeared. But both had grown up in Germany before fleeing as the Nazi’s rose to power. The result is that their artwork has a European feel as well.

Some authors have a more complicated heritage to draw on. Tomi Ungerer, best-known for picture books including the Mellop’s series which began with The Mellops Go Flying and include The Mellops Go Diving for Treasure, and also for The Three Bears, was born in Alsace when it was part of France. However, when he was nine, Alsace was annexed by Germany. Young Tomi Ungerer had to stop speaking or writing French in school and was forced to use only German instead. He also had to draw German soldiers rather than the local French population for fear of having his work destroyed!

Eric Carle was born in the US and spent most of his life there. However, his parents were German and when he was six his mother became so homesick for Germany that she took the family back there. Eric Carle went to art school in Stuttgart and experienced some of the horrors of the second world war at first hand before heading back to the US to begin a new life which included creating the best-selling The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Through illustrators such as these and many other from across Europe who have created wonderful picture books which are readily available in the UK such as Victor Ambrus, Val Biro, Dick Bruna, Max Velthijus and many more, the best traditions from all countries can be enjoyed.

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