The German Book Office in New York has selected One Red Shoe (Wilkins Farago, $19.99, 9780987109965) by Karin Gruss and Tobias Krejtschi, translated by Hannah Johnson, as its February Book of the Month.
The GBO described the book this way: "In a dark, smoke-filled office in the Gaza Strip, an unnamed photojournalist answers his vibrating cell phone. A grenade has hit a school bus carrying children to a sports field, and he is sent to the clinic to document the aftermath. For the journalist, this is just another day on the job‹but this assignment will forever change his jaded perspective on the violence in the region.
"The journalist follows the paramedics to the clinic as he passes children so unfazed by the violence that they continue their hopscotch game in the nearby rubble. He begins to photograph a critically injured 9-year-old boy when he notices one red sneaker through the lens. The detail strikes a nerve, suddenly reminding him of his basketball-playing nephew back home. Once the boy is stabilized and given an IV, the shaken photojournalist returns to his office to call his nephew and assure him that he will be home in time for his basketball championship....
"Inspired by real events in the Middle East, One Red Shoe... is a groundbreaking picture book that encourages older students to think about places and situations far beyond their safe and comfortable world."
Karin Gruss is a former teacher and bookseller and oversaw the picture book program at publishing house Peter Hammer Verlag. She currently works as a consultant and instructor on children's literature. One Red Shoe is her first picture book.
Tobias Krejtschi is the illustrator of Crafty Mama Sambona.
Hannah Johnson is the deputy publisher of Publishing Perspectives. This is her first translation.
