On the school bus with Molière
An essential part of my life always took place between images and books. I was favoured with the great fortune of growing up without a comic book ban. In the fifties I devoured, alongside all sorts of other books, strip books and picture stories; even in primary school, I became a fan of Wilhelm Busch's. Later I took to reading Reclam booklets as a pastime. Molière, Lessing, and Schiller were my favourites; I read them on the schoolbus in the morning, thus making myself suspicious.

Bruegel – love at first sight
These were all important prerequisites for the profession I chose later on. As a German language teacher I encouraged almost any form of reading my students volunteered for. I lost my visual heart to Pieter Bruegel the Elder early on – unrivaled even by my passion for Feiniger, Magritte and Van Gogh. Deeply touched by Bruegel's landscapes, I still rediscover in them the places of my childhood.

My work on Image and Word
Children and youth literature can be the fertile ground for a rich, self-determined life. This is why, beginning with my university study in the late Wild Sixties, I have always been committed to this literary genre. This goes for both the image and the word. My experiences in dealing with text and illustration I acquired through many years of teaching, occupation in the book trade, working as a reviewer, presenter, and member of juries, but most importantly through extensive editorial work. Among my most reliable critics are my three children, who time and again convince me of the necessity for a change of perspective.