Giraffe and Mouse really don’t have much in common – it’s more than the fact that one of them is huge and the other is tiny. But when a fire threatens to destroy the forest, Mr. Tall and Mr. Small join forces to save all the animals.

One was big.
One was small.
Mouse was short.
Giraffe was tall.
Mouse was hardly there at all –
They called him Small.

Giraffe was tannish,
Mouse was gray,
Mouse liked night,
Giraffe liked day,
Giraffe could see three miles away –
They called him Tall.
 

Who doesn't know them, Alm-Öhi, Peter the goatherd, Aunt Dete and poor Klara in Frankfurt – Heidi enchants them all. Their story is as old as it is topical, a parable that has attained the status of a classic, a tale about the victory of humaneness and the power of love in a society that has become heartless. The first edition of the children's book classic was published in 1880 when the dark side of technological progress was beginning to make itself felt. It is no coincidence that love of nature prevails over the blessings of modern civilisation.
Tomi Ungerer's wonderful sketches, all the more realistic and lively for their minimalism, allow the text to shine, just adding a punchline here and there – a refreshing addition to one of the most beautiful children's classics in the world!

More than 200 German folk songs and children's songs from the 14th to the 20th century, compiled by Anne Diekmann with the help of Willi Gohl. Illustrated with more than 150 pictures by Tomi Ungerer.