Anton Monster Hunter - A dream on the run
German, Sabine Mielke, Luisa Fox, 2022
Just spare me the umpteenth magical children's book series
22/11/2024
Translation: machine translated
Does anyone actually finish telling a story in a stand-alone book anymore? When reading children's books aloud today, I get the impression that only loveless series are written according to marketing scheme X. This is a polemic. A polemic.
My daughter's school recently held its annual storytelling night. "Dreaming" was the motto and I read excerpts from the book "Anton Monster Hunter: A Dream on the Run". I often read aloud at home too.
I inherited my love of reading aloud from my mum, who read children's books to me and my siblings (almost) every night before bed when we were children. "Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver", "The Merry Adventures of the Little Horse" or "The Neverending Story".
Children's books
Jim Button and Luke the Locomotive Driver
German, Michael End, F. J. Tripp, Mathias Weber, 2024
Children's books
The funny adventures of the horse Hü
German, Ursula M. Williams, Franz Caspar, Joyce Lankester Brisley, 2016
Series have been around for a long time - thanks Enid Blyton
The first two - including the sequels "Jim Button and the Wild 13" and "Das Rösslein Hü fährthrt in die Welt" - were among the first books I read to my daughter at bedtime. Then, in my opinion, the absolutely fantastic works by James Krüss such as "My Great-Grandfather and I" and "The Lighthouse on the Lobster Cliff".
More recent children's books followed, such as "The Pony on the 12th Floor" and "Leo and Lucy". But for the last two (or is it three?) years, there has only been one: "The School of Magical Animals". The latest volume is called "Twenty-four" - fitting for Advent, isn't it - and is already the fifteenth. What else is on the bookshelf in the children's room: all of the estimated 20 volumes "Mein Lotta-Leben", several volumes "Petronella Apfelmus" and "The Little Lady", plus individual volumes of "Woodwalkers", "Seawalkers" and "The secret life of animals".
Children's books
The pony on the 12th floor
German, Polly Faber, Sarah Jennings, Karolin Viseneber, 2021
Children's books
Leo and Lucy: The thing with the third L
German, Rebecca Elbs, Julia Christians, 2021
All series. With no apparent end point. Not like Harry Potter, for example, which was designed from the outset to consist of seven volumes corresponding to the seven school years. No, most of these series can theoretically be extended into eternity. That alone doesn't even bother me. The phenomenon of the children's book series is by no means new. They were invented, at least unofficially, by the British author Enid Blyton with series such as "Five Friends", "Hanni and Nanni", "Mystery of ...", "Mystery about ..." or the "Adventure" series. Just as old and well-known are «Die drei ???» oder «TKKG».
One loveless formula F please
What annoys me about these new series compared to the older ones is that I get the impression that they were designed for maximum marketing from the outset: Audiobooks, radio plays, merchandising articles, spin-offs and, in the best case, film adaptations, which can then be expanded into entire series. The best example of this is the aforementioned "School of Magical Animals". The third film is currently showing in cinemas, the spin-off series already comprises nine volumes and there is also a first-reader series "The School of Magical Beasts Investigates". A goldmine for children's hearts.
The aforementioned "Anton Monster Hunter" is also a series. It's about a boy who discovers on his 10th birthday that he has magic in him and is therefore a monster hunter. He then transfers to a special school for monster hunters and has some wild adventures with his two new best friends, or rather a friend and a girlfriend. Sound familiar to you? Sounds suspiciously like a Harry Potter scenario ...
Unfortunately, no one seems to be seriously bothering to embed these scenarios in independent worlds with believable characters who go through something like a development as the stories and series progress. A few stereotypical children here, a few 08/15 adults there, a few weird birds and semi-magical creatures and there you have it - a boring set-up for the children's book cow that can be milked to death.
There are so many good stand-alone stories
I know I'm about to position myself as a middle-aged person who romanticises their own childhood (a little). But I miss stories that are told in a book. Characters, storylines and worlds that I can really immerse myself in. And from which I come out again when the story is over. I'm thinking of "Momo", "The Neverending Story", "Peter Pan", "The Red Zora", "Krabat" or "Lord of the Thieves".
With the latter I come to Cornelia Funke, who is still working on her comprehensive oeuvre today - and with the "Wild Chickens" has also written a children's/young adult book series and expanded her Ink World into a tetralogy last year. Alongside Funke, I'm also a big fan of Walter Moers' Zamonien world, in which many stories are now also set.
Inkworld slipcase
German, Cornelia Funke, 2021
Inkworld 4. The Colour of Revenge
German, Cornelia Funke, 2023
The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Blue Bear
German, Walter Moers, 2020
The City of Dreaming Books
German, Walter Moers, 2020
The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books
German, Walter Moers, 2017
The book dragon
German, Walter Moers, 2021
Of course, I am fully aware that, despite my dislike of what I perceive as uninspired concept series, there are many authors who write great children's and young adult literature.
And because the latest volume of the "School of Magical Animals" will soon be read aloud, I'm already looking for the next cool book to read to my daughter. So that I can spare her from my old-man suggestions of perceived and actual classics, I'm interested to know which books - NO SERIES PLEASE - you can recommend for me and my soon-to-be 10-year-old daughter.
Header image: Oliver Fischer
Oliver Fischer
Teamleader Editorial
Oliver.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chGlobetrotter, hiker, wok world champion (not in the ice channel), word acrobat and photo enthusiast.