Struwwelpeter: Fearful Stories and Vile Pictures to Instruct Good Little Folks

Since 1845, millions of parents bought 'Struwwelpeter,' a book that threatened their children with the consequences that befall the disordered and disorderly. Thumbs are sheared off, eyes fall out of sockets, faces are pecked to death and bodies waste to nothing.

Though castigated in recent years for its sadistic approach to child-rearing, 'Struwwelpeter' remains a cultural phenomenon...translated into many languages, the subject of a popular Geerman museum, and the unmistakable influence of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factor,' which also disposes of wretched kids in rhyme.

The Feral House edition includes Sarita Vendetta's macabre illustrations to Heinrich Hoffmann's verse, the entire original edition in color, 'Struwwelpeter-inspired wartime propaganda titled 'Struwwelhitler,' and a revealing introduction by Jack Zipes, an authority on folklore and children's literature, whose journal, 'The Lion and the Unicorn,' devoted an entire issue to Heinrich Hoffman and 'Struwwelpeter.'