A 2015 Foreword INDIES finalist in Picture Books (Children's)

"Kuhlmann's detailed art will pull in readers who like to see how things fit together, while his message is abundantly clear for everyone." Kirkus Reviews

Torben Kulhmann's stunningly illustrated, nearly wordless tale offers a fascinating window into an imaginary, yet hauntingly familiar world under our feet, where a mole suddenly recognizes the precarious balance between progress and preservation. Kulhmann's open ended text encourages thoughtful exploration into possible solutions, and his delightful endpapers depict a montage of solutions that could very well save the moles' world and ours.

Autorentext

Torben Kuhlmann lives and works in Hamburg as a freelance children’s author and illustrator. He studied illustration and communications design at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. He wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Lindbergh: the Tale of a Flying Mouse, in 2012 as his final thesis, and it was published in 2014 by NordSüd Verlag. It quickly became a bestseller and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Three more mouse adventures followed and were equally successful. In 2024, the tenth anniversary was celebrated by the publication of Earhart, the fifth book in the series. However, a few mouse-free books have also crept into the repertoire during the last ten years, including Moletown and The Gray City.

Klappentext

Am Anfang lebt ein einzelner Maulwurf tief unter einer grünen Wiese. Schon bald siedeln sich weitere Maulwürfe unter der Wiese an. Aus einfachen Wohnlöchern werden aufwändige Behausungen. Unterirdische Straßen entstehen, Bahnen und Aufzüge fahren hoch und runter. Tausende Arbeiter wuseln durch die Unterwelt. Dabei verschwindet immer mehr von der grünen Wiese, bis am Ende fast nur noch eine graubraune Einöde bleibt. Erst im letzten Moment erkennen die Maulwürfe, dass ihre Wiese durchaus schützenswert wäre.