Kalle & Kralle (Vol. 1): A Tom Cat Gets Moving

Content

Ten-year-old Kalle lives with his grandfather, an inventor, his father, a music teacher and musician, as well as the fat tom cat Kralle in a little garden house in Pitzelberg. One day Kalle finds out that when Kralle wears a special collar his grandfather invented, the Kitty Babble Collar, the cat can talk! When Kalle receives a letter in which the sender threatens to kill the cat if he doesn’t keep out of their rose garden, Kalle and his friends Lotte and Hotte try to find out who sent the ominous letter. Kalle and his friends come to suspect Mrs. Klarchen, a neighbor and former opera singer who only leaves her house at night, and therefore seems highly suspicious. Kalle and Kralle decide to shadow Mrs. Klarchen to learn as much about the old woman as possible — and what they discover in the process is outrageous!

About the Series

Kalle lives in a little garden house in Pitzelberg with his grandfather, an inventor, his father, a music teacher and musician, and a fat cat named Kralle. One day, Kalle discovers that Kralle can speak when he wears the Kitty Babble Collar, a speech collar invented by his grandpa. Together, Kalle and Kralle have many exciting and absurdly funny adventures.

The Author

Christoph Mauz was born in Vienna in 1971. Following his primary schooling and high school he trained to be a bookseller and then joined his parents’ publishing business. Beginning in 1998 he started writing books, especially for children and teens. His diverse career has included training as a professional speaker, teaching theater, composing lyrics and song texts in dialect, band projects, and devoted practice of blues harp, ukulele, and most recently the guitar. Since 2015 Mauz has led the KIJUBU festival of literature for children and youth in St. Pölten, and has been nominated for prizes and distinctions, which are a special source of joy. So far 28 of his own books, four CDs, and several contributions to anthologies have appeared. Christoph Mauz lives on the outskirts of Vienna with his wife, two dogs, a cat, an impressive library and film collection, with ukuleles and guitars and an original autograph of Harrison Ford.

The Illustrator

Vera Schmidt was born in Lisbon in 1974. Even as a child, she scribbled on absolutely everything she could set a brush or pen to, and from an early age she knew she wanted to earn her living by drawing. After a year at Prof. Hans Seeger’s art academy in Munich, she studied communication design in Augsburg. Thereafter she was the art director for the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency in Frankfurt before launching her career as a freelance illustrator in 2004. When she isn’t at her desk, she practices yoga, travels the world, and is a passionate diver. With her work she aims to inspire joy and good moods.