Janosch



"Die Ente schießt mit etwas Schrot den Entenjäger etwas tot. (The duck shoots with a bit of lead the duck hunter a bit dead. )"

Janosch (a.k.a. Horst Eckert) is a German writer and illustrator, who became famous for his children's books (the little bear and little tiger stories, for example). While his work includes a few novels for adults, it is a certain waterfowl with a tiger's stripes that has become iconic and is intrinsically tied to his name. One shouldn't remind the creator of it, though.

Janosch's books, beloved by children and adults alike, may sometimes invoke What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?; for the illustrations are not limited to the children's books.

Several of the stories have been adapted for a tv-series called "Janoschs Traumstunde" (Janosch's dream hour).


 * All Take and No Give: In one lesser-known story about a donkey falling in love with an owl. (With the donkey being the giver, and the owl being the taker.) Does he want to suggest that men in love should act like that?! Now that's a Family-Unfriendly Aesop.
 * Arc Words: "Und jetzt kommt der große, dicke Waldbär."
 * which is to say, "And now comes the big, fat Forest Bear."
 * German Humor
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Little Tiger and little Bear.
 * Ingesting Knowledge: One story is about a family of mice whose son becomes smart by eating books.
 * Non-Ironic Clown
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: The tiger duck.