Otfried Preusler is a famous German writer who brought all his fairytale fantasies to life. A huge number of children's fairy tales, which he gave to the world, delight children all over the world.
Biography of Otfried Preusler
Preisler Otfried was born in 1923 in the mountains of Bohemia in the city of Liberec. It is in such beautiful places that storytellers should be born. Even in early childhood, little Otfried listened to his grandmother's stories about mountain spirits, ancient castles and ghosts, and his violent imagination allowed all this to be embodied in his works
Otfried Preusler was born into a poor family of teachers. Their main asset was their large library. Mother and father could spend hours looking at colorful pictures with their children and telling incredible stories and legends. Love for reading and perseverance made the boy a wonderful author. Already in the 5th grade, the boy began to write short stories for a local newspaper, and in his youth he received his first money for illustrations in a magazine.
After graduating from school, Otfried entered the university, however, he did not succeed in graduating from it, the Second World War began. The minor was drafted into the army, where he became a lieutenant in the Wehrmacht. The leadership position and responsibility that fell on his shoulders obliged Otfried to grow up quickly. In 1944, Otfried Preusler was taken prisoner and his relatives considered him dead without a trace. Otfried spent almost five years of his life in prisoner-of-war camps, where he learned how to work in a construction site, a quarry, and a brick factory. In captivity, he perfected the Russian language.
After the end of the war, Otfried Preusler returned to his hometown, which at that time was subject to evacuation. Only by a happy coincidence, he managed to find his family and a girlfriend who had been waiting for him all these years, despite the announcement of his death.
At the first meeting, Otfried proposed to Anella Kind. A happy family life gave Otfried three daughters - Renata, Regina and Suzanne.
Returning to Germany, Otfried made his dream come true - he became a primary school teacher. It was here that he realized that his main purpose was to become the author of children's books.
Works by Otfried Preusler
Telling numerous stories about magical creatures, Preusler seemed to be traveling through his fantasies. It was at this moment that he had the idea of arranging the first fairy tale.
The first book of the famous author "Little Water" appeared in 1956. It says that deep at the bottom of a green pond there was a house made of reeds, and Mom and Dad were living in it. And then, at one fine moment, they had a beautiful baby. Further, the book tells about the adventures of the Little Water Man. This tale teaches children to listen to their parents, love nature and be careful.
A year later, Otfried Preusler publishes his next book "Little Baba Yaga". The story of this heroine is no less fascinating and interesting than the previous hero. According to the author, she appeared when he was putting his daughters to bed. The children dabbled and Otfried threatened that Baba Yaga would come and take them with him. However, gradually telling the tale, it turned out that Little Baba Yaga was not that evil. Later, the author transferred his fantasies into the book, supplementing it with new adventures of the main character.
The third fairy tale "Little Ghost" brought Alfrid worldwide fame. The author was appreciated, and his books have been translated into 11 languages and are sold in huge editions around the world.
In addition to children's fairy tales, Preusler was able to compose a fabulous detective story "The Robber Hotzenplotz". As it might seem at first glance, the book should contain scenes of murder and blood, however, this is not at all the case. The worst punishment in the entire book is to peel potatoes from an evil wizard. Later, a sequel to the detective came out, which was published in three volumes:
- "Rogue Hotzenplotz and the pepper pistol"
- "The Rogue Hotzenplotz and the Crystal Ball"
- "The robber Hotzenplotz and the stuffed anthill."
All the works of Otfried Preusler are so kind and naive that it is hard to believe that they could have been written by an adult.
Throughout his life, the author has written 32 books, which, at the moment, have been translated about 275 times into 55 languages of the world.
Many of the author's works have been filmed. The most popular of these are:
- "Ghost from the city of Oilenberg",
- "Forest robber"
- "Little Witch"
- "Little Ghost".
Otfried Preusler awards
Throughout his life, the author has been awarded a huge number of state awards. He received the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit for the Federal Republic of Germany, the Bavarian Order of Merit, and the Bavarian Maximilian Order.
In addition, Otfried was awarded the Silver Pen of Rotterdam prize for books for young people, the prize for books for young people from Polish publishing houses and the Rosenheim Cultural Award.
The books of the famous author are familiar to children all over the world. Unusual presentation and great sense of humor allowed the author to create masterpieces of literary art. Kind and magical fairy tales were not only awarded a huge number of prizes and orders, but were also recognized by children of the whole world, and there is no need for a greater award for the author.
