»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?‹

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.

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.

The best dramatic stories by Loriot accompanied by colour images from the animated films: ›Gentlemen in the Bath‹, ›Where Are They Running?‹, ›The Interview‹, ›Television Night‹, ›The Breakfast Egg‹, ›The Talking Dog‹ and ›Work's Over‹.

Contents: ›Gentlemen in the Bath, Where are They Running?, The Interview, Television Evening, The Breakfast Egg, The Talking Dog, Knocking-off Time‹. Nearly everyone knows them, Mr Müller-Lüdenscheidt and Dr. Klöbner! It is rare indeed for literary figures to achieve such independence. They can justifiably be counted among the best-known living German personalities.

We are all alive and yet we are all dilettantes, finding it hard to cope in a world where yesterday everyone was dancing to techno music and now the tango is all the rage, where one is either unemployed or working oneself to death, where footballers suddenly start to look like women and Germany's women's team performs better at the Football World Cup than the ›stronger sex‹. In times such as these, we need help. With humour and a refined turn of phrase, Mrożek tackles the absurdity of our existence. The more grotesque and absurd his tips are, the more they are tangible and concrete – and the more amusing for the reader!

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...