Some Shit for the Kids!

I am occasionally accused of playing into lazy stereotypes of Germans and German society. Such as the admirable harrowing frankness about bodily functions displayed in Germany. Urination or menstruation (g), for instance, not to mention the #1 on the German hit parade, defecation. 

So I doubt anyone would believe me if I said there was a children's book in Germany which featured, on its front cover, a picture of the hero with a pile of fresh, steaming shit on his head.

I give you, gentle readers, The Little Mole Who Wanted to Find Out Who Shat on His Head:

Einfach Klasse!

Comments

[maram]

I'm An egyptian who used to live in germany and i help children in der vorschule because they have language problems or there parents don't know the german language so it ends up that they hate the language and this book is actually amazing it's such an ice bracker it's just an amaizing book it really helped me with lots of kids ...

[onchyophaga]

Everybody who is interested can actually meet Erlbruch on Sat 30th Oct. (11 am to 1 pm) at the Wuppertaler bookstore "von Mackensen" (Laurentiusplatz) where he is going to sign his wonderful new "Kinderzimmerkalender" and other works.

[Spelling Game For Kids]

You really should check out wolf erlbruch's other work. this is one of his first, and in my opinion, weakest books, but in the meantime he has become one of germany's best illustrators.

[Fr.Le.]

It's me again, just to say that I now found out more about the part two of this book:

The German title is Die Rache des Hans-Heinerich oder Wie die Geschichte vom kleinen Maulwurf, der wissen wollte, wer ihm auf den Kopf gemacht hat, weitergeht.

I don't know the real English title, but translated into English it would be: The Revenge of Hans-Heinerich, or How the story of the the Little Mole, Who Wanted to Find Out Who Shat on His Head, goes on.

Look here: http://www.amazon.de/Die-Rache-Hans-Heinerich-Geschichte-weitergeht/dp/3491887909/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270921150&sr=1-1

[by the way: Hans-Heinerich is the name of the dog, who shat on the mole's head - he know wants to know who shat on his head...]

[Fr.Le.]

There is even a part two of this book. It's nearly the same story but this time the dog (which shat on the mole's head) went "in search of whodunit". I have it as a CD (or even on tape!?) but it is long ago that I listened to it last so maybe the story is very different... [I'm a 12 year-old german girl so excuse my English.]

[heidrun]

you really should check out wolf erlbruch's other work. this is one of his first, and in my opinion, weakest books, but in the meantime he has become one of germany's best illustrators.
that said, i know stranger children's books.
and i find my american family being strangely inhibited about bodily functions.

[AL]

Good that this is not a Swiss edition, then
William Tell would shoot a piece of sh(apple) from the head of his son.
But what else would you get out of a country that offers baby-pampering courses for convicts.
Anything goes here, it it reizes the tongue!

[Bastiaan]

The dutch version actually uses the dutch word for shit in the title: "Over een kleine mol die wil weten wie er op zijn kop gepoept heeft."

German would be "Vom kleinen Maulwurf, der wissen wollte, wer ihm auf den Kopf geschissen hat."

I don't know what this says about the Dutch.

[Peter]

this is actually a children's book classic. i know i read it, and hell did it have an impact on my upbringing!

[Eisen]

The mole looks quite determined.

[M. Möhling]

Yet another version. Well done.

[M. Möhling]

Though fresh and steaming, too, our friend's pile wasn't made of the stuff white people like.

[Scott Hanson]

The actual English title is somewhat more politically correct

[Véronique]

And you haven't seen the plop-up edition yet!