For its April Book of the Month, the German Book Office has chosen Anton and the Battle by Ole Könnecke, translated by Catherine Chidgey (Gecko Press, $17.95, 9781877579264).
The GBO commented: "This imaginatively illustrated children's book portrays a common episode of boyhood (and girlhood): the epic battle between friends. Könnecke has chosen a style akin to that of Crockett Johnson, author of Harold and the Purple Crayon, and does it well.
"Anton and Luke star in this picture book battle. Both claim to be the strongest, but will they be proven wrong by a puppy?"
Könnecke, who is a freelance illustrator, has published several Anton books, including Anton and the Girls, Anton Can Do Magic and Anton's Secret.
Chidgey is a novelist and short story writer whose first novel, In a Fishbone Church, won several awards and was a bestseller in New Zealand.
