But all of these soft, cuddly, sweet-faced toys share a wonderful, magical secret... they're alive!Created by Mr. Isaac Bodkins, the old toy maker, the Oddkins are made only for very special children, those who must face something difficult in life and need a true friend. The Oddkins are given to these children to inspire them, help them, and love them as long as the children need them. Only now the toys themselves - Amos, the brave stuffed bear; Skippy, the rabbit who dreams of being a superstar; Butterscotch, the gently, floppy-eared pup; as well as Burl the elephant; Gibbons; and Patch the cat - are the ones in need of help.Mr. Bodkins has passed away before he can give his life-giving powers to Colleen Shannon, the toy maker he had chosen to replace him. Yet before he dies, the old man takes Amos aside, appoints him leader of the Oddkins, and gives him a dire warning: Watch out for an evil toy maker -- and something much, much worse!That 'something' is happening right now. Locked up in the dark subbasement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life. These bad toys -- like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger -- were made to hurt children, not help them. Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are being loosed on the world by a terrible, terrifying force. Frightening as it may be, the Oddkins have only one choice: to go on a journey in search of Colleen Shannon's toy shop. The night is stormy and black; the way is filled with peril. And the Oddkins have to face a danger that threatens not only their existence...but the magic in us all.

    The surroundings are glamorous, wine flows freely, and the exhilarated young Hofmiller asks his host's lovely daughter for a dance, only to discover that sickness has left her painfully crippled. It is a minor blunder, yet one that will go on to destroy his life, as pity and guilt gradually implicate him in a well-meaning but tragically wrongheaded plot to restore the unhappy invalid to health."Stefan Zweig was a dark and unorthodox artist; it's good to have him back." —Salman Rushdie

    In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

    Uwe Timm has heard claims that currywurst first appeared in Berlin in the 1950s, but he seems to recall having eaten it much earlier, as a boy in his native Hamburg, at a stand owned and operated by Lena Brücker. He decides to check it out. Although the discovery of curried sausage is eventually explained, it is its prehistory - about how Lena Brücker met, seduced and held captive a German deserter in Hamburg, in April, 1945, just before the war's end - that is the tastiest part. Timm draws gorgeous details from Lena's fine-grained recollections, and the pleasure these provide her and the reader supply the tale's real charm.

    Unlike an earlier version adapted for the English-language stage, this translation adheres faithfully to the author's original play as it was published and performed in German.The action of The Visit takes place in the small town of Guellen, "somewhere in Central Europe." An elderly millionairesse, Claire Zachanassian, returns to Guellen, her home town, after an absence of many years. Merely on the promise of her millions, she shortly turns what has been a depressed area into a boom town. But there is a condition attached to her largess, which the natives of Guellen realize only after they have become enmeshed in her vengeful plot: murder. Out of these elements, Durrenmatt has fashioned a many-leveled play which is at once a macabre parable, a deeply moving tragedy, and a scathing indictment of the power of greed.

    Lenz is a dispassionate account on the nervous system of a schizophrenic, perhaps the first third-person text ever written from the “inside” of insanity. At his death at the age of 23 in 1837, Georg Büchner also left behind Leonce and Lena, Woyzeck, and Danton’s Death—psychologically and politically acute plays well ahead of their time.Richard Sieburth’s translations include Hölderlin’s Hymns and Fragments, Walter Benjamin’s Moscow Diary, Gérard de Nerval’s Selected Writings and Henri Michaux’s Emergences/Resurgences. His English edition of the Nerval writings won the 2000 PEN Book-of-the-Month-Club Translation Prize.

    Rescued by an Indian hunter after their home dam had been broken by an invading otter, they are taken home to his daughter Sajo and his son Shapian and become the beloved pets of the whole Indian village. Their adventures with the children and their final reunion with the parent beaver make a story that is truly irresistible.

    Bonsels, German writer of children's books, brings us the story of Maya and friends (Willy the bee, Flip the grasshopper) and many other insects as they enjoy their colorful lives. Contents: First Flight; The House of the Rose; The Lake; Effie and Bobbie; The Acrobat; Puck; In the Toils; The Bug and the Butterfly; The Lost Leg; The Wonders of the Night; With the Sprite; Alois, Ladybird and Poet; The Fortress; The Sentinel; The Warning; The Battle; and The Queen's Friend.

    Lesser and Zelinsky retell the story of a pair of children lost in the woods who run into a witch with a very tasty house.

    The volume includes over forty of the Grimms' most beloved stories, including:Rapunzel * Hansel and Gretel * The Brave Little Tailor * Cinderella * Little Red Riding Hood * The Robber Bridegroom * Briar Rose * Snow White * Rumplestilskin * The Golden Goose * The Singing, Soaring Lark * The Frog King * The Juniper Tree * and Mother HolleWith over 150 paintings and drawings from the most celebrated fairy tale illustrators, including George Cruikshank, Paul Hey, Walter Crane, Warwick Goble, Kay Nielsen, and Arthur Rackham.

    While Gottfried adheres faithfully to the events as set down by Thomas, his chosen source, he is correct over questions of Chrisianity and religion, but no more.In fact his persona as narrator is oddly elusive and engaging. A virtuoso stylist, adept in irony and wit, he is subtle and almost unmedieval in putting across his own impressions of a love that transcends the bounds advocated by Church or society.

    Partly autobiographical, the narrative recounts the experiences of the title character ("green" after the color of clothing he always wears) through confinement and ostracism at boarding school, apprenticeship with a painter in Munich, his divided affection for two women, and the acceptance of his duty toward his country and fellow citizens. Admired by Nietzsche (who called Keller "the only living German writer") and included by Harold Bloom in "The Western Canon," "Green Henry" is one of the undisputed masterpieces of world literature.

    The Adventures of Paddington is a special edition which contains the first two books of stories about him: A Bear Called Paddington and More About Paddington.

    'The Warwolf' traces the life of Harm Wulf, a land-owning peasant farmer of the northern German heath who realizes after witnessing the murder of neighbours and family at the hands of marauding troops that he has a choice between compromising his morals or succumbing to inevitable torture and death.

    At first, Friedrich seemed to be the more fortunate, but when Hitler came to power, things began to change. Friedrich was expelled from school and became an orphan when his mother died and his father was arrested and deported.This is a terrifying story of the destruction of a single Jewish family.