Product Description

A visually stunning reinterpretation of the fairy tale classic.

Originally written in 1845 by German physician Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894), 'Der Struwwelpeter' reads like a fairy tale breaking loose from a doomed rollercoaster, crashing through a rusty calliope, and finally splashing into the miasmic ooze of Hell-but somehow still managing to float. Mesmerized as a child by the nightmarish prose and haunting images contained in the book, noted author/illustrator Bob Staake (MAD magazine, Cartoon Network, even Hallmark Cards) gives a 21st century spin to these 14 stories-each more politically incorrect than the next. The nastiest things happen to children who disobey the wishes of their parents: thumb suckers have their digits cut off, the pyro-fascinated are set ablaze and, of course, picky eaters rot away and die prematurely. In other words, precisely the type of bedtime stories you'll want to read to a six-year-old, provided it's not your six-year-old. Publishers Weekly calls Staake's illustrations "a stylistic collision of Russian constructivism and pop art that explode with energy and joyous intensity."

Gorgeously designed and illustrated, Staake's Struwwelpeter is sure to spark as many "oooo's" and "ahhhh's" as it does nightmares.

Staake is the author and/or illustrator of over 30 books, including Headlines (written by Jay Leno, illustrated by Staake), The Complete Book Of Caricature and The Complete Book Of Humorous Art (both authored by Staake). The recipient of numerous awards, Staake recently won the National Cartoonist Society's coveted 'Reuben Division Award' as Best Cartoonist in the category of Newspaper Illustration. He has appeared on Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, The Family Channel, National Public Radio, CNN and has been interviewed by Time, People, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and other national publications.

This is a new BLAB! storybook, a series of graphic novels showcasing artists from Monte Beauchamp's annual BLAB! anthology, presented in a faux-children's book format, though aimed squarely at adults and young adults.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #767897 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Booklist
The original "Struwwelpeter," or slovenly Peter, was the creation of physician and mental hospital director Hoffmann (1809-94) for his young son's amusement and instruction. Peter and the other characters of Hoffmann's rhymes were children who misbehaved in various ways only to meet with ostracism (Peter's fate), humiliation, mutilation, or death. Better than the rhymes were Hoffmann's intricate illustrations, which influenced many later children's book and comics artists. Staake renders tribute to Hoffmann by reillustrating 10 poems. In his highly geometrical style, figures and objects are constructed of brightly colored circles, triangles, rectangles, ellipses, and so forth, and placed on backdrops alive with flat, colored shapes. Although he essays perspective only on the last page of "Slovenly Peter," Staake displays compositional flair and imagination nearly everywhere; see, in particular, the second page of "Hans Stare-in-the-Air." The rhymes are probably still too much for very little children; Staake's pictures, on the other hand, are less scary and more child-friendly than Hoffmann's. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Bob Staake is the founder of PlanetCartoonist.com. He resides and works in Chatham, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Fantagraphics releases another winner.
Bob Staake, Struuwelpeter and Other Disturbing Yet Cautionary Tales by Heinrich Hoffmann (Fantagraphics, 2006)

First off: it doesn't matter that this is a book of nursery rhymes one bit. When you see the imprint "Fantagraphics" on a book, you're not buying something to read to the kiddies to put them to sleep, unless you want to scar them for life with soul-destroying nightmares you can't even begin to imagine, being an adult. Not that Hoffmann's tales were ever really appropriate for the preschool set, but let's remember this guy was writing in the same country whence came the Brothers Grimm, eh? Bob Staake has taken these twisted (and famously politically incorrect) tales, reprinted them faithfully, and set them to pictures that do justice to the rather perverse nature of the tales themselves.

This is one of those reviews where my ignorance of art history is going to come trumpeting down the middle of the lane, so I'll just come right out and say that while Staake's wonderful pieces put me in mind of, well, something, I have no earthly idea what that something is. So imagine I'm telling you that Staake's work is evocative of the something period of artist X, nod your head sagely, call me an idiot, and then buy the book and just pretend you knew what I was talking about all along, okay? Because trust me, if your sense of humor is as warped as mine, you want a copy of this book. It could have been a bit longer, but hey, Staake only had so much source material to work with. Can't fault him for that, can we? What's here is solid from beginning to end, as it is with pretty much every Fantagraphics title I've picked up. ****

Naughty Children Beware! Struwwelpeter
Der Struwwelpeter (and Other distrubing Tales for Human Beings) is such an amazing tribute to the original German storybook. I had found an older copy of the odd children's book and was wondering if there was a more current (and English!) edition. My copy was in German only, and since I don't speak the language, I had to decipher the book based on the incredible illustrations. The new English edition is amazing and lends a fresh take on the fantastic stories. The new illustrations are simply a modern representation of the original, and are done with incredible creativity to capture the eyes of today's youth.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys classic (or fractured) fairytales. The text rhymes, and each story has a moral a the end. This is not just a children's book - anyone will like it!

I was raised on Struwwelpeter!!!!
As a child of German immigrants, I was raised on the Struwwelpeter book (in German of course) and found this and had to have it in English. It may be harsh in some eyes, but this is a book we must remember was read to children to teach them how to listen to their parents and not misbehave. You may say this is not for children, but you have to wonder if your children will behave better if you read it to them....