KOSMOS Verlag

The Publishing House and its History

Most people are familiar with KOSMOS science kits or such famous brands and award-winning products as ›Was blüht denn da?‹, ›Was fliegt denn da?‹, ›CATAN‹, ›EXIT®‹, ›Die drei ???‹ or ›Sternenschweif‹. Success creates commitment and motivation. Therefore, more than 700 authors develop our wide range of innovative products. It was a long way until KOSMOS became today’s modern media corporation. More than 200 years ago, in 1822, Johann Friedrich Franckh founded the Franckh’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. About 100 years later, the first books and science kits for children were published.

Today KOSMOS issues more than 1.500 books about nature, gardening, horse riding, pets, astronomy, fishing and hunting as well as over 350 board games and science kits. In Children’s and YA Fiction about 100 new books are published every year and there is something to suit everyone’s taste: suspenseful whodunits, magical fantasy as well as competent and inspiring non-fiction and educational books.

Program

A taboo in Children’s Fiction in the 1960s, they are now the distinctive feature of the brand: The black covers of the series ›Die drei ???‹ illustrated by Aiga Rasch, Silvia Christoph and Andreas Ruch. For over 50 years Justus, Peter and Bob have been solving crimes and inspiring long-time as well as new fans with a mixture of suspense, mystery and humor. Thus, ›Die drei ???‹ is the oldest and most successful YA-detective series in the German-speaking countries.

Over the past 20 years, ›Die drei ??? Kids‹ have developed their own devoted fan base: illustrated in a perky comic-style, aficionados from age eight and up are delighted. Equally successful are the good noses Kim, Franzi and Marie. As ›Die drei !!!‹ they took their readers by storm.

Since 2018 the popular detectives Tim, Karl, Klößchen and Gaby, TKKG in short, solve thrilling crimes at KOSMOS. What‘s special: As ›TKKG Junior‹ the four friends experience whole new exciting adventures for younger fans of the big city detectives. After all, their formula for success – friendship, action and adventure – still holds true more than 40 years after the release of the first stories.

In addition, the popular series ›Sternenschweif‹ has many enthusiastic admirers. The fans are whisked away into magical realms full of fairylike creatures by the protagonists Laura and her unicorn Sternenschweif.

The non-fiction program has a lot to offer for those who are curious about nature and eager to learn more. Which bird is nesting in that tree over there? What flower is in bloom on this field? Which star is sparkling in the sky and how did dinosaurs live? KOSMOS non-fiction books for children – including the successful series ›Kindernaturführer‹ – have all the answers. In 2022 this ›Kindernaturführer‹ series will be relaunched including a freshened up layout. In addition it will be produced with the certified cradle-to-cradle-method which is the most sustainable way to manufacture books.

Current awards

  • Deutscher Gartenbuchpreis 2022 – Bärbel Oftring: Was lebt im Garten?
  • Leipziger Lesekompass 2022 – Véro Mischitz: Fiese Viecher? Warum Ratte, Wespe & Co. viel cooler sind, als du denkst

Preview Catalogues

Foreign Rights Highlights

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The Three ???

  • Spring 2022, 160 pages, 14.5 x 21 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 10+
  • Rights sold: Bulgarian, Greek, Slovak, Spanish for South America

Nature Guides Kids

  • Spring 2022, 112 pages, 13.2 x 19.3 cm
  • Paperback
  • Ages 8+
  • Rights sold: Korean, Czech, Hungarian, Polish

Kosmos stands for excellent Nature Guides. This series for kids aged 8+ aims at an early interactive approach to the world around us. This is a relaunch of the existing 15 titles.

Andor Junior

  • Jens Baumeister
  • Spring 2022, 15.2 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 9+
  • All rights available

NEW: Based on the well-known board game we offer a story around the game’s characters. Set in medival magic times, four friends fight for their kingdom.

The Three ??? Kids

  • Spring 2021, 128 pages, 12,5 x 18,5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 8+
  • Rights sold to Bulgaria, Latin America (except Brazil), Netherlands, Slovakia, Taiwan

Crime fun for up-and-coming detectives with more than 7 million copies sold: The Three ??? Kids is one of the most successful German book series for children with an international appeal. Once Justus Jonas, Peter Shaw and Bob Andrews have taken on a case, there’s no stopping them – with their wits, bravery and humour they can solve any crime while taking you on adventure.

Tomato Frogs and Blue Dragons

  • Andrea Köhrsen
  • Spring 2021, 40 pages, 24,5 x 30 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 5+
  • All rights available

The world of animals is as colourful as it can get: lizards shimmer in all shades of the rainbow and insects surprise you with delicate patterns. Sorted by colour, this book explains how and why different species get their unique colouring including 400 photographs showing their most beautiful side. Every picture is accompanied by short profiles, making this a fun learning experience for children in an accessible big format.

EXIT – The Book

  • Spring 2021, 144 pages, 21,5 x 14 cm
  • Paperback
  • Ages 8+ / 12+ /16+
  • Rights sold to Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland

The ultimate Escape Room Adventure for your home in practical book form: Gripping adventures and quests make the EXIT thrillers a unique reading experience. Draw, fiddle, cut and destroy the book to get closer to the solution. Only by solving all the riddles the reader can escape and reveal new puzzles. The series includes titles for different ages and levels (Kids, Beginners, Advanced and Professional) and can be played either alone or with friends. With more than 200.000 copies sold the interactive EXIT books are a perfect addition to our successful games and the internationally successful brand.

Who is the Greatest Here?

  • Daniela Strauß
  • Spring 2016, 40 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 5+
  • Rights sold to Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands
  • Website

The first non-fiction picture book with fascinating life-sized photos of 25 of the best-known bird species

Anywhere where birds can be observed children participate with rapt attention. Too bad that sparrow, titmouse and robin fly away so quickly when you get too close. To provide children with a feeling for the actual size of the animals, this non-fiction picture book shows our birds in life size. There are even fold-out pages for impressive species, such as the common buzzard and brown owl. This makes it really easy to get to know our birds.

First Field Guides

  • Spring 2016, 34 pages, 19 x 16.5 cm
  • Spiral binding
  • Ages 5+
  • Rights sold to China (Simplified Characters)
  • Website

First field guides to birds, insects, animals and plants of the wood, and pets.

These four guides convey pleasure in local animals and plants by using large-format illustrations that form the centre of each page. Based on the detailed drawings, the different species can be easily recognized.

To encourage active engagement, stickers and colouring pages complement each book.

I Spy with my Little Eye

  • Manu Ancutici
  • Illustrated by Manu Ancutici
  • Spring 2016, 40 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 5+
  • Rights sold to Canada (english-speaking world), France, China, Ucraine
  • Website

The Totally Crazy Alphabet / The Totally Crazy Zoo

Common objects are shown in an entirely new context. The pretty, short rhymes get little and big searchers on track. Each discovery is an event, new stories are created image by image, and your fantasy travels. Attention, vocabulary, concentration and memory are trained in the process.

Sophie and the Witch Next Door

  • Sibylle Wenzel
  • Illustrated by Joelle Tourlonias
  • Autumn 2015, 256 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 8+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Magical situation comedy, lovingly told

Sophie’s prospects for the summer holiday were more than boring just now: Her mother thinks that a daughter from a good family must practice piano, ballet and mathematics on holiday, as well. But then the strangest things happen... The new piano teacher definitely has no clue about music and Sophie’s dog suddenly acts more than odd! When he disappears and the crazy neighbours are even weirder than Sophie would ever have imagined, the most magical, exciting and crazy summer of all times begins for her.

Hip Hop, Hound and Heart Flutter

  • Karen-Susan Fessel
  • Spring 2016, 208 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 10+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Unusual twin story, told speedily and comically

Realistic figures – without stereotypical roles and clichés

Milla is 12, loves hip hop and dogs and is a twin – not the sign of the zodiac, but a real one! Her twin brother Mika dances ballet, lets his hair grow and simply is her exact opposite in everything. Milla’s biggest wish: Her own dog! But she can only convince her father with Mika’s help. In return, she can support Mika on the subject of girls. She already has a watertight plan – that is, theoretically.

The Legends of Andor – The Song of the King

  • Stefanie Schmitt
  • Autumn 2015, 336 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 14+
  • All rights available
  • Website

The prequel for the award-winning game »The Legends of Andor«

Terrible things are happening in the land of Andor. The Gors are attacking the inhabitants of the Watchful Forest relentlessly and cruelly and plunder the archive at the tree of songs. Cavern, the kingdom of the dwarfs is also beset by a dark power. Archer Chada sets out all by herself to ask King Brandur for help. Who or what is behind all these attacks? And what do the mysterious lines in the long-forgotten legend mean? A desperate struggle against the evil powers who endanger the peace of Andor begins for Chada and her companions.

First Nature Field Guides

  • Bärbel Oftring
  • Spring 2017, 34 pages, 19 x 16.5 cm
  • Spiral binding
  • Ages 5+
  • Rights sold to China (simplified)
  • Website

First field guides to wild flowers, farm animals, birds, insects, plants and animals of the wood, and pets.

These six guides convey pleasure in animals and plants by using large-format illustrations that form the centre of each page. Based on the detailed drawings, the different species can be easily recognised. To encourage active engagement, stickers and colouring pages complement each book.

Really Big or Very Teeny?

  • Jens Poschadel
  • Spring 2017, 40 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 5+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Many wild animals are at home in our neighbourhood. Some you see often, others quite rarely. This non-fiction picture book shows them all in life size – from insects to shrew and dormouse on to birds. This is how children gain a sense of the animals’ actual size. And for splendid specimens, such as the racoon, there are an additional two fold-out pages.

Also available: title about life-sized birds.

I Spy with my Little Eye

  • Manu Ancutici
  • Spring 2017, 40 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 4+
  • Rights sold to France
  • Website

Totally Crazy Alphabet
Totally Crazy Zoo
Totally Crazy Numbers
Totally Crazy Vehicles

Common objects are shown in an entirely new context. The pretty, short rhymes get little and big searchers on track. Each discovery is an event, new stories are created image by image, and your fantasy travels. Attention, vocabulary, concentration and memory are trained in the process.

Sophie and the Magic Bubbles

  • Sibylle Wenzel
  • Illustrated by Joëlle Tourlonias
  • Spring 2016, 256 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 9+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Humour, chaos and magic – for reading aloud and reading yourself. It empowers you when you accept yourself with all your strengths and weaknesses.

Sophie and Pippa are back and life continues excitingly: while Pippa achieves success quickly with her new power, talking with animals, Sophie has difficulty with hers, shape changing: despite many well-intentioned tips from her friends, she simply cannot keep a form for the long term. Only at the very end of the story, when Sophie becomes aware of her strengths and accepts herself, shape changing works, too.

Frieda Fricke Impossible

  • Karin Fessel
  • Illustrated by Mareikje Vogler
  • Spring 2017, 176 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 10+
  • All rights available
  • Website

The wonderfully warm story of Frieda, her awesome aunts and six cool cows. Topics close to life, such as family cohesion, loss or handling somewhat scatter-brained aunts.

Frieda Fricke – Impossible tells the tumultuous and wacky story of a small, cheeky girl that accepts her not exactly simple family situation with wit and humour and doesn’t let it get her down. A story about children’s friendships, dementia, great love of animals, good ideas and dreams that in the end come true!

Fate, Prince Charming and Good Fortune

  • Katharina Stiller
  • Spring 2017, 224 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 11+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Summer romance and a good portion of thriller tension.

A fortune teller at the fair predicts the summer of her life for Jule: “At a large water and with colour on the skin you will find him – your Prince Charming!” Vacations are also starting encouragingly, but then strange things happen that have Jule think about something other than the love of her life for the time being. But even when fate proves to be rather complicated – it is the summer of her life for Jule in any case!

Fiddlesticks School Cafeteria – The Cheating Muffins

  • Kati Naumann
  • Spring 2018, 144 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 8+
  • All rights available
  • Website

The topics school, baking and cooking combined

The best thing in Tilli’s school is the “Fiddlesticks” school cafeteria. Here Tilli’s grandma Moma bakes her legendary muffins and helps with catastrophes of any kind. The newest plan: Grandma will prepare special muffins with cheat sheets baked in for the geography test in Tilli’s class. But the strict teacher, Ms. Habersack, suspects something and suddenly the school cafeteria is almost closed. Now everyone must stick together and set up a plan to rescue it. Because “Fiddlesticks” cannot die – even though some people see this very differently.

Darklands

  • Fabian Lenk
  • Spring 2018, 256 pages, 15 x 21 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 12+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Fast-paced page turner: cinematic action, cool vehicles, brave kids.

For Raven and his gang, the Desert Plants, each day is a fight for survival. They dwell in the ghost town of Blackpool in the middle of the Darklands desert. But when the obscure Mysticon tells them about the mystical place Paxtonia, they decide to look for this promised land.

Celfie

  • Boris Pfeiffer
  • Autumn 2017, 334 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Paperback
  • 11+
  • All rights available
  • Website

A modern fairytale that shows children what brave ideas and good thoughts can achieve.

Celfie Madison is a strange creature. She comes from Farbek, the realm of fantasy, and is a thought that became human. Her thinker, Glenn Single Despott, pursues a sinister plan. He wants to conquer Farbek to control the thoughts of all humanity. But Celfie does not want to be used.

With Animals Through the Day – 2 titles

  • Svenja Ernsten
  • Illustrated by Tobias Pahlke
  • Autumn 2017, 32 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Picturebook
  • 4+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Fascinating Transformations of Animals and Plants

  • Spring 2018, 32 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Picturebook
  • 4+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Who are you – Look and Guess

  • Regina Schwarz
  • Illustrated by John Butler
  • Autumn 2017, 24 pages, 15 x 15 cm
  • Boardbook
  • 2+
  • All rights available
  • Website
  • Fascinating guessing games with animals

  • Loving illustrations

  • Humorous rhymes

These are cardboard picture books, which children love! An animal hides on each two-page spread. Now you must look and guess. If you turn the page, you will find the answer right on the next page.

Six popular topics are available:

In the Forest, On the Farm, In the Zoo, In the Garden, Around the House, At Brook and Pond.

Big Soon Enough – Now Still Small

  • Jens Poschadel
  • Spring 2018, 40 pages, 26.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Picturebook
  • 5+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Baby animals from around the globe in full life size

Charming photos and fascinating facts

This non-fiction picture book introduces young animals and shows all of them in life size. This gives children a feeling for the actual size of the animals and lets them learn many interesting facts in passing. There are three fold-out pages especially for huge babies, such as penguin chicks, young koalas and goat kids.

Also available:

Life-Sized Garden Birds

Animals in the Garden and Around the House

Look Below the Soil

  • Regina Schwarz
  • Illustrated by Lisa Apfelbacher
  • Spring 2019, 24 pages, 20 x 20 cm
  • Boardbook
  • 2+
  • All rights available
  • Website

What’s that, holes in the book? Yes, and special ones at that! Toddlers love to look through something somewhere and use their fingers to feel what’s behind it. This is why the punched holes guide the gaze and small fingers into mysterious worlds. Which animals hide below the soil? Each time a page is turned, insight into the animals’ living environment becomes more intensive.

Magical, lifelike drawings show animals in their mysterious habitats. And at the end of the journey deep into the earth and deep into the ocean, a small treasure waits to be found.

Also available: »Look Deep into the Ocean«

Clap Loudly! – Zoo

  • Regina Schwarz
  • Illustrated by Antje Flad
  • Autumn 2018, 24 pages, 15 x 15 cm
  • Boardbook
  • 2+
  • Rights sold: English worldwide
  • Website

The participatory book for the zoo.

The child becomes the actor of the story. It can roar at the lion in the zoo so that he wakes up, or warm the penguin’s egg until the chick hatches. Clap, pat, call, attract – on each page there are simple suggestions for how children can become active with their hands or voice.

Also available: »Clap Loudly! – City«

The Kosmos Book of Technology

  • Rainer Köthe
  • Illustrated by Moritz Bludau
  • Autumn 2018, 160 pages, 22 x 27 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 8+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Whether mobile, TV or cars: the technology we use every day is developing at breathtaking speed. The Kosmos Book of Technology looks behind the curtain. Easily understood and with impressive, highly detailed illustrations, it explains the structure of about 300 devices and machines in our daily life and shows how they work.

The Forest of Exceptional Animals

  • Ally Bennett
  • Illustrated by Miriam Kraft
  • Spring 2019, 176 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 7+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Important current topic: tolerance and integration

What happens when a freight train loaded with a variety of exotic animals suddenly must make an emergency stop? Really close to a large, dark forest and observed by many forest animals. And when the animals from the train then manage to flee and the zebra soon finds itself face to face with a wild boar in the forest. Does communication work? Do they manage to live together? Will the animals find a home in the new environment or face animosity and rejection?

Mia Magie and the Circus Gang

  • Julie Bender
  • Illustrated by Alexandra Helm
  • Spring 2019, 176 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 8+
  • All rights available
  • Website

The new star in the realm of the witches!

Yes, Mia is a witch – just like aunt Polly! And aunt Polly is the person teaching Mia everything about conjuring. Both of their faces have a birthmark that changes colour depending on their mood and betrays their feelings. Lying is therefore not so easy. But conjuring to assist humans and animals works that much better.

Yet, learning to conjure isn’t easy at all – unplanned lightning can hit class mates, for instance.

Also available: »Mia Magie and the Crazy Chicken«

Blog Star Grandpa – Made with Love

  • Aygen-Sibel Celik
  • Illustrated by Carolin Liepins
  • Spring 2019, 176 pages, 15 x 21.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 10+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Vlogging, fashion, DIY – girls’ favourite topics

Greta’s and grandpa’s fashion vlog is becoming ever more popular. But many followers wonder why Greta herself is never in front of the camera: she is simply still too shy. In grandpa’s old domain, the costume workshop at the theatre, Greta is introduced to Edis. He is an actor, and for Greta, it’s love at first sight. When Edis proposes to help her with speech exercises against stage fright, Greta’s happiness is perfect. But does the help come in time to present a perfect performance during the newcomer competition?

Jobs

Volontariat im Bereich Experimentierkästen

Events

All events in German language!

Currently no events. Visit the publisher’s website for up-to-date events (visit website).

Contact

Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & CO. KG

Pfizerstraße 5-7
70184 Stuttgart

Germany

Phone +49 (0)711 21 91-0

info@kosmos.de
www.kosmos.de

Contact Person

Managing Director Michael Fleissner (-300)

Publishing Director Book Birgitta Barlet (-214)

Editorial Department for Children’s Books Teresa Baethmann, Juliane Voorgang, Annemarie Chiappetta, Susanne Stegbauer, Verena Tingler, Anne Pagel, Lea Hille, Leyla Navarro, Stefanie Kern, Veronika Lang, Nadja Fendrich, Reni Nürnberger, Jana Vorderwülbecke, Sandra Grund, Julia Hiller, Ines Glindemann, Svenja Wulff, Nina Seitz

Sales Mariella Becherer (-347)

Marketing Birgit Tappe (-418), Maria Ferreiro (-380)

Public Relations Vanessa Ludwig (-341)

Events Katharina Weinbrenner (-492)

Rights
Entertainment: Kirstin Kreppel (-342)