Open Password – Friday March 25, 2022
#1046
Homage to the book – Open Password – Simon Verlag für Bibliothekswissen – Books that moved us – Jochen Lennhof – Jim Knopf and the train driver – Michael Ende – Corona – Shady, flowery paradise – Pleasure of reading aloud – Augsburger Puppenkiste – Patchwork and multicultural Idyll – Emma the Tank Engine
Bettina Wirsching – Knaur’s children’s book in colors – Herbert Pothorn – Arno Schmidt – On a secret mission through the Gobi Desert – Fritz Mühlenweg – Tiffany Aching series – Terry Pratchett – Droemer-Knaur – German Book Association – Comenius – Orbis Pictus – Taken seriously as a child – Ethics – Master and Servant – Curious for life
Martina Hellmich – Pippi Longstocking -Astrid Lindgren – Simplify Your Life – Werner Tiki Coastmaker – Girls can be strong too – Grandmother – Film adaptations – I’ve never done that before, so I can do it – Fairness, honesty and friendship – Big heart
Homage to the book (VIII)
An initiative by Open Password
and the Simon Verlag für Bibliothekswissen
Written with heart, passion and deep knowledge about books “that moved us”
Books for children are books for adults
Now that the book is threatened by short attention spans, lack of reading pleasure and electronic formats, it is time for a tribute to the book. Open Password and the Simon Verlag für Bibliothekswissen have teamed up on the project “Books that moved us” and have recruited 41 authors who report with passion, passion and deep knowledge how they were influenced by a particular book.
The eighth episode of our homage to the book begins with an exclamation: What beautiful books these are that thrilled us as children and that we still love as adults! Jochen Lennhof reads “Jim Knopf and the Engine Driver” to his children, Bettina Wirsching still can’t resist “Knaur’s children’s book in colors, painted and written by Herbert Pothorn, with more than a thousand colored illustrations” and Martina Hellmich does it as an adult Mrs. Pippi Longstocking’s “I’ve never done that before, so I can do it” became her maxim.
Jochen Lennhof is reading the book of his life.
“Jim Knopf and the Engine Driver”
by Michael Ende
“The country where Lukas the engine driver lived was called Lummerland and was very small. It was even extraordinarily small compared to other countries such as Germany or Africa or China. It was about twice the size of our apartment and consisted mostly of a mountain with two peaks, one high and one slightly lower.”
From Jim Knopf and Lukas the Engine Driver Part 1 by Michael Ende.
“Afterwards we are always smarter” – this wisdom seems even more prophetic in the exciting times of the Corona virus and makes space and time appear even more flexible. Who would have thought that our own living room would become (almost) the only social focal point for so long. Blessed is he who has his own garden.
I can still remember very well our meeting in midsummer 2019 with you in your shady, flowery paradise – we chatted about God and the world. But at some point books were also an issue. Through my school-age children and your grandchildren, we talked about the pleasure of reading aloud and remembered supposed children’s reading material.
That was ultimately my lifeline when Gerda spontaneously asked me if I wanted to talk about a (favorite?) book on the occasion of your birthday. And since I was reading “Jim Knopf” to my children, I luckily didn’t have to think long about the choice.
Now Jim Knopf is already a modern classic and, having been published in 1960, he is only slightly younger than you, dear Willi. But even those who have only seen the story in the Augsburger Puppenkiste will certainly remember some of the key players besides Jim and Lukas, such as the island residents Mr. Sleeve, the stall owner Ms. Waas, or of course the Ruhr baron Alfons the Quarter to Twelfth. On the later journey with Emma the steam locomotive, the two of them meet, among others, the Emperor of Mandala, many bigwigs as well as Ping-Pong and a princess.
The story is of course about breaking out of the supposed confines of the living room and the praise of imagination, as well as a loving description of a patchwork and multicultural idyll.
Emma the locomotive is also something special – a drive concept that is no longer quite as contemporary – but of course she wants to be more and first leads her friends across the sea as a boat and later even as an airship to their destination. This wanting to be more, to see and experience more naturally also permeates our two heroes Lukas and Jim, who on their travels also free pirates, end up in a dungeon, meet a vegetarian pseudo-giant and catch wise dragons. These stories have to come to mind first.
And the next time you think about which book might be worth reading to your grandchildren – maybe you’ll have a lot of fun reading Jim Knopf yourself. And who knows, maybe you’ll want to see yourself a little bit in the stories too.
Bettina Wirsching is reading the book of her life.
Knaur’s children’s book in colors,
painted and written by Herbert Pothorn, with more than a thousand colored illustrations
The book that changed my life? What a question! I thought about it for a long time – maybe Arno Schmidt, with whom we only had a spark on the third literary encounter, but then forever? No, not at all, an author as a whole is not in demand, but a book. Or maybe my absolute favorite book, “In a secret mission through the Gobi Desert” by Fritz Mühlenweg? But has it changed my life, apart from the joy this book continues to bring me? Or the five volumes of the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett – yes, they actually gave me insights into life and also into my professional understanding. But anyone who hasn’t read them and reads the poor descriptions on the internet will think I’m crazy…
Oh, now I know the right book: Knaur’s children’s book in colors, painted and written by Herbert Pothorn, with more than a thousand colored illustrations.
The book was published by Droemer-Knaur in 1961 and in the same year also as a licensed edition by the German Book Association. My mother had been a member there since 1953 and bought the book for me when I was two years old.
And so I can’t remember a time in my life when this book wasn’t around. It had everything in it: the knowledge of the world for children, in pictures and texts – very clear drawings, factual and beautiful, texts that tell and describe. An amazing book – not childish at all.
Before I could read myself, my parents read from it, but from the age of six it was just my book, opened again and again, looked at, read.
From the first page, the image and story will remain in my memory forever: it’s about Comenius, who wrote the first picture book for children, Orbis pictus – of course the model for Pothorn, “a book of the world in pictures” (page 7 ). And whenever I later came across Comenius, as the name of a school or in detail in theology studies, I met a dear and familiar acquaintance – the 17th century scholar and reform educator was the friend of children and the beginning of my book.
Then it goes from the familiar to the strange, from the small to the large. It begins with “House and City,” and also includes topics such as “The City is Provided,” “Everything That Has Wheels,” “Craftsmen – Artists – Craftsmen,” “Post Office,” “Hotel,” “Bridges and Roads.” “. The other chapters are called Land, Animals, Plants, Through Time, The Earth, The Sky, Games and Sports. Each subchapter has a maximum of one double page, and a maximum of half of that is text. The book is so beautifully designed that I still enjoy looking at it today (and at some point I bought a second copy for my younger sister because she also has her story with this book).
Why was this book so important to me from the start? I think because it took me seriously, even as a small child. Because it contains facts upon facts, on so many topics, explains and shows at the same time, tells very small stories in individual sentences, and because it is simply incredibly beautiful – from the linen cover to the high-quality paper to the aesthetic and factual images. There is nothing cute, nothing derogatory or ridiculing in this book.
And even more: the book conveys ethics in a very unobtrusive way. A quote from the section “200 Years Ago”: “There were wise men who thought about this and they saw the ever-widening gap between town and country. What they thought sounds completely self-evident to us: A person’s work is only good if he gets something out of it, if his wages are in proportion to his effort. This can only happen if his master, his employer, doesn’t rip him off. And to do this, both the master and the servant must first reflect on their dignity. He is not a good servant who despises himself because of his lower status, who lives in fear and cannot afford pride or free thought. And he’s not a good gentleman who feels like he’s great just because of his origins.”
Herbert Pothorn must have been an impressive person. Through him I learned about the diversity and beauty of the world. He made me curious about knowledge and experience throughout my life. Maybe it would have turned out that way otherwise – hopefully. But this book is firmly connected to my life. And if I ever move into a nursing home – this book will be one of the ones that will accompany me there too.
Martina Helmich is reading the book of her life.
“Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren
“Pippi Longstocking” (Astrid Lindgren) was the first choice, closely followed by “simplify your life” (Werner Tiki Coastmacher with Lothar Seiwert) – with a long gap.
Since I believe that the second title would not have found such fertile ground without Pippi, this is about Pippi Longstocking.
How did I get to Pippi Longstocking? – I was sick again. Just so sick that I was allowed to stay in bed and be read to or told stories.
Wonderful, my grandmother told me about a girl with red hair (my dream – of course I could have dyed it later, but that would have been fake, not “real”), braided in pigtails, who lived all alone in a house and then went to bed could whenever it wanted. And it was so strong that it could lift a horse.
Well, I realized back then that that was probably an exaggeration and served the story more. But the message was clear: girls can be strong too.
Now I could listen more and for longer to what my grandmother was talking about. (This was called away from me by stupid things like cleaning up. Even the argument that if she didn’t go into the kitchen now there wouldn’t be any chocolate pudding later was only weakly accepted).
At some point she even confessed that she couldn’t continue the story because she hadn’t read any further herself. Read more? – There was a book? – then I can continue reading on my own!
Unfortunately, this objection did not take into account the fact that I could only combine a maximum of block letters into words.
So I had to be patient – never my strength.
I recovered and the story was far from over.
I accompanied my grandmother to the laundromat. It was raining and I couldn’t (wasn’t allowed) to play outside. So I was bored!
Then my grandmother pulled out an A6 notebook and meaningfully pressed it into my hand. I should sit quietly on the chair and deal with it.
Oh.
When I opened the notebook, many pages were filled with writing. From her. With block letters. I could read them!
And very quickly recognized PIPPI. PIPPI LONGSTRUMP.
The laundry was done way too quickly and I had to stop reading on the way.
In the evening my grandmother got the notebook back to fill it with block letters and stories from Pippi Longstocking, which I could then devour again during the day.
Gradually I read faster than she could write.
Then the notebook was full and the book was already over.
More!
For my birthday I received the “real” second volume – in normal block letters. How quickly I learned to read them, as new, exciting adventures awaited behind every letter combination.
The third one followed later – but the enthusiasm of the first volume was never restored. At least the films met my expectations when it came to the main characters – something that isn’t always the case with beloved books. Annika was as obnoxiously good as in the book, and Tommy – well. But Pippi liked them and played with them. Then they were just okay.
In addition to this personal story, what still fascinates me about the “brat” (that’s just what a good friend calls her) today is her attitude (not a quote): “I’ve never done that before, so I can do it.” This The optimistic, curious attitude full of drive and courage inspired me back then (even if I didn’t put it that way) – and sometimes drove my mother and grandmother crazy. It was no different in professional life, except that it was superiors who were tearing their hair out. But since it was often only unconventional paths (that no one had ever taken before, because no one had taken them before) that led to the goal and success, I still did well.
This attitude of “I’ve never done that before, so I can do it” isn’t about any hara-kiri actions like climbing a skyscraper and jumping down – (“I’ve never done that before, so I can do it” – and it works good). Astrid Lindgren has always managed to channel this self-confidence into meaningful, encouraging, but not risky or otherwise endangering channels.
I think of the scene in which Pippi decides to buy a piano. She has enough money, she was able to carry it into the house (wonderful and how easy) and she starts strumming the keys. It is this impartiality that we envy today’s children when they pick up a tablet and start intuitively. Yes, there is no thought about the consequences, but there is also no fear that paralyzes us adults in so many cases.
And that is also the connection to “Simplify your life”. In addition to many practical tips, one maxim that stuck with me was not to mull everything over and allow yourself to be restricted.
And Pippi lived like that – always on the basis of fairness, honesty (has nothing to do with her imaginatively embellished stories) and friendship.
Pippi is certainly not an intellectual genius and “plutimication” is certainly not her strong point, but she had very common sense, a big heart and a clear sense of justice.
“Plutimication” is even counter-evidence that she has never done it before and therefore can – she never manages to get the right result by multiplying. A reminder that sometimes you have to learn something before you can do it.
Again, conveyed so subtly that no pedagogical finger ever appears.
Neither for children nor for parents, and so the book ran the risk of being classified as “text harmful to minors” before it was published. Luckily things turned out differently.
For this short text, I downloaded the entire books again as an audio book and let myself be transported back to my childhood, even if the reader’s voice doesn’t come close to that of my grandmother.
In total there are just over seven hours of reading time.
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