Greeting to Lupinchen
Binette Schroeder has left us. On the 5th July 2022, after a long fight with illness, she passed away peacefully with her husband Peter Nickl at her side.
Binette and our parent company NordSüd were bound together by 5 decades of almost exclusive collaboration. She was one of the first illustrators to leave an indelible mark on our publishing program and her relationship with various figures at NordSüd remained intense to the end. In an interview for the NordSüd 60th anniversary last year she talked in depth about it.
Binette was a passionate fighter for the highest standards and quality in picture books. She wouldn’t accept putting anything less than the very best into the hands of children. To make books with her was always an adventure: enriching, moving, dramatic and ultimately rewarding.
Dear Binette, we hope that you have gone to a place where Lupinchen, Florian, the Crocodile and all of your other creations also reside.
Adieu Binette! We will miss you!
–NorthSouth and NordSüd
I feel so lucky to have worked on a few of the English editions of Binette Schroeder’s picture books. Her art simply transports—evoking a sense of wonder and delight—capturing the secret lives of flowers, the laughter of a crocodile, the mysteries held within a deep well.
In her books you can find joy and laughter; even a little danger, but with the sense that your hand is being held by a trusted companion. I want to step into her paintings and befriend the strange birds and characters there. And in reading her books we do.
Her last book which came out this spring, Mr. Gray and Frieda Frolic, reminds us that love is possible no matter how big our differences are and leaves us nearly feeling the breeze in our hair as we sail down life’s joyful river. What a wonderful gift. Thank you, Binette.
–Beth Terrill, editor, NorthSouth Books
