Max Kruse (19 November 1921 – 4 September 2015) was a German writer, mostly known for his

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

''Der Löwe ist los'' (The Lion is on the loose) and ''Urmel aus dem Eis'' (Urmel from the Ice Age).

Life

Max Kruse was born in 1921, the youngest of seven children of the sculptor

Max Kruse Max Bennet Kruse (; born 19 March 1988) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward (association football), forward. Early years Kruse was born in Reinbek, Stormarn (district ...

and his wife

Käthe Kruse Käthe Kruse, born Katharina Simon (17 September 1883, in Dąbrowa, Opole County, Dambrau – 19 July 1968, in Murnau am Staffelsee) was a notable pioneer of German doll-making and went on to establish manufacturing principles which persist to this ...

, a well-known dollmaker. He briefly studied

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

Business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms wit ...

at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

until it was shut down due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war he worked as a freelance ad writer and later as an author. Besides writing he was part of the advisory council of the

Giordano Bruno Foundation The Giordano Bruno Foundation (, abbreviated: gbs) is a Germany-based non-profit foundation under public law that promotes evolutionary humanism and the enlightenment. It was founded by entrepreneur Herbert Steffen in 2004 and was named after G ...

. He lived in

Penzberg Penzberg (; Central Bavarian: ''Benschberg'') is a city (although some see it as a town) in the Weilheim-Schongau district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located about 50 km south of Munich, and had a population of around 17,000 in 2020. A hist ...

with his third wife. Probably his most famous work is ''Urmel aus dem Eis''. It is widely recognized and referenced in Germany, especially the TV-adaption by the

Augsburger Puppenkiste The Augsburger Puppenkiste (German for: Augsburg Puppetchest) is a marionette theater in Augsburg, Germany. It is located at the former Heilig-Geist-Spital in the historic center of Augsburg. Since 1948, the "Augsburger Puppenkiste" had been pro ...

and the

Hessischer Rundfunk (; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...

. Based on this novel there is computer-animated feature film

Impy's Island ''Impy's Island'', or ''Urmel from the Ice Age'' (), is a 2006 German animated feature film based on the children's novel '' Urmel from the Ice Age'' by Max Kruse. Plot On a magical tropical island called Tikiwoo in the 1950s, a fun-loving group ...

Works

Selected bibliography

Max Kruse wrote over 50 books which include the following works: * ''Der Löwe ist los'' (1952) * ''Kakadu in Nöten'' (1958) * ''Sultan in der Klemme'' (1959) * ''Ruhige Insel gesucht'' (1965) * ''Windkinder'' (1968) * ''Der kleine Mensch bei den 5 Mächtigen'' (1968) * ''Urmel aus dem Eis'' (1969) * ''Der Schattenbruder'' (1985) * ''Die versunkene Zeit. Bilder einer Kindheit im Käthe-Kruse-Haus'' (Autobiography) (1991) * ''Der Auserwählte'' (1995) * ''Lord Schmetterhemd'' (2000) * ''Die behütete Zeit. Eine Jugend im Käthe-Kruse-Haus.'' (Autobiography) (2000) * ''Kerlchens wundersame Reise'' (2001) * ''Die Froki Saga'' (2010) * ''Im Wandel der Zeit – wie ich wurde, was ich bin.'' (Autobiography) (2011)

Awards and nominations

* 1985 ''Der Schattenbruder'' was nominated for the

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

(German Youth Literature Prize) * 1993

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* 2000 Großer Preis der Deutschen Akademie für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur e.V. Volkach (Great Prize of the German Academy for Children's and Youth Literature) * 2013

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

References

External links

*
Kruse-Lesen

Kruse-Urmel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruse, Max 1921 births 2015 deaths German children's writers German-language writers People from Saxony-Anhalt Bad Kösen German male writers Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany