Ich wünche mir

On gifts, joy and longing

Children love gifts, and the girl protagonist of this book is no exception. Her present fills her with so much joy! But the joy quickly changes to frustration as she unwraps the gift only to find another wrapped gift inside, and another wrapped gift after that... She grows more and more frustrated, until her imagination takes her and the gift on a wild ride. Because what could be inside? A phone? Sneakers? A superhero cape? Or even a dragon or ...a planet?

Niemann uses a limited color palette to describe the girl´s adventures. The girl is black-and-white, the gift has two colors. The combination of a colorless protagonist in a one- or two-colored world has a lot in common with some of Silvia Borando´s work, like the silent book Niente da fare.  But Niemann´s style is truly his own. The girl protagonist is very expressive,making it easy even for the youngest readers to recognize and understand all her moods. The illustrations show an abundance of ideas and inspiration, and both the child and the adult reader will eagerly turn all 72 pages to see what happens next. 

The book is in an almost-square format, exactly like the yellow gift on the first picture. This is a nice nod to the story, but also a very practical format for small hands. If you look at the picture of the cover, you can see that this book is quite worn. That is because it is a favourite amongst the children that visit Fabel silentbook library, they never seem to tire of it. After all, who does not love a gift - and is not the anticipation, the unwrapping, the most wonderful part of it? The story is both relatable and exciting.

Niemanns storytelling takes us from the simple act of unwrapping to an exciting universe of longing, wishing, waiting and wondering. A great story idea, and the masterful execution shows a deep understanding for children´s feelings and imaginations.

Christopher Niemann is a German-American illustrator. Amongst his work are several great children´s books, like the brilliant picturebook The potato king and the silent book The paper.