"Skilfully concise and poetic, Heinz Janisch tells the story of the adversaries who finally find a solution together ... without losing face." Buchjournal

"Heinz Janisch's great simplicity with a lot of depth and Helga Bansch's unmistakable illustration style do not only reach children's hearts in an immediate way. A picture book has been created that is distinguished because of its scarcity value."
Nicole Giering, Kinderbuch-Couch.de

"A very clever and beautifully drawn story about giving in."
Sascha Langenbach, Berliner Kurier

★ Rights sold: Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, PR China, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia!
★ Awards:
- Children's and Young People's Book Prize of the City of Vienna!
- Austrian Children's and Young People's Book Prize (Collection)!
- Evangelical Book Prize (Recommendation List)!
- Catholic Children's and Young People's Book Prize (Recommendation List)!
★ Wriiten by Heinz Janisch, who won the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2024!
★ The secret of successful teams: rivalry blockades, cooperation is it!
★ ages 3+, full English translation available.

A narrow, swinging bridge leads across the river. So narrow that two persons can’t pass one another. One day the bear and the giant meet – in the middle of the bridge. None of them wants to turn around, none of them gives way. What shall they do?

The first approaches to the problem don’t help, one of them would always get the short end of the stick. But then the giant has a brilliant idea: if they worked together and not against each other they could succeed. Tightly embraced, very slowly and in small steps one moves around the other.

Heinz Janisch was born in Güssing in Burgenland in 1960. He studied German and journalism in Vienna. He has worked as a freelancer for ORF radio since 1982, creating and presenting radio programmes. He writes both children's books and books for adults. Heinz Janisch has received several literary awards, including the Austrian State Prize for Children's Poetry in 2005, the Austrian Art Prize for Children's and Youth Literature in 2018, the Grand Prize of the German Academy for Children's and Youth Literature in 2020 and the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2024.

Helga Bansch was born in Leoben, Styria, in 1957. After graduating from high school, she attended the Pedagogical Academy in Graz, where she trained as a primary school teacher. From 1978, she worked as a primary school teacher in Weixelbaum in southern Styria. As part of her training as a life and social counsellor, she worked with children with behavioural problems and discovered painting as a means of expression. Since then she has painted pictures with acrylic on cardboard or canvas, illustrated children's books, made puppets, marionettes and objects from sandstone, clay and papier-mâché. She lives and works in Vienna.