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Max and Moritz

Author Wilhelm Busch
Illustrated by Wilhelm Busch
Translated by Mark Ledsom
Ebook
Steerforth Press | Pushkin Children's Books
On sale Feb 11, 2020 | 64 Pages | 9781782692546
Grades 1-4
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A lively NEW TRANSLATION of this anarchic children's classic alongside CLASSIC ORIGINAL ARTWORK.

A nostalgia pick, 19th-Century sensibility but THE foundational classic of German children's literature. As irreverant as The Cat in the Hat, though 92 years older, and dark!

Max and Moritz is perhaps the defining classic of German children's literature. In this darkly hilarious story, two young boys exercise their talent for ingenious mischief in a variety of dazzling tricks. Whether stealing a widow's chickens through her chimney or filling their teacher's pipe with gunpowder, Max and Moritz bring chaos and comedy wherever they go.

Containing all of the original illustrations, this new translation by Mark Ledsom brings the original's rhyming couplets to vibrant life and promises to delight a new generation of young readers.
Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator and painter. He contributed satirical sketches to German weekly papers and wrote short verse narratives accompanied by illustrations, which are now considered to be forerunners of the comic strip. Max and Moritz, his most famous work, was published in 1865. View titles by Wilhelm Busch
Introduction
Many stories have been told
Of children who were good as gold,
But these two boys played darker games:
Max and Moritz were their names.
Instead of trying to be good
(As all young children really should),
They laughed at those who stuck to rules,
Giggling like two cackling fools:
“Playing tricks on everyone,
That’s the way to make life fun!
Catching people unawares,
Stealing apples, plums and pears.
That’s the way we spend our time,
With clever pranks and daring crime.
We can’t see much point at all
In wasting time at church or school!”
But, oh, dear readers, it’s too late
To steer them to a better fate.
You’ll see the way our story ends
Is not so nice for these foul friends.
Their nasty acts, their final plight,
It’s all set down in black and white.
Copyright © 2020 by Wilhelm Busch. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
"Mark Ledsom captures the gallop and verve of the original German while steering readers past a small number of semantic anachronisms… The pictures are terrific: sharp, witty, kinetic." — Wall Street Journal

About

A lively NEW TRANSLATION of this anarchic children's classic alongside CLASSIC ORIGINAL ARTWORK.

A nostalgia pick, 19th-Century sensibility but THE foundational classic of German children's literature. As irreverant as The Cat in the Hat, though 92 years older, and dark!

Max and Moritz is perhaps the defining classic of German children's literature. In this darkly hilarious story, two young boys exercise their talent for ingenious mischief in a variety of dazzling tricks. Whether stealing a widow's chickens through her chimney or filling their teacher's pipe with gunpowder, Max and Moritz bring chaos and comedy wherever they go.

Containing all of the original illustrations, this new translation by Mark Ledsom brings the original's rhyming couplets to vibrant life and promises to delight a new generation of young readers.

Author

Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator and painter. He contributed satirical sketches to German weekly papers and wrote short verse narratives accompanied by illustrations, which are now considered to be forerunners of the comic strip. Max and Moritz, his most famous work, was published in 1865. View titles by Wilhelm Busch

Excerpt

Introduction
Many stories have been told
Of children who were good as gold,
But these two boys played darker games:
Max and Moritz were their names.
Instead of trying to be good
(As all young children really should),
They laughed at those who stuck to rules,
Giggling like two cackling fools:
“Playing tricks on everyone,
That’s the way to make life fun!
Catching people unawares,
Stealing apples, plums and pears.
That’s the way we spend our time,
With clever pranks and daring crime.
We can’t see much point at all
In wasting time at church or school!”
But, oh, dear readers, it’s too late
To steer them to a better fate.
You’ll see the way our story ends
Is not so nice for these foul friends.
Their nasty acts, their final plight,
It’s all set down in black and white.
Copyright © 2020 by Wilhelm Busch. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Praise

"Mark Ledsom captures the gallop and verve of the original German while steering readers past a small number of semantic anachronisms… The pictures are terrific: sharp, witty, kinetic." — Wall Street Journal

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