Hey, hey, hey, Taxi!

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Language: 
Author: 
Saša Stanišić
Illustrator: 
Katja Spitzer
Illustrations: 
Colour
Place of publication: 
Hamburg
Country: 
Publisher: 
Mairisch
Year of publication: 
2021
Pages: 
96 p.
Size: 
21 x 28 cm
ISBN: 
978-3-948722-05-0
Category: 

Funny, crazy and nonsensical episodes are loosely framed by a recurring plot. All stories begin with the call "Hey, hey, hey, taxi!", the first-person narrator gets into a taxi, drives somewhere and returns "home, home to you" at the end. The journeys vary in length. Sometimes they are quite "brisk", sometimes they lead to encounters with pirates on the high seas, with short-necked giraffes and with a king who thinks the earth is the head of a giant. Taxis and their drivers are creatively varied in the many-faceted stories. Lively dialogue lends an ironic-parodic character to the various scenes. The oral tone of the narrative and many word inventions characterise Saša Stanišić's imaginative language. Katja Spitzer's brithly coloured, comic-like pop-up aesthetic, paired with surreal elements, enriches the entertaining reading impression. It invites the reader to vary the subjects. This title was nominated for the 2022 German Children՚s Literature Award.