Erich Kästner – författare

Berlin 1930, mellan världskrigen. Arbetslösheten är stor, klassmotsättningarna enorma. Elände och lyx möts varje kväll på Weidendammerbron mitt i Berlin. Barn och krigsskadade försöker kränga tändstickor och skosnören till affärsmän och hemmafruar. Tiggare räcker fram sina mössor till de nattsuddare som kommer ut från alla nöjeslokaler och teatrar i närheten. Anton Gasts mamma är ensamstående och brukar jobba som servitris. Men nu ligger hon sjuk i sin lilla nergångna lägenhet efter en canceroperation. Elvaårige Anton måste ta hand om hushållet och hjälpa till att dryga ut den lilla sjukpenning mamman får. Anton har goda skäl att varje kväll stå på Weidendammerbron och sälja skosnören. Men varför står Luise – som kallas för Pricken – där på bron och tigger? Hennes pappa är ju en rik direktör med såväl fin våning, köksa och chaufför som barnflicka till Pricken. Och vem är den blinda kvinnan bredvid Pricken?Erich Kästners omtyckta barnboksklassiker om vänskapen mellan den kavata överklassflickan Pricken och den handlingskraftiga killen från arbetarkvarteren är som sagan om prinsessan och bondpojken, fast berättad för moderna storstadsbarn.Boken har kärleksfullt omvandlats till serie av den mångfaldigt prisbelönade tyska serieskaparen Isabel Kreitz.

'Witty yet mysterious' Guardian

'Erich Kästner has a way of being very funny while also make a serious point' Irish Times

Dot loves play-acting, dressing up her pet dachshund Piefke and inventing words like 'splentastic'. Her best friend is Anton, who lives in a tiny flat and looks after his mother.

They share a secret - every night, when their parents think they are asleep, they sell matches and shoelaces on the streets of Berlin with Dot's grumpy governess. But why?

The answers involve a villain called 'Robert the Devil', a club-wielding maid, a wobbly tooth, a pair of silver shoes and a policeman dancing the tango, as Dot and Anton get into all sorts of scrapes in this delightful, touching and hilarious adventure story.

Part of the new Pushkin Children's Classics series of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, which young readers will return to time and again.

Translated by Antthea Bell.

Erich Kästner, writer, poet and journalist, was born in Dresden in 1899. His first children's book, Emil and the Detectives, was published in 1929 and has since sold millions of copies around the world and been translated into more than 60 languages. After the Nazis took power in Germany, Kästner's books were burnt and he was excluded from the writers' guild. He won many awards, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1960. He died in 1974.

Walter Trier was born in Prague in 1880. After moving to Berlin, he became an acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator, and Kästner's collaborator on more than a dozen children's books. Forced to emigrate under Nazi rule, he died in 1951 in Ontario, Canada.

Anthea Bell was born in Suffolk in 1936. An illustrious, award-winning translator, she was best known for her translations of the much-loved Asterix books and the work of Zweig and Sebald. She died in 2018.

'Walter Trier's deceptively innocent drawings are as classic as Kästner's words; I never tire of them' Quentin Blake

'Atmospheric... bittersweet... a memorable exploration of bravery, boyhood and friendships' Wall Street Journal

Martin's school is not the ordinary kind. There are snowball fights, kidnappings, cakes, a parachute jump, a mysterious man who lives in a railway carriage, and a play about a flying classroom.

As the Christmas holidays draw near, Martin is preparing for the end of term festivities along with his friend: nervous Uli, cynical Sebastian, poetic Johnny, and Matthias, who is always hungry (particularly after a meal). But surprises, sadness and trouble are on the way - and a secret that changes everything.

The Flying Classroom is a magical, thrilling and bittersweet story about friendship, fun and being brave even when you are scared.

Part of the new Pushkin Children's Classics series of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, which young readers will return to time and again.

Translated by Anthea Bell.

Erich Kästner, writer, poet and journalist, was born in Dresden in 1899. His first children's book, Emil and the Detectives, was published in 1929 and has since sold millions of copies around the world and been translated into around 60 languages. After the Nazis took power in Germany, Kästner's books were burnt and he was excluded from the writers' guild. He won many awards, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1960. He died in 1974.

Walter Trier was born in Prague in 1880. After moving to Berlin, he became an acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator, and Kästner's collaborator on more than a dozen children's books. Forced to emigrate under Nazi rule, he died in 1951 in Ontario, Canada.

Anthea Bell was born in Suffolk in 1936. An illustrious, award-winning translator, she was best known for her translations of the much-loved Asterix books and the work of Zweig and Sebald. She died in 2018.

'A wonderful story brilliantly translated' Julia Eccleshare

'Warmly recommended' Irish Times

Luise has ringlets. Lottie has braids. Apart from that they look exactly the same. But they have never set eyes on each other before.

When the two girls meet at a summer camp and discover the secret behind their similarity, they decide to switch places. Luise will go home as Lottie, and Lottie as Luise. Everyone is fooled (apart from the dog) and the plan seems to be working - until a beautiful young woman sets her sights on Luise's father. Will the girls come clean in order to avert disaster?

Funny, moving, affectionate and improbably, The Parent Trap has twice been adapted for film, and endures as one of the great classics of children's literature.

Part of the new Pushkin Children's Classics series of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, which young readers will return to time and again.

Translated by Anthea Bell

Erich Kästner, writer, poet and journalist, was born in Dresden in 1899. His first children's book, Emil and the Detectives, was published in 1929 and has since sold millions of copies around the world and been translated into around 60 languages. After the Nazis took power in Germany, Kästner's books were burnt and he was excluded from the writers' guild. He won many awards, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1960. He died in 1974.

Walter Trier was born in Prague in 1880. After moving to Berlin, he became an acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator, and Kästner's collaborator on more than a dozen children's books. Forced to emigrate under Nazi rule, he died in 1951 in Ontario, Canada.

Anthea Bell was born in Suffolk in 1936. An illustrious, award-winning translator, she was best known for her translations of the much-loved Asterix books and the work of Zweig and Sebald. She died in 2018.