Struwwelpeter in English Translation (Dover Children's Classics) by Heinrich Hoffmann
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Book Reviews of Struwwelpeter in English Translation (Dover Children's Classics)
Book Review: Not your Typical Children's Book.....
Summary: 4 Stars
Such images and stories would, nowadays, NEVER be allowed in children's books...My mother (who was born in Germany) bought this when my brother and I were toddlers, that copy has been lost, but the stories and pictures are STILL with me! This is definitely from an earlier time "spare the rod spoil the child" "children should be seen and not heard" etc. A spoiled VERY finicky child refuses to eat...he gets thinner..and thinner...and finally DIES!! Two boys make fun of a black man, so St. Nick (yes, the same) dips them in a giant INK VAT! A child refuses to stop sucking his thumb...until a man chases him with giant shears and CUTS OFF THE BOYS' THUMBS, showing BLOOD dripping! A boy plays with matches and finally IMMOLATES HIMSELF! DO NOT BUY THIS FOR YOUR YOUNG CHILD (NIGHTMARES GALORE), buy it for YOURSELF ONLY!!Book Review: Childrens' Book
Summary: 4 Stars
I grew up with the original German version of this book and have read it to two generations of American children in my own translation. Children are fascinated by the graphic stories and pictures which take a simple approach to "crime & punishment". Some of the children I had read this book to are now in their 40's and still talk about the book and how it impressed upon them the things a child should and should not do. Adults generally find the content and it's graphics too brutal but I believe it to be no more violent that the classic fairy tales.
The English translation is clumsy but it conveys the stories quite accurately.
Book Review: Twisted
Summary: 4 Stars
For those with a twisted sense of humor, and who appreciate the more intense form of fable, you'll love this. My siblings and I always wondered which one of our child-hating relatives had given us this as a gift--we were sure we spotted Shock Headed Peter one day! As much as we feared the book as kids, as adults we still fight over our time-worn paperback copy, amazed that it was once given to us in earnest. My guess is that Heinrich may have been a key influence on a little German boy named Adolph.Book Review: They don't write them like this anymore (m)
Summary: 4 Stars
My mother & I were both raised on this book. It didn't scare us because the horrid, nasty things were all happening to children who were being particularly bad, and the so-called violence was as unrealistic as the witch eating Hansel & Gretel. Even a small child can distinguish these "tall tales" from reality. I will admit, that we grew up to be particularly law-abiding adults. Maybe there is a connection.Book Review: One of its kind, but there are better ways to teach kids
Summary: 3 Stars
We had this book when my sister and I were 4 and 6, and living in Germany. My younger sister was extremely traumatized by the story and pictures of the boy whose thumbsucking results in his thumbs being cut off by a man with giant shears, illustrated by copious amounts of dripping blood. I'm 1000 percent with the reviewers who say that kids today are spoiled and need guidance, but there are better ways to teach those lessons. A parent who knows foolishness in their child when they see it, and is willing to lovingly and constantly set an example and correct their child's wrong behavior, is way ahead of a creepy "scare 'em straight" book. But for sheer entertainment value for adults, this book is right up there.