Katja discovered me through Petra’s books and loved them. A long‑standing wish in her was to publish a book — a very special one. She carries an immensely hard experience: she lost a baby who would have been named Alja. For the whole family it was a profound trial; for a mother, the hardest. A big question was how to navigate this with her older daughter, who had so looked forward to her sister. How do you help a child make sense of loss? Katja realised there was very little literature to turn to. That became the reason to share her own story and offer it, as a picture book, as gentle support to parents and children walking a similar path.
When Katja first sent the manuscript I had goosebumps throughout. Such a heavy theme — yet carried in gentle, soothing words. I wrote back straight away to say how much I would love to illustrate her story and how honoured I’d feel to support her purpose.
We found each other. The collaboration was genuinely lovely; Katja is such a warm, sensitive person. The illustrations just poured out — barely any overthinking — as if they had been waiting there already, meant for her book.
I approached the material by wrapping a tragic story in the most colourful, hopeful palette I could. I wanted to emphasise the child’s viewpoint — and that with gentle guidance we can help keep their world bright.
A powerful addition to Katja’s book is the accompanying psychologist’s text — guidance for parents on approaching the topic at different developmental stages.
Thank you, Katja, for the opportunity and for your trust.
