Even before the volume ›Useless Thoughts‹, word got around that Tomi Ungerer was just as virtuous with a pen as with a pencil. He coaxes the deeper meaning from language, makes ludicrous connections, and twists and turns words come hell or high water. Wise jokes, revealing wordplay, pointed paradoxes – there is nothing more thoughtprovoking than reading these Tom-isms.

With his vibrant colours and skilful lines, Tomi Ungerer sketches the captivating picture story of a snail’s shell – except, where is the snail? As is always the case when Tomi Ungerer pulls out his pencil, the world looks a little bit different afterwards: snail shells become wind instruments, a boat rides over the squiggly crest of a wave, and not only the jester’s hat is coiled, but his shoes too! And as so often when Tomi Ungerer draws, it means the viewer is embarking upon a search: Discover the confusing twists and turns in an inimitable art of drawing; vibrant with colour and rich in detail. This time the question is: »Snail, where are you?«

Why are sea horses always fidgety on Fridays? And how can you tell when a Rolls-Royce is hungry? You don’t know? Don’t worry, because it turns out the whole world is a question mark. Or at least the world created in this book of questions by Tomi Ungerer’s ingenious drawings: never before has someone created such cryptic but beautiful shenanigans with a punctuation mark. Pictures you will wish to look at again and again, absurd questions without answers, illustrations of unique beauty: this book is sure to leave all questions open!

»One, Two, where's my Shoe? – Three, Four, on the Floor!« – These are the only words Tomi Ungerer needs for a story. The rest is told by his subtle and shrewd pictures, which seem to take the viewer for a fool – until he can't help but smile in recognition: Across the book's pages, Tomi Ungerer's pencil conjures up dragonflies, soldiers, scarecrows, a pig and even an ocean liner. And the line is always: ›One, Two, where's my Shoe?‹

A Unique Christmas Book – Typical Tomi Ungerer Whoever wants to celebrate Christmas with Tomi Ungerer has something to look forward to: Tomi Ungerer is always good for a surprise. Christmas with him is guaranteed not to be the bleak, cloying, sugary festival of commerce and boredom. Nevertheless, Tomi Ungerer's ›Beware of Christmas‹ is a splendid house book completely stuffed like a stocking with both deceptive and surprising yet still contemplative stories and poems by authors from around the world: from Charles Dickens and Martin Suter to Doris Dörrie and Urs Widmer. And as a very special gift: the more than 70 colored drawings by Tomi Ungerer, who interprets Christmas dreamily, romantically, jokingly, cheekily, frivolously and subversively.

Apart from ideas, sketches and drawings, Tomi Ungerer's notebooks show his predilection for aphorisms, puns and little stories. Out of this reservoir, a book has emerged for the first time which shows Tomi Ungerer's unusual side, which, however, is perhaps not that unusual after all: »I am a note-taker. I draw what I write down and I write down what I draw in order to express my thoughts clearly and succinctly«, as Ungerer himself puts it.

The Party is an ingeniously drawn satire which is every bit as evil as the most vitriolic works of the likes of Hogarth, Goya or Grosz. What a resemblance between the pictures and the times. Tomi Ungerer's early satirical master works – now as topical as ever: The Party is over – once again...