Wolf Erlbruch receives top award for children's literature
May 29, 2017
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's highest distinction for literature geared toward children and young people, is awarded to Wolf Erlbruch, a German illustrator and author of children's books.
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10 classic German children's books
From Max and Moritz to Bobo Dormouse, German-language children's books have traveled around the world. Here are 10 classics you're bound to come across.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/H.Hollemann
The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business
Grown-ups might find this book about the little mole with poop on his head a bit embarrassing, but that hasn't kept it from becoming internationally known. Wolf Erbruch's 1989 book has a promising title — and doesn't disappoint. In 2017, Erbuch became the first German to win the Astrid Lindgren Prize, which was founded in 2002 in honor of the Pippi Longstocking author from Sweden.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Peter Hammer Verlag
Max and Moritz
"Max and Moritz (A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks)" was published by Wilhelm Busch in 1865 and has since found its way into countless German children's rooms. The illustrated story about the two mischievous boys is told in rhymes that are still quoted to this day. The book's title satirizes the way theater plays were often given subtitles at the time.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/H.Hollemann
Die Häschenschule (Bunny School)
The book "Die Häschenschule" by Albert Sixtus, illustrated by Fritz Koch-Gotha, is also told in rhymes. The story of bunny siblings Hans and Grete was first published in 1924 - a time when teachers were authoritarian, pupils were well behaved and foxes were naughty.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F.Kraufmanm
Alarm im Kasperletheater (Alarm in the Puppet Theater)
This 1958 children's book by Nils Werner, illustrated by Heinz Behling, was a classic in communist East Germany and was adapted as a film. Even today, it's particularly popular in eastern Germany. In the story, a little devil steals the pancakes for grandma's birthday party and a wild chase ensues. Behling was also a caricaturist and co-founder of the East German satire magazine, "Eulenspiegel."
Image: Eulenspiegel
Rundherum in meiner Stadt (Around in My City)
Ali Mitgutsch is considered the father of hidden-picture books in the German-speaking world. His first volume, "Rundherum in meiner Stadt" (Around in My City) came out in 1968 and received the German Youth Literature Prize the following year. Since then, numerous volumes of highly detailed illustrations have been published in Germany and abroad. His books contain no words, but lots of humor.
Image: Ravensburger
Friends
In 1982's "Friends" by Helme Heine, a pig, a chicken and a mouse go on adventures together. The author, a Berlin native, currently lives in New Zealand and his works have been translated into many different languages. "Friends" was adapted as the animated feature "Mullewapp" from 2009.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Bobo Dormouse
Bobo's recipe for success seems to be simple drawings about everyday life in the zoo, at the playground and in the backyard, each accompanied by some short text. Swiss author Markus Osterwalder first released the stories in 1984 and they have since been adapted into numerous cartoon series.
Image: rowohlt
Rainbow Fish
In 1992, Swiss author Marcus Pfister released his colorful picture book about the joy of sharing, friendship and being an individual. The story of the fish with the shiny scales has been translated into numerous languages and adapted as a musical and cartoon series. The fish is also available as a bath toy.
Image: Nord Süd Verlag
Next Please
The poem "Next Please" by Austrian poet Ernst Jandl, about the fear of waiting your turn at the doctor's office, was first published in 1970. In 1997, Norman Junge illustrated a children's book based on the poem, which was nominated for the German Youth Literature Prize. The original German title is "fünfter sein" — being fifth.
Image: Beltz und Gelberg
The Gruffalo
British author Julia Donaldson and German illustrator Axel Scheffler teamed up to make a true classic with "The Gruffalo." The English version appeared in 1999 and the German edition followed in 2002. In the story, a mouse tells the other animals about his imaginary friend, the dangerous Gruffalo. But it turns out he's real! A 2011 animated film based on the book was nominated for an Oscar.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/ZDF/Orange Eyes
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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is to present the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award to German illustrator Wolf Erlbruch at a ceremony held on Monday at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
"Wolf Erlbruch makes existential questions accessible and manageable for readers of all ages. With humor and warmth deeply rooted in humanist ideals, his work presents the universe on our scale," the jury said in April, when the winner of the world's highest distinction for children's literature was announced.
The laureate said he was "speechless" when he learned that he had won the prestigious award.
Existentialism for children
Born in 1948 in Wuppertal, Erlbruch studied graphic design and worked for magazines such as "Stern" and "Esquire" before he began illustrating children's books.
That career started in 1985, when he illustrated James Aggrey's book "The Eagle That Would Not Fly." He has since written about 10 books himself and illustrated almost 50.
One of them is the popular children's book "The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business." Written by Werner Holzwarth, it's about an angry little mole who gets poop on his head and sets out to track down the guilty party.
A classic: "The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business," illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch Image: Peter Hammer Verlag
"Duck, Death and the Tulip" (2008) is one of Erlbruch's books dealing with existential questions, telling the story of a little duck who gets a visit from Death. Speaking to children and adults alike, the story has been praised as a modern classic and "the most beautiful book ever published about death."
Author and illustrator Wolf ErlbruchImage: CC BY Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 3.0
As an illustrator, his innovative style combines collage, pencil and chalk drawing, graphic experimentation and watercolor.
Among Wolf Erlbruch's numerous awards are the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Award) and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
In the spirit of Astrid Lindgren
The Swedish government established the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2002, naming it after the Swedish author who created Pippi Longstocking and many other popular fictional characters. The prize is awarded in recognition of writers and illustrators of literature for children and young people, or of projects that promote reading.
This year, 226 candidates were nominated for the award, which comes with a cash prize of five million Swedish crowns ($560,000).
The winners in the inaugural year, 2003, were Maurice Sendak, most famous for his 1963 book " Where the Wild Things Are," and Austrian author Christine Noestlinger.