Counterintuitively, I can picture your kids (hmmm, which one?) reciting the tale of poor Augustus and his soup shunning escapades! 🤣 And yes, like Gorey. Thanks for the comment, Melora. Glad you enjoyed the read.
Back in the 80's, I worked for a publishing company that imported a reading series from New Zealand and sold it to US schools. My job was to "Americanize" the texts, which mostly meant changing spelling and the occasional word, but it could also mean making them less violent or scary. I was told that the thinking in NZ was that books were a safer way for children to encounter hard things and work through their feelings about them than leaving them to learn about the cruelty of life through experience. Also, it acknowledges that kids do experience cruelty, and the stories give them ways to process it. I always thought that thinking made a lot of sense.
Rita, in my opinion, that publishing company,, and the NZ editors/writers, was on the mark. Much of what you're getting at here is where I'm headed in Part Two. Suffice to say, I am in full agreement! Appreciate you reading and commenting.
Tutu read it to Luke at a pretty early age as I recall; I'll ask him if he has any recurring nightmares from it but I suspect he enjoyed it just as much as all the Shaw kids did! Thanks for all the background info! Loved reading about it, and I would love to reread it again!
Oooh, I'd love to hear what Luke has to say about it -- and what he estimates was his age at the time. If he remembers. 😅 Next family get together, we'll have a story share.
Such a fantastic post, and the family snap is gorgeous - that little dude in the shades is adorable! 🥰
My German au pair kids had the Wilhelm Busch book 'Max und Moritz' - an illustrated tale of two ne'er-do-well young lads who tore through their neighbourhood doing horrid, horrid things, until they finally got their comeuppance. M & M though were kittens in comparison to 'Struwwelpeter'. THAT book was lent to me by the family during my first week living with them (as a young-for-her age newly 18-year-old PRONE TO NIGHTMARES and away from home living in a foreign country for the first time.
It was an edition in German - I didn't understand every word at first, but it certainly made an impact on me, put it that way! 🫣🤣
I thought of you, Rebecca, with what I remembered of your German experience. (Even just the ability to pronounce the original name of the book was beyond me!) I do not think Struwwelpeter is the best choice for a young person, potentially homesick and prone to fretful dreams. Then again, you seem pretty together now. So it must have all been okay, even though...oh, wait. That's my story. Thanks for reading and sharing! Hope I didn't dredge up too many old, scary memories
You're absolutely right about it not being the best choice of book at the time, Elizabeth! It was nice to look back on my time in Bonn, though, and I enjoyed your post all the more BECAUSE of the memories! 😊
Brilliant! I still have scars. She displayed that book with pride right until the end, and laughed when I insisted it wasn’t funny! (It was though, as you artfully describe.)
Oh my goodness, I remember so many of these! That boy with the thumbs - I was so scared of dressmaking scissors after that. Matilda and the fire - 'and everytime she called out 'fire!', they only answered 'little liar!'... , Augustus and the soup, and the girl with the matches! Struwwelpeter! Thank you for reminding me of this little book.
June -- uh, I hate to be the one to point this out, but I think you meant *without* the thumbs. 🤣 😬 🤨 Do you recall if the book lived in your house when you were younger or whether you borrowed it? With so many sold, I figure some of our fellow Substackers have to have their own copy. Thanks for the comment.
Ha! I think I remember it at primary school....I don't think it was in the house...and I don't think Matilda was one of the stories, I must remember that from something else. The match girl was Harriet, I think.
Oh, Brazil! I'd be most curious how the translations differed. I read that the American versions were "softer" than the British. Glad to know we share this in common, Erica.
I love vintage children's books and have a number myself but they are really gentle books.
Yes, you are right - fairytales were brutal. They spring from tales of the mythical and legendary and were told for exactly the purpose that Strewelpeter was written.
I have an encyclopedia, https://www.amazon.com.au/Spirits-Fairies-Gnomes-Goblins-Hb/dp/0874368111 and when one reads exactly what the legendary creatures did, it's horrifying. But then of course, some are quite seelie - gentle - and for a small price (porridge, a set of clothes) will treat one well.
But back to books - I think in our day, we knew the tales WERE legend and myth and so it was possible to accept the 'cautionary' instruction without having a breakdown. These days, so many stories, Young Adult in particular, are depressing, real and give no reader a chance to escape from life. Ultimately, is it any wonder that kids move onto alcohol, drugs, self-abuse? Anything to shut off reality. Maybe fantasy and fairytale does have its place...
In fact, Prue, as I understand it, most of the children's books available at that time were pedagogic in nature, intent on instruction and rooted in the belief that fantasy served no purpose. In fact, fiction was frowned upon until, I think, the middle of the 19th century. Thank goodness we found enlightenment on that one! Fantasy and fiction definitely have a place! I've wondered about how stories like those in Struwwelpeter would affect children with less or more privilege, or those who lived in abusive situations. But of course, few if any writers thought about that back then.
This sounded SO familiar -- One of my favorite childhood poetry collections (that I still have & still read to my son) is Beastly Boys & Ghastly Girls (1964) and I just checked - it includes Hoffman’s “Slovenly Peter” and the story of “Augustus” who wouldn’t eat his soup, and another by him about Johnny Head-in-the-air who fell in the river because he never watched where he was going. I love these kinds of tales, and as a kid I doubly loved them!
This is great, Robin! A kindred spirit! Out of curiosity, do Augustus and Johnny meet their fate? Poor Peter, I know, was *just* unloved (perhaps a worse consequence), but the other two? 💀 Wondered if their stories were softened up by the time your book was published. Thanks for sharing here, and for carrying on the tradition with your son!
Johnny was saved just before he drowned, but alas, Augustus doesn't make it (and there's a sketch of him in his coffin). :) There are also stories here of Jim who did not mind his nurse at the zoo, and was eaten by a lion (sketch of just his head in the cage by the end) and Matilda who wouldn't take her wet stockings off, got sick, then refused her medicine, and "doesn't seem worth saving" - she doesn't die, but her community wonders if her tombstone will read: "Here lies Matilda. Nothing but Naughty Temper Killed Her." haha!
I too have an old battered copy of "The Golden Story Book" full of beautiful Arthur Rackham-style drawings that I loved BUT it also included a few of the (very terrifying to me) Heinrich Hoffmann poems. I found this post especially intriguing because I wrote about poor Augustus and that awful Scissor Man on my own blog a number of years ago. I do believe that the British illustrations of the Scissor Man are much more sinister! Have a looksee if you like and love your substack! https://www.speranzanow.com/?p=402
Such profound distinctions in those illustrations! The child looks so much younger, more like a toddler, and the tailor more like a warlock. When was it published? I remember reading something about how the various translations and reprints also reflected variations in cultures, and there was a discussion about British humor and how that might have impacted the adaptations. Sadly, I can't trace my way back to that article now and can neither recall precise details. Still, I'm sure it was no accident that the two turned out so differently! Thanks for sharing that delightful article, Speranza.
Thank you! Actually, funnily enough, there is NO date on my copy - just "Printed in Great Britain." If I had to guess, I'd say 1940s? Possibly much earlier. It was so interesting to read about someone else's experience with all this. Cheers indeed, Elizabeth!
This brought back such fun memories of ... one of my kids... memorizing the poem about Augustus and the soup. Such a hoot! Like Gorey but jollier.
Counterintuitively, I can picture your kids (hmmm, which one?) reciting the tale of poor Augustus and his soup shunning escapades! 🤣 And yes, like Gorey. Thanks for the comment, Melora. Glad you enjoyed the read.
Back in the 80's, I worked for a publishing company that imported a reading series from New Zealand and sold it to US schools. My job was to "Americanize" the texts, which mostly meant changing spelling and the occasional word, but it could also mean making them less violent or scary. I was told that the thinking in NZ was that books were a safer way for children to encounter hard things and work through their feelings about them than leaving them to learn about the cruelty of life through experience. Also, it acknowledges that kids do experience cruelty, and the stories give them ways to process it. I always thought that thinking made a lot of sense.
Rita, in my opinion, that publishing company,, and the NZ editors/writers, was on the mark. Much of what you're getting at here is where I'm headed in Part Two. Suffice to say, I am in full agreement! Appreciate you reading and commenting.
Tutu read it to Luke at a pretty early age as I recall; I'll ask him if he has any recurring nightmares from it but I suspect he enjoyed it just as much as all the Shaw kids did! Thanks for all the background info! Loved reading about it, and I would love to reread it again!
Oooh, I'd love to hear what Luke has to say about it -- and what he estimates was his age at the time. If he remembers. 😅 Next family get together, we'll have a story share.
Such a fantastic post, and the family snap is gorgeous - that little dude in the shades is adorable! 🥰
My German au pair kids had the Wilhelm Busch book 'Max und Moritz' - an illustrated tale of two ne'er-do-well young lads who tore through their neighbourhood doing horrid, horrid things, until they finally got their comeuppance. M & M though were kittens in comparison to 'Struwwelpeter'. THAT book was lent to me by the family during my first week living with them (as a young-for-her age newly 18-year-old PRONE TO NIGHTMARES and away from home living in a foreign country for the first time.
It was an edition in German - I didn't understand every word at first, but it certainly made an impact on me, put it that way! 🫣🤣
I thought of you, Rebecca, with what I remembered of your German experience. (Even just the ability to pronounce the original name of the book was beyond me!) I do not think Struwwelpeter is the best choice for a young person, potentially homesick and prone to fretful dreams. Then again, you seem pretty together now. So it must have all been okay, even though...oh, wait. That's my story. Thanks for reading and sharing! Hope I didn't dredge up too many old, scary memories
You're absolutely right about it not being the best choice of book at the time, Elizabeth! It was nice to look back on my time in Bonn, though, and I enjoyed your post all the more BECAUSE of the memories! 😊
Brilliant! I still have scars. She displayed that book with pride right until the end, and laughed when I insisted it wasn’t funny! (It was though, as you artfully describe.)
Her own form of rebellion. 😅 Sorry about the scars. You hide them well.
Oh my goodness, I remember so many of these! That boy with the thumbs - I was so scared of dressmaking scissors after that. Matilda and the fire - 'and everytime she called out 'fire!', they only answered 'little liar!'... , Augustus and the soup, and the girl with the matches! Struwwelpeter! Thank you for reminding me of this little book.
June -- uh, I hate to be the one to point this out, but I think you meant *without* the thumbs. 🤣 😬 🤨 Do you recall if the book lived in your house when you were younger or whether you borrowed it? With so many sold, I figure some of our fellow Substackers have to have their own copy. Thanks for the comment.
Ha! I think I remember it at primary school....I don't think it was in the house...and I don't think Matilda was one of the stories, I must remember that from something else. The match girl was Harriet, I think.
Yes, Harriet. And it looks like Matilda was a Hilaire Belloc tale of the same ilk. Poor dear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7DIauS3mY
Loved your piece, Elizabeth! All very familiar to my childhood, in the fifties, in Brazil. Adorable and scary, and very much life like!
Oh, Brazil! I'd be most curious how the translations differed. I read that the American versions were "softer" than the British. Glad to know we share this in common, Erica.
I love vintage children's books and have a number myself but they are really gentle books.
Yes, you are right - fairytales were brutal. They spring from tales of the mythical and legendary and were told for exactly the purpose that Strewelpeter was written.
I have an encyclopedia, https://www.amazon.com.au/Spirits-Fairies-Gnomes-Goblins-Hb/dp/0874368111 and when one reads exactly what the legendary creatures did, it's horrifying. But then of course, some are quite seelie - gentle - and for a small price (porridge, a set of clothes) will treat one well.
But back to books - I think in our day, we knew the tales WERE legend and myth and so it was possible to accept the 'cautionary' instruction without having a breakdown. These days, so many stories, Young Adult in particular, are depressing, real and give no reader a chance to escape from life. Ultimately, is it any wonder that kids move onto alcohol, drugs, self-abuse? Anything to shut off reality. Maybe fantasy and fairytale does have its place...
In fact, Prue, as I understand it, most of the children's books available at that time were pedagogic in nature, intent on instruction and rooted in the belief that fantasy served no purpose. In fact, fiction was frowned upon until, I think, the middle of the 19th century. Thank goodness we found enlightenment on that one! Fantasy and fiction definitely have a place! I've wondered about how stories like those in Struwwelpeter would affect children with less or more privilege, or those who lived in abusive situations. But of course, few if any writers thought about that back then.
This sounded SO familiar -- One of my favorite childhood poetry collections (that I still have & still read to my son) is Beastly Boys & Ghastly Girls (1964) and I just checked - it includes Hoffman’s “Slovenly Peter” and the story of “Augustus” who wouldn’t eat his soup, and another by him about Johnny Head-in-the-air who fell in the river because he never watched where he was going. I love these kinds of tales, and as a kid I doubly loved them!
This is great, Robin! A kindred spirit! Out of curiosity, do Augustus and Johnny meet their fate? Poor Peter, I know, was *just* unloved (perhaps a worse consequence), but the other two? 💀 Wondered if their stories were softened up by the time your book was published. Thanks for sharing here, and for carrying on the tradition with your son!
Johnny was saved just before he drowned, but alas, Augustus doesn't make it (and there's a sketch of him in his coffin). :) There are also stories here of Jim who did not mind his nurse at the zoo, and was eaten by a lion (sketch of just his head in the cage by the end) and Matilda who wouldn't take her wet stockings off, got sick, then refused her medicine, and "doesn't seem worth saving" - she doesn't die, but her community wonders if her tombstone will read: "Here lies Matilda. Nothing but Naughty Temper Killed Her." haha!
Wickedly funny!! 😆
I too have an old battered copy of "The Golden Story Book" full of beautiful Arthur Rackham-style drawings that I loved BUT it also included a few of the (very terrifying to me) Heinrich Hoffmann poems. I found this post especially intriguing because I wrote about poor Augustus and that awful Scissor Man on my own blog a number of years ago. I do believe that the British illustrations of the Scissor Man are much more sinister! Have a looksee if you like and love your substack! https://www.speranzanow.com/?p=402
Such profound distinctions in those illustrations! The child looks so much younger, more like a toddler, and the tailor more like a warlock. When was it published? I remember reading something about how the various translations and reprints also reflected variations in cultures, and there was a discussion about British humor and how that might have impacted the adaptations. Sadly, I can't trace my way back to that article now and can neither recall precise details. Still, I'm sure it was no accident that the two turned out so differently! Thanks for sharing that delightful article, Speranza.
Thank you! Actually, funnily enough, there is NO date on my copy - just "Printed in Great Britain." If I had to guess, I'd say 1940s? Possibly much earlier. It was so interesting to read about someone else's experience with all this. Cheers indeed, Elizabeth!