A visit to Axel Scheffler, the inventor of the "Grüffelo"

There are mice in the living room of Axel Scheffler's Victorian semi-detached house in the well-kept London district of Richmond. "But I could never set up mousetraps," says the 56-year-old as he pours the tea. "After all, I owe so much to a mouse." Among other things, this house. Because it was a little mouse that made Axel Scheffler's career as the most popular children's book illustrator in England and Germany run. In his greatest success so far, "The Gruffalo", the clever rodent first tricked a bunch of predators such as the fox and the owl, and finally a dangerous but somewhat tumultuous monster. Since its publication in 1999, the book has sold more than five million copies worldwide, translated into over 50 languages from Maori to Low German. Also the continuation "The Grüffelokind" from 2004 was a huge success. There are stage versions, two "Grüffelo" animation films and, of course, a wide accompanying product range from puzzles to drinking bottles, nightwear and socks. "I have a whole cellar full of Grüffelo merchandising," says Axel Scheffler, pouring out tea.

On the side of the dining table, which is not used for meals, are a unicorn figurine, a small plush truffle, uninflated balloons, lego bricks, pencils, and old mail. Also on the dresser and other counter space are similar nests of beloved junk and unloved paperwork that accumulate in households with young children. Axel Scheffler has a six-year-old daughter who, according to the pictures on the wall, inherited her dad's talent. Scheffler's father was only 49 when he and his French partner Clémentine met 13 years ago. "My girlfriend has prevailed there," he says, actually he had no children wanted. Ironically, he, whose images are equally loved by children and parents alike: "Maybe from the general gloomy German world view, I do not see the future on this planet rosy, I think of things like global warming, for example."

Axel Scheffler is not what you would expect when you look at his luminous and incredibly detailed illustrations. His picture book world is populated by sympathetic beings, often small rodents. Even the evil dragon from "For dog and cat is also still space", whose filming runs on December 24 on ZDF, still has a certain niceness, as well as the Grüffelo, with its plush version thousands of children cuddle in bed.

When Scheffler tells, you can never be sure if he is dead serious or ironic - his humor is dry and the friendliness of his pictures chosen wisely. Children can endure the evil better through them, and adults understand their ambiguity. Because it is in the picture books to the basic things of life: eaten, threatened or robbed and how to get out of the clamp again. Personally, the artist prefers to love the somewhat broken heroes of his books: the exceedingly greedy "Räuber Ratte" for example, or the unlucky "Stockmann", who goes through an involuntary career as a dog stick, nest building element or firewood on his long journey home.

For more than 30 years, the Hamburger has been living in England, where in 2012 he was even allowed to design the Christmas stamps of the Royal Mail. Britain's favorite illustrator grew up in Blankenese as the middle of three children. The son of a factory director, who processed peanuts for bakery firm Bahlsen, enjoyed playing football and reading "Jim Knopf." He always brought peanuts with him on birthdays in the school class: "I do not know if that helped to make me popular," says Scheffler.

Creative chaos on Axel Scheffler's drawing board

"In Germany the profession of the illustrator was regarded as a breadless art"

After an abridged study of art history and his civil service, he went to the "Bath Academy of Art" in England - in the 80s, an exotic study site, the tip came from a friend. When asked Scheffler what he learned in college in the rural idyll of southern England, he replies, "Nothing, I just drew there the whole time and got the impression for the first time that Illustrator could be a profession that always as a breadless art. " Of course, he did not suspect that this would be so rewarding for him when he moved to London and toured with his portfolio through agencies and publishers. During this time, Scheffler appropriated the technique, first to give a pencil design with ink contours and then to colorize with watercolors. After that, additional crayons provide the typical colourfulness, and finally the ink pen is used again.Early illustrations for "Zeit-Magazin" or "Eltern" show the typical Scheffler style, "only the noses were even bigger". But those were not desired by the British children's book publishers, who have a strict eye on the greatest possible international marketing.

Scheffler had already illustrated some successful picture books in the early 90s (for example, "He Duda" by Jon Blake), when he was brought together by his publisher with the author Julia Donaldson. Together they form the Dream Team of children's book literature. Donaldson lives in Glasgow and Scheffler in London. "Maybe it's just good that we are kept separate," says Scheffler. The division is simple: Donaldson writes, Scheffler illustrates the finished text. No one talks to the other in the work, the profit is shared. Only once did Scheffler reject a Donaldson text: His excuse was that he could not draw dinosaurs because history did not appeal to him. Sometimes his painted interpretations astonish even the author: "The Grüffelo, for example, Julia had rather presented as a kind of alien, but I made him a furry monster, if only because the English words Gruffalo and Buffalo sound similar." Originally, the monster was supposed to look more sinister. Scheffler shows his sketchbook, which is located in the developed attic in his study. In the designs, the Grüffelo has smaller, more evil eyes and more teeth than his successful successor.

Actually, he is never satisfied with his pictures, he does not hang them either

On the drawing table jars full of pens and brush, countless ink and ink pots leave little room for the sketches. In the rest of the room are drafts, mail, outraged newspaper articles. Scheffler sighs and says: "I even have things in my old rental apartment, the contract of which I have not terminated for two years, a very expensive form of storage." On the shelf are illustrated volumes, reference works such as "The Flora and Fauna of Great Britain", specimen copies in various languages, an old CD player and recordings by Maria Callas to Velvet Underground. On the walls hang a small picture of the Port of Hamburg, a photo of the daughter and a lot of framed works of other illustrators. "I never hang up my own pictures," says the artist decisively. Among other things, because he is never satisfied with his work, but the publishers tear him sometime to the deadline in his eyes always inadequate from the hands.

Among Scheffler's friends are many well-known German illustrators - such as the successful Wimmelbuch author Rotraut Susanne Berner, Jutta Bauer, Beck and Ivonne Kuschel. Scheffler likes to take breaks for drawing over the English Channel: A fax to Jutta Bauer from the Grüffelo creation period has been received, as he draws and verbext the monster, still under the English name, as it already squats like a nightmare on his chest when waking up, even make him to bed. Furthermore, Scheffler illustrates almost prophetically how the Grüffelo simply can not be shaken off, he rhymes to "Ej Gruff, you are too heavy for me." He replies, "But I'll never leave you anymore."

Does not bother him that the Grüffelo is always used as a comparison - no matter how many successful books he has illustrated since then? "Sometimes, but the monster is in the world now, just like Frankenstein." Axel Scheffler smiles. "I always say jokingly that as a sequel I might illustrate the death of the Gruffalo if the publisher agrees, but I can not complain when I see how difficult it is for many colleagues to make their living . "

Scheffler was able to move from south London with his family to wealthy Richmond. The German school is close, the district safer. One senses that Scheffler wants to protect his child as much as possible from the predatory populated world.

However, Scheffler never tests anything on his daughter in advance because he trusts in his own feelings. "Adélie often asks me to sketch something for her to paint," he says. Her image wishes were quite unusual. "For example, 'baby penguins go on a school trip' or 'the octopus go shopping in the supermarket', but then they do not paint it." Scheffler lovingly shakes his head. He could well understand why some people, once they started to have children, did not want to stop. But for a second child he really feels too old now, although Adélie often asks for siblings. "We promised her a cat," he says. That could then solve the mouse problem in the kitchen.

Axel Scheffler ...

... was born in Hamburg in 1957. He studied at the Bath Academy of Art and has lived in London since the 1980s. Particularly well-known are the books he has designed according to the rhymes of Julia Donaldson, such as "The snail and the humpback whale", "Zogg" and of course "The Gruffalo" and "The Gruffalo child". Most recently he illustrated "Family Grunz" by Philip Ardagh (Beltz-Verlag)