Struwwelpeter in english translation dover childrens classics. The discovery of a huge new trove of unedited german fairy tales is nothing short of a revelation. A glass window in a church of hamelin depicts a piper and has an inscription that states. Contrary to the classic german fairy tales, most of the protagonists of the struwwelpeter are fully responsible for their bad luck.
If you are interested in reading the stories you can find them here, or if you want to learn about other german fairytales take a look at this. The english portion adds to or changes the german stories to make them less horrifying. The tales in the book arent very long but their shocking and harsh endings are unforgettable. Cover of a german fairy tales book with illustrationsfrom carl offterdinger and heinrich leutemann. The change in german children books from preworld war ii to. The best scenes from the most demented german childrens. While struwwelpeter is somewhat notorious for its perceived brutal treatment of the erring children, it has been influential on many later childrens books, most notably charlie and the chocolate factory. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Titles marked with series of books are books where it may make sense to read the first book first, but that are otherwise not really connected to each other in terms of e.
This book was first published in german in 1844, and in english translation in 1848. Hoffman wrote the book in 1845 when he couldnt find any good childrens books for his small son. Bilingual edition english german childrens picture. A deluxe hardcover bilingual edition of struwwelpeter with the original pictures their colors tidied up. Struwwelpeter variously translated as slovenly or shockheaded peter. Hoffmanns story by the author of struwwelpeter was first published in germany in 1851. The 19thcentury book of horrors that scared german kids into. The tales have formed the basis for childrens tales in the western world ever since. Childrens stories are an excellent example of teaching and learning. One of the most famous stories is the story of little suckathumb, a boy. This book was of course a derived from the ever popular struwwelpeter by professor hoffmann, but although the original work was written in german, it appears that this derivation was inspired by an english wartime knockoff. Read german fairy tales from the grimm brothers, margaret ardnt, charles john tibbits and more. While many german parents today find the tales disturbing, those who raised their children during the early decades of the. Struwwelpeter in english translation dover childrens.
It teaches you that when you do something wrong, there are consequences. A whole new world of magic animals, brave young princes and evil witches has come to light with the discovery of 500 new fairytales, which were locked away in an archive in. The thumbsucker daumenlutscher, for example, has his thumbs cut off because he cant stop. In this collection of morality tales, children are with gleeful. After reading some of the tales, which are moralistic in tone and are quite frightening, im not sure if these tales are really meant for small children.
Now, finding free german childrens books or fairy tales in the public domain is not difficult, but theres a problem with books or stories that are more than 100 years old. From the struwwelpeter library dover childrens classics. The 19thcentury book of horrors that scared german kids. A visually stunning reinterpretation of the fairy tale classic. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. See more ideas about childrens books, german and books. There have now been over a thousand german editions and it has been translated into over 35 languages. The best scenes from the most demented german childrens book. One day, mamma said, conrad dear, i must go out and leave you here.
At the same time illustrated books with fairy tales changed into picture books as independent media with specific targeted group. Maybe you are looking for books you read as a child see more ideas about books, germany and german. German wikisource has a bibliography of editions, adaptations, and parodies. In case you didnt know, germany has a collection of really creepy bedtime stories called struwwelpeter. We all know the original grimms fairy tales were more gruesome than the disney stories we grew up watching. How to expand your german vocabulary effortlessly sloe. Original illustrations from the book that inspired edward scissorhands. Five hundred new fairytales discovered in germany books. Grimms fairy tales, originally known as the childrens and household tales german. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.
Nov 8, 2017 these are books you may remember from your childhood. But mind now, conrad, what i say, dont suck your thumb while im away. Children, bibliophiles, antiquarians any lover of timehonored tales for children will welcome this new edition of the classic german story. The influence of struwwelpeter the new york public library. Cover of a german fairy tales book, image of snow white and the seven dwarfs the book is called my first fairytale book. This sinister grimm tale may be based on true events. A poor child dreams of the fairy town of toys where he meets king nutcracker, toy soldiers, noahs animals and struwwelpeter and friends.
Heinrich hoffmann via the english version is actually. The book develops only the story of struwwelpeter, there is no mention of the other 9 hoffmann stories. Many of the todays most popular fairy tales, some of which have been converted to cartoons and movies thanks to walt disney and others, have their origins in german culture. I stumbled upon this german book of childrens verses. Struwwelpeter is one of the most successful german childrens books and has been translated into more than 45 languages. Free german childrens books for language learners young. Needless to say i had a lot of german influence while growing up. Most of the older books can easily be found online. It is the home of beloved german fairy tales with characters such as rapunzel, little red riding hood. The first edition contained 86 stories, and by the seventh edition in 1857, had 210 unique fairy tales. New york struwwelpeter merry stories and funny pictures when the children have been good, that is, be it understood, good at mealtimes, good at play, good all night and good all day they shall have the pretty things merry christmas always brings.
After grimms fairy tales, struwwelpeter is the most widely published german childrens book. This page lists books by german speaking authors, sorted by genre and year. Germany is a country with a long and rich tradition in folklore, with stories many know and love. The book was so popular that it was sold in different languages i remember i had one in german and english. This german childrens book is the creepiest thing youll see today. Not only are the ideas and strict morals as in struwwelpeter bewildering to modern readers, also these texts often use strange vocabulary, idioms and other stylistic. He wrote the book for his 3 year old son, after searching for a childrens book for christmas and not being happy with any he found. Shockheaded peter struwwelpeter german nursery tales. Nearly every german knows this story, so it is culturally significant. Books with fairy tales suddenly became an important part of education. The fun but morbid struwwelpeter is a 19thcentury german. This german childrens book is the creepiest thing youll. These pages are in the process 201415 of being updated improved csshtml, additional and higher resolution illustrations, new media, more.
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