Look, Inge, Look!
Support the Children's Book
A mother cannot fathom having to say goodbye to a child at any age. The pain is beyond words, but as any mother would, I must be strong and unwavering to continue to persevere and live life to its fullest for me and for my wonderful living children. Borrowing the words of Inge to write a happy story for children brings back the many meaningful moments reading to Inge and her siblings by my side on the sofa and is a vital part of my journey of grief. Wir lassen nicht die Menschen aber nur die Hände. The story of the coin is Inge’s true tale. While I am a mathematics teacher and not an author of children’s books, penning this story from Inge’s words is congruent to my profession. As with teaching, I seek to enrich children’s lives.
Ilustrator: Astrid Kemper
Astrid Kemper is an artist, illustrator, art teacher, graphic designer from the Netherlands. She has been living and working in Germany since 2012. Specialised in working with coloured pencil, she loves to go outside to draw on the spot. Nature and specifically mountains are an endless source of inspiration.
In 2021, Astrid Kemper published her “mountain book”: “The Red Mountain”. With this project she managed to realize her dream of creating a book all by herself: to write the story, to create the illustrations and to realise the graphic design.
Through this project she came into contact with Heidi Hersant. In a café in Kronberg im Taunus (Germany), where both live, H.H. told about her plan to make a book with the stories of and with her daughter Inge, who was killed in an avalanche in 2017.
A.K.: “The first time I read the manuscripts, I was immediately captivated by the stories. I had the feeling: this is what I want to do! Make drawings to the stories about Inge. The images came, first in my head, later on paper. The images told of a “light” story and a “dark” story - the first set in Sweden in winter with lots of nature and snowy landscapes, and the latter set in the city of Berlin in autumn.I also felt an affinity with this Inge and her love of trees (birches!), mountains, nature and loving to be outside and moving.”
Authors: Inge Perkins and Heidi Hersant
Music, mountains, dance, knitting, eating a bowl of strawberries and cream on a summer day are the simple pleasures in life. In an ever complex world, children need to appreciate the simple pleasures and have hope for happiness. The book I have written is a fairy tale story of hope, imagination and love and the ability to find happiness with a simple treasure. The illustrations are completed and the text has been edited to be read and enjoyed by both children and parents; I would like to publish the book in two languages and need funding to hire a publishing company.
The story about the coin originates in Inge's diary and has been adapted to create a children’s fairytale. The most meaningful words and thoughts are directly taken from Inge’s writing.
In our garden in the Alps, overlooking the glorious view of the tallest single standing mountain in Europe, the Grimming, is a Denkmal of Inge. She is with her partner and grandfather, always looking at the changing seasons and new faces in the enormous mountain of rock. Inge is a real girl who loved her family, skiing, climbing, playing the violin and knitting and was most happy running like a mountain goat on a path through the Alps. With much sadness, she died in an avalanche while skiing in the Rocky Mountains four years ago.