It's not the journey that changes his life, but those he meets along the way.

Albie is on a mission! The king has commanded him to deliver an important message to the neighboring castle. Dutifully he dashes away. But once on his way, something comes up . . . and then another thing, and then another! What is one to do when a squirrel, a tired mother and her many children, and an old animal need Albie's help, just has much as his king? Told with clever parallel storytelling, Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Jutta Bauer, delivers a charming new folktale about the importance of kindness and being true to oneself?even when one is charged with an important errand for the king.

Jutta Bauer, is one of Germany's best-known children's book creators. For her ?lasting contribution? as a children's illustrator she received the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2010. She has also received the German Youth Literature Prize in recognition of her complete body of work. Jutta Bauer lives in her native city of Hamburg, Germany.