Struwwelpeter form of creative work picture book
Background and publication history
Hoffmann wrote Struwwelpeter in reaction to the lack of good books for children. Intending to buy a picture book as a Christmas present for his three-year-old son, Hoffmann instead wrote and illustrated his own book. In 1845 he was persuaded by friends to publish the book anonymously as Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorierten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren ("funny stories and droll pictures with 15 beautifully coloured panels for children of 3–6 years"). The book was one of the first uses of chromolithography (a method of making multi-colored prints) in a children's book.
For the third edition, published in 1858, the title was changed to Struwwelpeter, the name of the character in the first story. The book became popular among children throughout Europe.
Struwwelpeter has been translated into several languages. In 1891 Mark Twain wrote his own translation of the book, but because of copyright issues Twain's "Slovenly Peter" was not published until 1935, 25 years after his death.British twin illustrators Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone provided new illustrations for an English translation published in 1950.
artistic creation creative composition artistic production work of art creative piece