What counts is you
Magda Hassan & Raffaela Schöbitz
Was zählt, bist du
Artistically illustrated throughout
32 pages, 4 yrs +
28.7 cm x 17.7 cm
ISBN 978-3-99133-003-5
€ 18.-
Publication date: 10/10/2022
A book both mysterious and wise
The picture-book Was zählt, bist du (What counts is you) artfully transports readers to a different world and invites them to adopt a new perspective. This playful approach to the unknown takes readers on a delightful path of discovery and self-reflection. Because in the end it is always only ourselves who are different. In the end it is we that count.
Press reviews
“A story that gives confidence – fantastically illustrated.” – Kirstin Breitenfellner, Falter
“A book both mysterious and wise, touching many levels on only a few pages, colourful, sparkling, with a cut-out cheetah mask.” – Jan Drees, Deutschlandfunk
“Via an encounter with a magnificent cheetah the book carefully approaches the unknown and reveals that in all that seems strange and alien there is something of ourselves and that differences can be a positive thing. A sensitive and beautifully illustrated tale.” – ORF Topos
“The backdrop for a discovery of oneself and the other.” – Heidi Lexe, Die Furche
“Light-footed as a cheetah, which stands for the unknown, the pictures and text of this tale show with wonderful circumspection how fears are overcome. With an approach both metaphorical and physical, the strangeness of the unfamiliar is lessened in the company of the nameless narrator and, by shifting perspective, recognised as belonging to some extent to ourselves. A parable of the fear-inducing unknown, which is zoomed in on through the telling – with a subtle tone and winning illustrations that make it possible to grasp and experience the unknown as part of ourselves.” – Alexandra Hofer, STUBE – Studien- und Beratungsstelle für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur
Magda Hassan, Raffaela Schöbitz (c) Veronika Steinberger
Raffaela Schöbitz is a freelance illustrator and author from Vienna. Her work is marked by inventiveness and playful experimentation with different techniques. With her pictures she tells stories. Her love of detail opens up seve-ral narrative levels and invites readers to discover their own stories. Raffaela Schöbitz has won several awards.
Magda Hassan is an author specialising in children’s books. As Mia Kirsch she is part of the ASAGAN artists’ collective. Her book ASAGAN – Bäckermaus & Donaustrudel was included in the collection of works for the Austrian children’s and young people’s book awards in 2022. For her, creativity means removing boundaries so that every book can be experienced as a work of art, irrespective of the reader’s age.