Janosch (, born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931) is a German children's author and illustrator.

Biography

Janosch was born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931 in what was then Hindenburg (now

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: , full form: , , ) is an industrial city put under direct government rule in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the western part of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of around 2 m ...

, Poland) in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

to a family of mixed German and Polish origin, though he identifies his nationality as " Silesian". His mother was a pious Catholic, and his father a violent alcoholic. After

World War II 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 ...

, the family fled to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In the area of

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places * Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony * Ol ...

, Janosch worked in a textile mill. In 1953, he went to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where he studied for some terms at the Academy of Arts, but broke off his studies eventually. Afterwards, he worked as a freelance artist. In 1960, his first book for children was published with George Lentz, a friend of his, who also persuaded him to take on the penname ''Janosch''. By 1980, he had published over 100 books for children in nearly 30 languages. Amongst his most recognisable characters is the Tigerente that appears in ''Oh, wie schön ist Panama'' and the stories around the little tiger and the little bear. He has also published several books for adults, in which he deals with his childhood experiences of growing up with an abusive father and a God-fearing mother, constantly recurring topics being friendship, family relationships, and the quest for the meaning of life. Between 1953 and 1980 the artist lived in

, and then relocated to the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, where he currently resides.

Awards

Among others, he has received the following awards: * 1975:

Literaturpreis der Stadt München Literaturpreis der Stadt München is a Bavarian literary prize. The prize money is €10,000. Winners *1928 Hans Carossa *1929 Willy Seidel *1930 Hans Brandenburg *1931 Josef Magnus Wehner *1932 Ruth Schaumann *1933 Hans Zöberlein *1935 Georg ...

* 1979: German Youth Literature Award * 1984:

Zilveren Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Boekenweek, Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Collectieve Prop ...

* 1993:

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

Works

In German, Janosch published until today about 150 books which in part were translated into 30 languages.Philipp Zieger: ''Janosch''. In: ''

Südkurier The ''Südkurier'' is a regional daily newspaper in Germany serving the regions northwest of Lake Constance, Hochrhein and Black Forest with its headquarters in Konstanz. The paper appears with a circulation of around 130,000, six times per we ...

'' vom 13. Mai 2009. * '' Die Geschichte von Valek dem Pferd''. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960. * '' Valek und Jarosch''. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960. * '' Das kleine Schiff''. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960. * '' Der Josa mit der Zauberfidel''. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960. * '. Parabel-Verlag, Munich 1964. * ''

Das Auto hier heißt Ferdinand Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles. * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colomb ...

''. Parabel-Verlag, Munich 1964, . * '' Böllerbam und der Vogel''.

Middelhauve Verlag Elisabeth Rodermund, known as Lisa Middelhauve (born Elisabeth Schaphaus on 28 November 1980) is a German musician, better known as the former lead vocalist and pianist (on the earliest works) of German symphonic metal band Xandria from early 20 ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

1968, . * '' Cholonek oder Der liebe Gott aus Lehm''. Georg-Bitter-Verlag,

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

1970, . * '' Lari Fari Mogelzahn''. Beltz-Verlag,

Weinheim Weinheim (; ) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, approximately north of Heidelberg and northeast of Mannheim. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Sta ...

1971, . * '' Leo Zauberfloh''. dtv, Munich 1975, . * '' Sacharin im Salat''. Bertelsmann-Verlag, Munich 1975, . * '' Update on Rumpelstiltskin and other Fairy Tales by 43 Authors''.

Beltz & Gelberg Hans-Joachim Gelberg (27 August 1930 – 17 May 2020) was a German writer and publisher of children's books, who received several awards. Biography Gelberg was born in Dortmund and later lived in Weinheim, Baden Württemberg. Gelberg founded ...

1976, . * '' Traumstunde für Siebenschläfer''. Beltz-Verlag,

1977, . * '' Die Maus hat rote Strümpfe an''. Beltz-Verlag,

1978, . * '. Beltz-Verlag,

1978, . **English translation: ''The Trip to Panama''. Beltz & Gelberg Verlag, Weinheim 1990, . translator:

Anthea Bell Anthea Bell (10 May 1936 – 18 October 2018) was an English translator of literary works, including children's literature, from French, German and Danish language, Danish. These include ''The Castle (novel), The Castle'' by Franz Kafka, ''Aus ...

* '' Sandstrand''. Beltz-Verlag,

1979, ; Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 2001, . * '. Beltz-Verlag,

1979, . * '' Schnuddelbuddel sagt Gutnacht''.

Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag The dtv Verlagsgesellschaft is a German publishing house headquartered in Munich. It was founded in 1960 by eleven publishers as a common paperback publishing house named "Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag" (German paperback publishing house). Starti ...

, Munich 1979, . * '. Beltz-Verlag,

1980, . * '' The City meets the Country''.

1980, . * '' Das Leben der Thiere''. Beltz-Verlag,

1981, . * '' Rasputin der Vaterbär''. Beltz-Verlag,

1983, . * '. Diogenes-Verlag,

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

1985, . * '' Das Lumpengesindel''. Diogenes-Verlag,

1987, . * ''

Der Mäuse-Sheriff Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...

''. Georg Bitter Verlag,

1989, . * '' Die Kunst der bäuerlichen Liebe 1''. Teil. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1990, . * '' Du bist ein Indianer, Hannes''. Bitter Verlag,

1990, . * '' Polski Blues''.

Goldmann Verlag Goldmann (formerly ''Wilhelm Goldmann Publishing'') is a publishing house in Munich and part of the Random House Publishing Group, in turn belonging to the Bertelsmann group. They are the best-selling commercial publishers in Germany, especially ...

, Munich 1991, . * '. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1992, . * '' Schäbels Frau''.

, Munich 1992, . * '' Mutter sag, wer macht die Kinder?''. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1992, . * '' Von dem Glück, Hrdlak gekannt zu haben''.

, Munich 1994, . * '' Von dem Glück, als Herr Janosch überlebt zu haben''. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1994, . * '' Franz mit dem verdammten Hut''. Little Tiger Verlag, Hamburg 1995, . * '' Schnuddel baut ein Wolkenhaus''. Isis Verlag,

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

1995, . * '' Schnuddels Gute-Nacht-Geschichten''. Isis Verlag,

1995, . * '' Wörterbuch der Lebenskunst''.

, Munich 1995, . * '' Gastmahl auf Gomera''.

, Munich 1997, . * '' Restaurant & Mutterglück oder Das Kind''. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1998, . * ''

Ich liebe eine Tigerente Ich, ich or ICH may refer to: Places * Ich, Semnan, a village in Semnan Province, Iran * Ich, Zanjan, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran * Ich, alternative name of Ij, Zanjan, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Medicine * The ego (German: ''Ich ...

''. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1999, . * '' Janoschs großer, kleiner Tigeratlas''. Bassermann, Munich 2002, . * '' Janoschs Tausend-Bilder-Lexikon''. Bassermann, Munich 2002, . * '' Wie der Tiger zählen lernt''. Bassermann, Munich 2002, . * ''

Wie der Tiger lesen lernt Wie or WIE may refer to: * Y, the twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet, pronounced ''wie'' People * Michelle Wie West (born 1989), American professional golfer * Ole Petter Wie (born 1966), Norwegian businessman * Virginia Van Wie (1909� ...

''. Bassermann, Munich 2002, . * '' Bei Liebeskummer Apfelmus''. Bassermann, Munich 2002, . * '' Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsbär''. Bassermann, Munich 2002, . * '' Wenn Schnuddel in die Schule geht und andere Geschichten''. cbj, Munich 2006, . * '' Gibt es hitzefrei in Afrika? So leben die Kinder dieser Welt''.

Heyne Verlag Heyne Verlag (formerly Wilhelm Heyne Verlag) is a German publisher based in Munich, which was founded in Dresden in 1934 and sold to Axel Springer in 2000. In 2004 it became part of Random House. Heyne was one of the largest publishing houses in ...

, Munich 2006, .

Tigerente

The Tigerente ( tiger duck) is a children's book character created by Janosch. It is a little wooden toy duck on wheels, striped black on yellow, that is pulled around on a string by various characters of Janosch's books. It never has a line of dialogue, but still has become by far the most popular figure ever created by the author. The Tigerente has since appeared on a wide range of products including posters, postcards, high school art projects, buttons,

mug A mug is a type of cup, a drinking vessel usually intended for hot drinks such as: coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. Mugs usually have handles and hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cups such as teacups or coffee cups. Typically ...

s, socks, umbrellas,

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware) includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. While most cutlers ...

, and nearly every item of

children's furniture 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 ''child ...

imaginable. It has been the namesake and mascot of the German TV show ''

Tigerenten Club Tigerenten Club is a German children's television programme. The programme involves a mix of games, quizzes, cartoons and outside reports from the presenters and children, with the aim to educate and entertain. It is produced by SWR in co-operatio ...

'', all without ever uttering a single line.

Adaptations

The story "''Oh, wie schön ist Panama''" was adapted into a contemporary opera under the title "'' Oh, the beautiful Panama''" by

Lin Wang Lin Wang (; 1917 – 26 February 2003) was an Asian elephant that served with the Chinese Expeditionary Force during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and later relocated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang forces. Lin Wang lived out mos ...

. The opera was premiered at

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

in 2013, and was a sold-out event.

References

External links

*
Official Homepage
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janosch German children's book illustrators 1931 births Living people People from Zabrze People from the Province of Upper Silesia 20th-century German illustrators 21st-century German illustrators German people of Polish descent Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German children's writers German male writers Writers who illustrated their own writing German animal artists