The concept of time is hard to grasp, especially for young children, since they do not yet have a sense of time. This narrative non-fiction book uses animals to convey factual information about time.

Already the youngest can understand pairs of opposites: A fast animal, which is fast, and an animal, which is very slow. An animal, which becomes very old, and an animal, which lives only a short period of time. Time to find out what ‘time’ is, the owl thinks to itself. And so the owl visits other animals and asks them what makes them tick. “I can’t lose any time,” cries the cheetah, the fastest animal in the world. “I’ll take my time!” mumbles the sloth and moves just a bit. “I still have all the time in the world,” rejoices the hundred-year-old turtle and tells of times long past. “I’ll use my short time!” whispers the mayfly, who only has a little bit of time.

Bettina Deutsch-Dabernig, Nikola Köhler-Kroath: Tick, Tack, Tier. How the owl found out what time is. With illustrations by Daniela Bunge. 14 pages. Narrative non-fiction book. Ages 3 and up. Published by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.

Available at the children’s museum FRida & freD!