Five animals meet in the shade of an old bridge: hyena, rat, spider, bat and toad – the frightful five! They are not there to make any mischievous plans; rather they are all very unhappy because nobody really likes them. But after a while the five become tired of their moaning and make plans to change their situation. And soon every animals is seen to have a very special talent. When they finally have a big party with a lot of guests they realise that attractiveness is not only a mtter of one’s appearance.

Wolf Erlbruch draws remarkable personalities who are unique among all the sweetish animals which populate children’s picture books – nevertheless the frightful five don’t fail to gain the little reader’s sympathy from the very start.

by Wolf Erlbruch


Peter Hammer Verlag | hc | 32 pp | 21.5 x 30 cm | 1993 | 4+

Rights sold: Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Spanish

[original title: Die fürchterlichen Fünf]