Discover these classics of Germany's children's literature. Beware: Some of them do not end as well as Disney's fairy tales.
Breaking into the children's books market nowadays is a bit like winning the lottery when it comes to many budding authors' aspirations. You get to run wild with your imagination telling narratives that inspire kids and have parents spending money on sequels, merchandise and anything really that will keep the little ones happy.
But the markets vary from country to country. A bestseller in one region may not find a publisher somewhere else. Some just get lost in translation, while others don't speak to the particular sensitivities of a culture. A beloved children's book character in one country may virtually be nobody somewhere else.
German children's books have a long-standing history and tend to be passed on from one generation to the next. While many fairytales originate from Germany, particularly from the work of the Brothers Grimm, storytellers have long moved on and created some unique gems for German kids, which everyone in the country will either know from their childhood or relate to as a parent.
From "Max and Moritz" to Cornelia Funke's "Inkheart," the gallery above offers a selection of some of the most popular books of German children's literature, old and new.