THE MOON GIRL by Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani and Mehrdad Zaeri (published by Knesebeck Verlag)

A little girl called Mahtab lives with her family in an obscure kingdom. The little girl possesses magic powers – she can even speak the language of cats. When the Bloodreds seize power in the kingdom a reign of terror begins. The family flees on a dramatic journey from the Orient to the Occident. But Mahtab never feels lost or forlorn. She has the warmth and support of her family and the comfort of her own inner world, the fabulous realm of Athabasca. Each description of a new stage of the family’s journey is followed by an episode in Mahtab’s inner world until the real world and her dream world merge – and then something extraordinary happens …

THE ILLUSTRATOR Mehrdad Zaeri was born in Isfahan in Iran in August 1970. As a child, he lived a split existence, veering between a passion for games and extreme fear of life. He has since overcome his fear but his enjoyment of games remains. When he was fourteen he emigrated with his family to Turkey and later to Germany. He works as an artist and illustrator.

THE AUTHOR Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani was born in Iran in 1974. In 1985, she and her family fled to Germany via Turkey. She graduated in social pedagogy and in 1999 began working with refugees and in refugee relief. In 2002 she was awarded the ‘Demokratiepreis des Deutschen Bundestages’, the price for democracy of the German national parliament, for her interactive game Asylopoly. Her aim is to show children that they are not alone in their anxieties and needs.