Born in
Volksdorf, Hamburg on 9 January 1955, Bauer studied at the
Technical College of Design in Hamburg from 1975 to 1981. Afterward, she worked as a children's book illustrator and as a cartoonist for women's magazine
Brigitte. She won the
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Award) in 2001 for
Schreimutter, a
picture book. She was a runner-up in 2002 for
Opas Engel, a story inspired by schoolchildren outside her studio, and she received a special prize for Illustration in 2009. In 2010, Bauer received the biennial
Hans Christian Andersen Award, conferred by the
International Board on Books for Young People. It is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. ==Selected works==