Emil and the Three Twins

The equally brilliant follow-up to Emil and Detectives. Emil and his friends are on holiday, until they hit upon an intriguing crime at the seaside...

Emil and the Three Twins is that very rare thing - a successful sequel

Emil's Berlin, and the Baltic resort of its sequel Emil and the Three Twins, were as vivid to me as Arthur Ransome's English Lakeland

This must be one of the most delicious children's books ever written

So what makes these different to any other set of classics? In a moment of inspiration Random House had the bright idea of actually asking Key stage 2 children what extra ingredients they could add to make children want to read. And does it work? Well, put it this way...my 13-year-old daughter announced that she had to read a book over the summer holiday and, without any prompting, spotted The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...and proceeded to read it! Now, if you knew my 13-year-old daughter, you would realise that this is quite remarkable. She reads texts, blogs and tags by the thousand - but this is the first book she has read since going to high school, so all hail Vintage Classics!

National Association for the Teaching of English

Erich Kästner was born in Dresden in 1899, the son of a saddle maker and a maidservant. He was drafted into the army in 1917, and his experiences there were to influence his later pacifism. He published Emil and the Detectives in 1928 to great success. A sequel, Emil and the Three Twins, appeared in 1933, but soon afterwards his books were labelled "contrary to the German spirit" and burned in public by the Nazis. He was interviewed by the Gestapo several times, but remained in Berlin until 1945, when he fled the city to avoid the Soviet assault. After the war he continued to write and remained committed to anti-war movements until his death in 1974.

'Password Emil!' 
 
Emil and the detectives are on holiday by the seaside when they meet the three Byrons. One Byron is the father and the other two are the sons, Mackie and Jackie. Jackie is bigger than Mackie and Byron Senior is very annoyed about it. But what is Jackie to do? When Emil and the detectives discover that the father is planning to desert poor Jackie they are determined to come to the rescue but not before they've been cast away on a desert island... 
 
BACKSTORY: Test your knowledge of Emil and his friends and discover some fun seaside activities!

Emil and the Detectives

Join Emil's gang - a team of detective children, in this captivating mini-masterpiece of children's writing

This is a well-presented edition of a real classic, and I hope it helps it find the new audience it deserves

Both boys - me in 1955, my son in 1996 - seemed to be drawn into this story in some way beyond the usual...The main pleasure of the book is in the way in which it plays to the fantasy of omnipotence in a child: that a team of kids could really organise themselves into a team of detectives and catch a thief

A great political story: democracy in action

The perfect introduction to the world of fictional crime detection

Emil is a wonder... the book had, and still has, the effect of making me feel part of Emil's little gang of boys... Emil and the Detectives is a little masterpiece... Read it and you will be happy

Emil  for me personally is very important, but also it's very important in  the history of children's books, and again it reminds us that Germany is  not just simply about the period 1933 to 1945

'Password Emil!' 
 
Emil is excited to be taking the train on his own for the first time. He doesn't like the look of his fellow passenger, the man in the bowler hat. Emil will just have to keep his wits about him and his money in his pocket. But Emil falls asleep and when he wakes up the man in the bowler hat is gone - and so is the money! Emil is determined to get it back. He teams up with a gang of young detectives and so begins a hair-raising chase across Berlin to catch the dirty rotten thief... 
 
BACKSTORY: Learn all about the book's brave author and find out just how good a sleuth you would be.

Emil And The Three Twins

Another of Emil Tischbein's peculiar adventures with his old friends from Emil and the Detectives.

Emil and the three twins? Three Twins? Yes, you read that correctly. Emil Tischbein has another adventure with his old friends the Professor, Gustav and Little Tuesday - this time by the sea. Of course, the detectives couldn't have an ordinary seaside holiday like other people - and when they become entangled with the mystery of the three acrobat twins and the wicked Herr Anders, it looks as if it's going to turn into a most extraordinary time for them all!

Emil And The Detectives

The classic tale of a boy turned detective in order to track down a thief.

First published in 1929, this is an exciting story about a boy who loses some money and, along with a group of new friends, manages to corner the thief.

The main pleasure of the book is in the way in which it plays to the fantasy of omnipotence in a child: that a team of kids could really organise themselves into a team of detectives and catch a thief

If Mrs Tischbein had known the amazing adventures her son Emil would have in Berlin, she'd never have let him go. 
 
Unfortunately, when his seven pounds goes missing on the train, Emil is determined to get it back - and when he teams up with the detectives he meets in Berlin, it's just the start of a marvellous money-retrieving adventure . . . 
 
A classic and influential story, Emil and the Detectives remains an enthralling read. 
 
From November 16th 2013, an exciting new adaptation of Emil and the Detectives will be playing at the National Theatre in London.

Erich Kästner

Emil is robbed on his first real railway journey of money entrusted to him by his hard-working mother for the relatives he is to stay with in Berlin. A gang of boys about his own age come to his aid, and a thrilling adventure full of surprises ensues as they use their wits to devise a wonderfully simple but practical trick to capture the thief. 
 
With every detail clearly drawn - from the tiresome business of getting into best clothes for the journey, down to the final anxiety as to what shall be done with a gloriously unexpected reward - this is a story all young readers will enjoy.

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A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

Erich Kästner

Books by Erich Kästner

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