2018 Reprint. English Translation REPRODUCED IN FULL COLOR. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. First published in 1845 in German,
Struwwelpeter
(variously translated as "slovenly" or "shock-headed" Peter) has become widely recognized as one of the most popular and influential children's books ever written. Heinrich Hoffmann was a Frankfurt physician. Unhappy with the dry and pedagogic books available for children at the time, he wrote and illustrated
as a Christmas present for his three-year-old son. The book relates in verse and pictures the sometimes gruesome consequences that befall children who torment animals, play with matches, suck their thumbs, refuse to eat, fidget at meals, etc. Written in rhyming couplets and illustrated by the author, the book was an immediate success. Each of the ten chapters has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior. The title of the first story provides the title of the whole book.
is one of the earliest books for children that combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format and is considered a precursor to comic books. It has since gone through hundreds of editions and been published in almost every European language. The present volume reprints 25 color plates from a German with the text of a standard English translation.