Max and Moritz

A German book that is supposed to be funny? Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Honestly, I absolutely loved this story. The entire book is told in rhyme and accompanied by the original illustrations that add to the classic feeling of it. I also have the original text in the back that is perfect for those learning German and for the nerds wanting to judge the translation. I was laughing my way through it.

If you like you antiheroes and naughty characters this is the book for you. I knew I would like Max and Moritz but the author made me like them and their pranks while also feeling for the people that had to deal with them which was a surprise.

This is a tale from times past for sure though: there are instances of animal cruelty and Max and Moritz when caught are not only given a stern talking to. If you are going to read this to children, have that into account because it might be too gory compared to the children's stories of today and the rest of the classics that we have long revised to not include the violence and death.

Seriously, I was sold when this book was compared to Dr. Seuss’s Cat.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Pushkin Press for this ARC.

Max and Moritz by Wilhelm Busch, and translated here by Mark Ledsom, introduces a new generation of young readers to a classic German children's story that proves itself to be truly timeless. Accompanied by the original illustrations, this tale has certainly been done the justice it deserves in the hands of the talented Mr Ledsom. While reading, one can certainly appreciate the challenges of remaining true to the classic, while making adjustments to the text that make it more readable and accessible for a more contemporary audience. Make no mistake, this version retains all of the darkness and humour of the original, but cultural references are slightly modified to be more relatable to young readers over one hundred years after its first publication. What is interesting is that the universal themes of the story, including morality and the belief in reaping what you sow, remain just as relevant in today's world, and will most certainly resonate with readers of all ages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for this delightful ARC.

As the child of German immigrants I was raised on the classics of German children’s literature, including Max and Moritz. We did not have a written translation; when they read to us the adults translated from the German as they went along. My German is not that good, so when I, in turn, read Max and Moritz (it is very hard for me to write and instead of und) to my own children I used a translation. It told the story, but to modern ears was a bit stilted.

This translation, by Mark Ledsom, is just wonderful. It flows beautifully in couplets, and pulls the story along. Max and Moritz are two horrible little boys who play nasty tricks on innocent people, and eventually get their comeuppance by being ground into little bits and eaten up by geese. If you are concerned that this is too gross, fear not. I was a child myself, and I raised kids, and thus know from experience that children are bloodthirsty little beasts with a fine sense of justice. Children love Max and Moritz – the story, not the little wretches – and cheer at the end.

Some nice touches in this book include the original German text, and a most interesting translator’s note. Mr Ledsom describes for the reader some of the small changes he made to make the text more meaningful for modern children, and his change to one possibly racist passage which might have raised more problems than it was worth. I understand his reasoning, and approve of his changes, even though I tend to be a purist in matters such as these.

I was really pleased by this translation, and can heartily recommend it. Mark Ledsom has an excellent facility with translation from the German, and he made this book so much fun. Is it too much to hope that he will next turn his attention to Der Struwwelpeter?

An old German tale brought back to life by a modern retelling. In the katzenjammer kids style and other old tales of Germany there are pranks and mischievous tricks abound. A really fun read.

Please note this is a review of an uncorrected proof. I'm a big fan of fairy tales, lullabies, myths, legends.. ok you get the point. I am even more drawn to the creepy and obscure ones like the true Grimm Tales. Seeing the synopsis for this one immediately intrigued me. I visited Germany and adored their culture and history (especially the food) and just couldn't resist reviewing this original German literature in English translation.

This is exactly what dark children's humor is about. Mischievous children doing dastardly deeds and in the end paying in some horrendous way for what they have done. Of course many parents these days would abhor something like this for their precious little ones but as adults we can see the humor, hear the lesson and appreciate the history behind something of this nature.

I also appreciated the inclusion of the original German text and doubly enjoyed the explanation of the translation in the end. It was nice to see what went behind turning this piece into something I was able to appreciate.

Special thank you to the author, NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to review this for an honest review.

This is definitely different from the children’s stories I’m used to reading! I wouldn’t want to babysit these kids, but they’re entertaining.

A lot of why I enjoyed this book was for the cultural and historical differences between it and children's books of today. Growing up in California in the 1970s, I wasn't as exposed to European children's books that much, and when I did find them, they were darker than what I was used to. I loved it! Kids have a taste for darkness, I think, as long as there is justice in the end. Max and Moritz are horrible, naughty boys who do terrible, awful things to their neighbors (and their chickens!), but they get punished most harshly in the end. It gets brutal in parts- they kill a woman's chickens, almost drown a man, try to blow up another, before finally being caught and basically murdered- so you might not want to give this to younger children, just sayin'. This might be a more fun read for adults than for kids, or at least as fun. This edition includes the original German text, and an afterword by the translator, who did an amazing job preserving the flavor of the original while tweaking it to keep the rhyme pattern in English. The original illustrations are included as well.

#MaxAndMoritz #NetGalley

Even though I'm German, I'd never read "Max and Moritz" in its entirety before. The translation here is very well done and - vocabulary-wise - easier to understand than the original text.

This is definitely a successful and entertaining translation.

'Max and Moritz' by Wilhelm Busch with translation by Mark Ledsom is a classic German tale of naughty children.

Max and Moritz are brats. They run around their village stealing a widow's chickens, filling their their teacher's pipe with gunpowder and other hijinks. They run around freely creating mayhem, but there is a price to be paid for being bad, and Max and Moritz are about to face it.

This book includes the complete original text along with the very fine translation. History of the work is given as well as notes about the history of the work and this translation.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Pushkin Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.