Wolf Erlbruch
Encyclopedia
Wolf Erlbruch is an award-winning illustrator
and writer
of children's books. He combines various techniques for the artwork in his books, including cutting and pasting, drawing, and painting. His style is sometimes surrealist and is widely copied inside and outside Germany, and some of his story books discuss adult topics such as death and the meaning of life. They have won many awards, including the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
in 1993 and 2003, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award
for illustration in 2006.
, and worked as an illustrator for magazines such as Stern
and Esquire
. His first assignment as an illustrator of children's books came in 1985, when he was asked by the Wuppertal publisher Peter Hammer to illustrate Der Adler, der nicht fliegen wollte by James Aggrey; Erlbruch's son Leonard had just been born, and Erlbruch wanted him to be able to say, "Look, my papa made a children's book." Since then, he has illustrated and written many award-winning books, and has become a professor of illustration at the University of Wuppertal
.
), have little round black glasses, such as Erlbruch has himself. He is praised for the original and surreal quality of his work. According to Silke Schnettler, writing in the German newspaper Die Welt
, the "Erlbruch-style," whose main characters are skewed and sometimes disproportianate but nonetheless real recognizable, has become widely imitated inside and outside Germany.
Death is a recurring topic in Erlbruch's books. Duck, Death and the Tulip (2008) features a duck who becomes friends with Death, and in Ein Himmel für den kleinen Bären ("A heaven for the little bear") a bear cub tries to find his recently deceased grandfather in bear heaven.
The moral of his own stories, Erlbruch suggested in 2003, the year he received a special version of the Deutschen Jugendliteraturpreises for his entire oeuvre and the Gutenberg Award of the city of Leipzig, is that people should regard themselves from a distance and accept even what is not so beautiful about themselves, what is special.
called Duck, Death and the Tulip (2009), about a duck who finds himself being followed by and then becoming acquainted with death, an "outstanding book": "There is something infinitely tender in the way Death strokes her ruffled feathers into place, lifts her body and places it gently in the river, watching as she drifts off into the distance."
Erlbruch's illustrations for Fürchterlichen Fünf (translated into English as The Fearsome Five) were adapted for the stage by the Landestheater Tübingen.
as s Nachts, was written for the Dutch Kinderboekenweek
, an annual event promoting children's literature. It is a story about a boy, Fons, who, unable to sleep, drags his father on a walk through town and encounters the most fantastic animals and creatures. Some of the things Fons sees along the way were specifically geared toward the Dutch reader, Erlbruch explained.
For his mixed-media illustrations in Nachts, Erlbruch used cut-outs from stacks of papers from 1940s German wallpaper and other eclectic sources. Each page features a moon, and some of those were cut from plans from a French company for a railroad in China; the mathematical formulas, explained Erlbruch, represent the adult, rational world—cutting up papers with such calculations on it he suspects is an act of rebellion. The Dutch daily newspaper Trouw
wrote that in Nachts, Erlbruch "cuts, pastes, draws, paints, and writes a beautiful little piece of art."
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of children's books. He combines various techniques for the artwork in his books, including cutting and pasting, drawing, and painting. His style is sometimes surrealist and is widely copied inside and outside Germany, and some of his story books discuss adult topics such as death and the meaning of life. They have won many awards, including the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 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 literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
in 1993 and 2003, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award
Hans Christian Andersen Award
The Hans Christian Andersen Award, sometimes known as the "Nobel Prize for children's literature", is an international award given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature"...
for illustration in 2006.
Biography
Erlbruch studied graphic design at the Folkwang-Schule in EssenEssen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, and worked as an illustrator for magazines such as Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
and Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
. His first assignment as an illustrator of children's books came in 1985, when he was asked by the Wuppertal publisher Peter Hammer to illustrate Der Adler, der nicht fliegen wollte by James Aggrey; Erlbruch's son Leonard had just been born, and Erlbruch wanted him to be able to say, "Look, my papa made a children's book." Since then, he has illustrated and written many award-winning books, and has become a professor of illustration at the University of Wuppertal
University of Wuppertal
The University of Wuppertal is a German scientific institution, located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia.The university, the full German name of which is Bergische Universität Wuppertal , was formed in 1972 and is located in the city of Wuppertal, within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia,...
.
Characteristics
Erlbruch tackles many adult topics in children's books, though he is not always fond of being characterized as an author for children. Some of his books have autobiographical notes, such as his Leonard (a "delightfully eccentric tale"), a book partly inspired by his then-six year old son Leonard (now an illustrator himself), about a boy who overcomes his fear of dogs by becoming a dog himself. Many of the characters in his books, such as the mole of The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit (also known in English as The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His BusinessThe Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business
The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business is a children's book by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch first published by Chrysalis Children's Books on 13th Sep 2001...
), have little round black glasses, such as Erlbruch has himself. He is praised for the original and surreal quality of his work. According to Silke Schnettler, writing in the German newspaper Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
, the "Erlbruch-style," whose main characters are skewed and sometimes disproportianate but nonetheless real recognizable, has become widely imitated inside and outside Germany.
Death is a recurring topic in Erlbruch's books. Duck, Death and the Tulip (2008) features a duck who becomes friends with Death, and in Ein Himmel für den kleinen Bären ("A heaven for the little bear") a bear cub tries to find his recently deceased grandfather in bear heaven.
The moral of his own stories, Erlbruch suggested in 2003, the year he received a special version of the Deutschen Jugendliteraturpreises for his entire oeuvre and the Gutenberg Award of the city of Leipzig, is that people should regard themselves from a distance and accept even what is not so beautiful about themselves, what is special.
Illustrations
Many of Erlbruch's illustrations are made using mixed media and collage. For The Story of the Little Mole, for instance, he drew the characters on brown wrapping paper, and pasted them on white paper.Critical reception
The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called Duck, Death and the Tulip (2009), about a duck who finds himself being followed by and then becoming acquainted with death, an "outstanding book": "There is something infinitely tender in the way Death strokes her ruffled feathers into place, lifts her body and places it gently in the river, watching as she drifts off into the distance."
Erlbruch's illustrations for Fürchterlichen Fünf (translated into English as The Fearsome Five) were adapted for the stage by the Landestheater Tübingen.
Nachts
Nachts ("At Night," 1999), translated in DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
as s Nachts, was written for the Dutch Kinderboekenweek
Boekenweek
In the Netherlands, the Boekenweek is an annual "week" of ten days dedicated to Dutch literature. It is held in March since 1932. Each Boekenweek has a theme. The beginning of the Boekenweek is marked by the Boekenbal , a gathering that is attended by writers and publishers...
, an annual event promoting children's literature. It is a story about a boy, Fons, who, unable to sleep, drags his father on a walk through town and encounters the most fantastic animals and creatures. Some of the things Fons sees along the way were specifically geared toward the Dutch reader, Erlbruch explained.
For his mixed-media illustrations in Nachts, Erlbruch used cut-outs from stacks of papers from 1940s German wallpaper and other eclectic sources. Each page features a moon, and some of those were cut from plans from a French company for a railroad in China; the mathematical formulas, explained Erlbruch, represent the adult, rational world—cutting up papers with such calculations on it he suspects is an act of rebellion. The Dutch daily newspaper Trouw
Trouw
Trouw is a Dutch daily newspaper. "Trouw" is a Dutch word meaning "fidelity", "loyalty", or "allegiance", and is cognate with the English adjective "true"...
wrote that in Nachts, Erlbruch "cuts, pastes, draws, paints, and writes a beautiful little piece of art."
Awards
- Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 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 literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
for picture book 1993, Das Bärenwunder - Zilveren GriffelGouden GriffelThe Gouden Griffel is an important award given to authors of children's or teenager's literature in the Netherlands.Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek for the best children's books written in...
1998, Mrs. Meyer the Bird - Zilveren Griffel 1999, Leonard
- Troisdorfer Bilderbuchpreis 2000, Das Neue ABC-Buch
- Bologna Ragazzi AwardBologna Children's Book FairThe Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world.Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy...
2000, Das Neue ABC-Buch - Gutenberg Award, Leipzig, 2003
- Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2003, special award for illustrations
- Vonder Heydt Award (city's cultural award), Wuppertal, 2003
- Bologna Ragazzi Award 2004, The Big Question
- Hans Christian Andersen AwardHans Christian Andersen AwardThe Hans Christian Andersen Award, sometimes known as the "Nobel Prize for children's literature", is an international award given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature"...
2006