Verlagsgruppe Oetinger is one of the leading companies in the German-speaking children's media and entertainment market, which is known for its publishing expertise, its high-quality program and its outstanding portfolio of authors and creatives. From well-known and popular classics to modern print, audio and digital media to innovative play and learning products - as a specialist in high-quality entertainment, the Oetinger publishing group offers stories and narrative worlds that are fun, move, motivate and inspire young people.
The Oetinger publishing group brings together renowned publishers with a particular success story under one roof: the Friedrich Oetinger publishing house with the imprints Moon Notes and migo, Oetinger Media and Igel Records, the Dressler publishing house with the Ellermann imprint and the publishing house for children's theater. In addition, Oetinger Corporate has established itself as an experienced service provider for transmedia storytelling and merchandising in the children's media and co.
The foundation stone for today's Oetinger publishing group with its publishers and brands was laid in 1946 by the Friedrich Oetinger publishing house named after his publisher. Since the publication of the German-language edition of Astrid Lindgren's world-famous »Pippi Longstocking« in 1949, the family-run publisher, now in the third generation, has been one of the most successful German children's and youth book publishers and has consistently been a pioneer in the German-language children's and youth media market.
In addition to the classics by Astrid Lindgren, the Oetinger publishing group publishes the works of the most successful German authors, including Kirsten Boie, Cornelia Funke, Paul Maar and Sabine Ludwig. The "Olchis", the "Sams" or "Pettson und Findus" are children's favorites with cult character. Titles such as the "Ink World Trilogy" by Cornelia Funke, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins or "Götterfunke" by Marah Woolf are all-age bestsellers. Authors, illustrators and translators in the publishing group are repeatedly awarded prestigious prizes.
The publishers and brands at a glance: www.oetinger.de/verlagsgruppe
Watch out, YouTubers: here comes Ralf!
• Your own YouTube channel: the dream comes true!
• Feisty and funny, this comic-style book is perfect for reluctant readers, too
13-year-old Ralf dreams of becoming a famous YouTuber, and is desperate to impress Mia, the prettiest girl in the school, with his own videos. Oh, and he wouldn’t mind becoming rich and famous, either – or finally settling the argument with his arch-enemy Julian as to who’s the coolest of them all.
But what makes for a smash hit YouTube channel? Ralf – a creative newbie – makes his tentative entry into the World Wide Web, which is riddled with far more pitfalls than he could ever have imagined.
Lovable Heroes in Tricky Police Missions
• Themes close to children’s hearts: animal protection and friendship
• English sample translation available!
• Volume 2&3 are coming up with new and exciting cases for the Animal Police!
One morning, Flopson the red panda wakes up and discovers that her friend Tjalle the streaked tenrec, has disappeared. Flopson scents a crime, and leaves her safe cage to try to rescue Tjalle. In the process, she encounters Fridolin, a mini dwarf pony. He joins in with her search, but instead of finding Tjalle, they find the injured blue tit Meili. Together, the three of them seek sanctuary in a disused police car. However, the grumpy Syrian hamster Jack has already taken up residence there and doesn’t want to share his home with uninvited guests. But when they find an important clue pointing to the whereabouts of Tjalle, the four very different animals join forces. Only together can they solve the mystery – as THE ANIMAL POLICE!
Everything children want to know about water.
• The science behind water, told as a children’s story
• Massively on-trend topic of water and sustainability
Sara is on holiday, and it’s raining cats and dogs. But where does all the water come from? Leon dives off the diving board – or does he? Water can be extremely painful. Friedrich wonders about a stream by his school. Nora would like to know if there is water in the desert. But that’s just the start of it. Why are tears salty? What happens when babies are baptized? What proportion of our bodies is made up of water? What is virtual water? All these important questions are answered clearly in this easy-to-read text.
Does she love him? A gorgeous love story to make you melt
• Debut novel by a massively talented 20-year-old
• Fabulous YA love story, told from two different perspectives
• Enjoy the fantastic follow-up, too! (“Know You Again”)
Student June is beside herself with excitement: Kian, her best friend from schooldays, is returning from Australia to their home town of Bath, and is moving into her shared student house. Time, however, hasn’t stood still since he went away. Kian – an erstwhile chubby schoolboy – now has muscles and tattoos, and June – previously somewhat hyper – has become shy and reserved. However, their mutual attraction has moved beyond just friendship: there’s a huge spark between them and June finds Kian’s flirting almost impossible to resist. If only they could overcome the secrets of their past…
Does he love her? Confronting the Shadows of the Past!
• The jacket is designed to draw the reader in to this emotionally charged story
• Two volumes published in one month to create a marketing stir
To leave behind his Sydney life: that’s all Kian wanted when he returned to Bath and June. However, it soon becomes clear that he can’t escape from his past, and that June hasn’t opened up to him in order for him to shut her out. Regardless of how he and June have changed, what matters is that he loves her. More, even, than all the fame in the world.
The first in a new series: set in a miniature world of felt figures!
The little sock wakes up sad, so she sets off to become cheerful anew. But neither medicine, nor fresh air or chocolate cake help. Only a sock who looks just like her makes her happy again.
English sample translations available
Poor little owl! The little owl has hurt herself. The fox comes along and blows on the bump, the mouse brings a plaster and the snake strokes the little owl’s cheek. But what’s the best way to make it better? A kiss from Mummy Owl, of course! With the cutest little owl in the world, this book is an absolute favourite with very young children!
English translation available!
Bestseller: Over 900,000 copies of The Little Owl and her friends sold.
English translation available
Potty training with Alpaca – A humorous tale about every parent’s travel nightmare.
The alpaca needs to do a poo. It’s desperate. It can’t wait! But will it manage to find a loo in time, or will it be too late?
The latest (and cutest) friend of The Little Owl
All the animals are terribly tired. Will you say goodnight to them? Simply turn the pages and see how the lion cub, the little bird and the brightly coloured fish all close their eyes. Oh and look, the elephant’s already asleep! Shhh, don’t make a sound! Too late, the elephant opens his eyes and gives a loud “taraaa!”, which wakes up the lion, the bird and the fish again. Time to start all over again! Will you say goodnight to the animals once more?
Little monster Gregor is terribly strong, dreadfully loud and awfully fast. But is he also a pretty monster? Gregor sets off to ask his mummy, his daddy and the other monsters, who all love him the way he is. A monsterly marvellous story about being loved and being just right that turns conventional beauty ideals upside down.
English translation available!
Four-legged friends to the rescue: The new comfort commando for nursery school kids is ready for action!
These woods hold a secret – four heroic young animals with big hearts and soft, fluffy fur are always at the ready to soothe away all the cares of nursery school children. The very first mission for the animal rescue commando comes along when little Diego doesn’t like going to the new woodland nursery school and feels very homesick.
Double start to the series: Book 2, “Rabbit in Trouble”, comes out at the same time.
A read-aloud book with a clever twist. The children turn the pointer on the wheel and wherever it stops, that’s the story to be read. And even the smallest children will quickly find the simple pictures in the table of contents. The 20 stories vary in length and feature popular topics, like pirates and princesses, animals, holidays, knights and football.
Extra: a movable pointer on the cover. A read-aloud book with a built-in game.
Monday: fun at the pony farm; Tuesday: mediaeval knights; next week: dinosaurs …
A new, innovative series concept that makes learning the days of the week child’s play. With topics that children love and a days-ofthe-week wheel to colour in as a learning aid.
Watch out, the Unstoppable Five are in our midst! But who is probably the most unstoppable? Miss Hic, The Puffy Fart, The Burp, Professor Achoo or The Yawner? A crazy contest begins. And just when they all think it will be impossible to find a winner, a very different candidate turns up – one who’s far more terrible than all the rest!
English translation available!
Full English translation available
The unicorn craze? Totally pathetic! says Kurt.
A pesky bird, a princess who beats up the prince and Kurt, an unwilling unicorn who thinks sparkly pink stars and rosescented farts are totally pathetic – it’s enough to make you weep.
Amusing, tongue-in-cheek storytime fun that even grownups love to read!
Part 2 in autumn 2020: Watch out for Kurt as he does his best to dodge the advances of a bicorn while at the same time having to liberate a horde of enchanted animals …
What a colourful country we live in! This book gives us a better understanding of the people who have come to us from other countries. The stories are set in Germany and describe, among other things, the Iranian festival Sizdah Bedar, Afghan fast breaking, and Senegalese drumming. All 20 stories have been carefully researched by experts, and show how valuable and enriching these different cultures can be to our own way of life.
Topical subject: living alongside people from around the world.
Many well-known classics revisited: the Nibelungen and Siegfried, William Tell, Barbarossa, Robin Hood, Rübezahl and the Flying Dutchman – as well as the adventurous stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Odysseus, Hercules, Isis and Osiris, and Romulus and Remus. Terrible giants feature here alongside thundering gods, irascible heroes, virtuous maidens and sly dwarves.
With grandiose illustrations by Felix Eckardt – the “shooting star of the German painting scene” – this well-arranged collection is a wonderful introduction to the complex cosmos of sagas and the different worlds of gods and heroes.
Knowledge packed into readaloud stories: 18 new stories!
The popular Why (Warum) series answers children’s questions with entertaining, child-appropriate short stories – including facts that amaze even adults.
A road trip that goes straight to the heart!
Andrea lives with his father and his pet rabbit, Maikel. Their lives are sometimes chaotic but, all in all, the three get along perfectly well – until Fidaa and her mother move in. When Fidaa accidentally drops Maikel and there’s talk of the rabbit being put to sleep, Andrea runs away in the middle of the night with Maikel in a cool box – and Fidaa hot on his heels.
A realistic yet humorous story about an unwilling friendship. This beautifully written book was chosen as one of 200 titles from around the world for inclusion in the White Ravens 2019 catalogue.
You always have time enough to be happy
As Boar and Fox are unexpectedly witnesses to the delightful spectacle of a day fly hatching, they find themselves faced with a problem – how on earth are they to tell the creature it has only one day to live? Straight away, they decide to say that Fox is the one who will soon die. The pretty fly immediately comes up with an idea: to fit a whole life – full of happiness – into the space of a single day!
English sample translation available
Witty poems, tantalising tongue twisters and charming stories about the Little Kangaroo provide ample reading material for one year.
Eeee! A spider!
You’ve heard someone shriek like that before, haven’t you? Spiders can be found in all kinds of places, you see, and they come in many different shapes and colours. But what do you do when you find one of these little creatures in your home and really don’t need any creepy-crawly housemates? No spider-disappearing machine handy? Never mind! In addition to all kinds of fascinating and amusing facts about spiders, this book also lets you in on the ultimate spider-(phobia)-banishing trick!
English translation available!
Before Nick and Olly even met, they each had an invisible dog as a friend: Snuffi belonged to Nick, and Pucki the pug was Olly’s. But now Nick and Olly are suddenly best friends and have so much fun together that they don’t need their invisible companions any more. The dogs find it hard to believe what’s happening to them: Is this supposed to mean that just because they’re invisible, they don’t exist? That cannot be true!
Max thinks his new stepsister Lara is stupid – just like the old house he and his dad moved into. Luckily there’s a cuddly creature with brightly coloured hair that’s no bigger than his index finger living there: a maffel. Max and the maffel plan to play tricks on spoilt Lara. They don’t know that Lara also has some help. Entertaining everyday stories for beginning readers with irresistible, colourful creatures.
The Right Honourable Victoria FitzQuirk is new in Anton’s class – and she really thinks she’s something. That doesn’t stop John from falling madly in love with her and Marie being her friend. Only Karl and Michael want to have nothing to do with the stuck-up newcomer. And what about Anton? He comes up with a super idea for a pancake-eating competition to bring everyone together.
A child-appropriate philosophical book full of humour and charm to the big questions of this world.
A great children’s book, a host of thought-provoking ideas that can help children to reflect on reality and to dismantle role stereotypes.
A hurricane lays waste to the Matilda Imperatrix! As luck would have it, the school coffers are empty and things are looking bad for headmistress Petronova. A few horrid teachers even want to see the boarding school for special girls close down. Not if Pina, Flo and Blanca have anything to do with it, though! They enrol their school in a world championship that requires no very special talents to win some juicy prize money. But a traitor plans to prevent their winning and puts the girls in great danger. The friends put up a valiant fight, but can they save Matilda?
Cool, clever and valiantly courageous: This club is for everyone!
This is the first adventure for Rosalie, the headstrong little fairy!
At last, on her seventh birthday, Rosalie is enrolled at Blossomwood School. And that’s where she hears about the fairy letterbox where human children post their wishes. The only trouble is that the letterbox is right at the other end of Fairyland. Rosalie still tries to fly there but loses her way in Magenta Wood. Luckily for her, her friends Nikki, the fog fairy, and Yokkel, the boy troll, come to her aid!
An enchanting adventure full of anti-pink charm for girls of six and over.
It’s terrible when your best friend moves away to another town! What a good thing that Clara still has Mrs Owl and her bookshop. Here she is surrounded by her favourite books, Gustaf, the rhyming cat, and Mr King, the talking mirror. So she doesn’t feel too lonely. Especially not on snuggle-up moonshine reading nights. As Mrs Owl so beautifully puts it: “Today is not a day for feeling miserable!”
A dream of a book: magical reading for young book fans! With stories about best friends, talking cats and the most wonderful place in the world, with warm-hearted illustrations by Betina Gotzen-Beek.
In Emmi’s world, everything is perfectly normal – with the minor exception that for their tenth birthday everyone gets a fabulous creature that stays with them for the rest of their life. Emmi is already terribly excited because her fabulous creature day is just round the corner and in a dream, she saw that it would be a unicorn! And as everyone really should know, unicorns are the absolutely most brilliant fabulous creatures. On Emmi’s big day, the Brix family is assembled in a woodland clearing waiting for the unicorn to arrive, but what trots towards them through the magical mist?
A unipig!
A wonderful debut novel with humour, charm and an inspired message: Be happy with who you are!
English sample translation available
A Detective with a Heart and a Horn: Clearly a Case for Emmi and Unipig!
A thief is wreaking havoc in Elftown. Emmi’s mum is supposed to be solving the case – she is a police officer, after all. But then Unipig gobbles up a small cake that’s the only piece of evidence! Emmi is furious. But perhaps the pair can still help Mummy to find the thief
Wonderfully written, with lighthearted humour, but also depth. We love Unipig!
Typical of Paul Maar: weird, whacky and sure to raise a smile: All the stories are wonderfully uneducational and ideal for reading aloud to the whole family.
Wishes come true at Christmas! The Sat has never experienced anything like it before! What kind of creatures are the ones with the wings that supposedly live in heaven? Why is Father Pocketbeer suddenly being so secretive? And why are people bringing trees into their living rooms? When the Sat invites a few colleagues from the world of Sats to his very first Christmas, some intentional – and also one or two unintentional – wishes come true. But in the end, the many Sats give Mr Pocketbeer a tempestuous, truly and absolutely unforgettable Christmas Eve.
Boisterous, charming, with everything the heart could wish for: the perfect present for all Sat fans.
Why does the new girl in class 6b have such an odd diary? What Greta finds out about her new classmate is amazing: Zola is not from Bavaria or any similar place. No, she comes from the future to do a stint of time experience in the present. No one is supposed to know that. But Zola always has an emergency chewing gum ready to hand, in case there is something to forget!
A hilarious time travel adventure.
A fantastic and furious debut
Shit happens!
When she started the Pro Justice and Contra Stupidity Club, Fanny’s intention was really to make the world a better place. But her world, at least, doesn’t get one bit better when stupid Netti joins her club – and everyone else thinks she’s so cool! Which makes it even more annoying for Fanny.
So saving the world will have to wait if she’s to get rid of the annoyingly nice Netti. The only question is, is that really fair…?
Out into the leafy outdoors: forest discoveries with Peter Wohlleben and Pete the squirrel
Pete the squirrel is sad because he has no family in the woods. Peter the forester comforts Pete and explains that even trees live in families. Now this is something Pete really wants to see, so the pair sets out to look for tree children and their parents. Along the way, they meet a wolf, a dangerous hawk and a horse and see a conifer plantation.
All they fail to find are tree families – until they reach the beech wood. Back at the forester’s lodge, Pete begins to feel sad again because he is still all alone. Will Peter perhaps let him stay?
Do trees have a language of their own? Do tree children have a nursery? Why are wild animals frightened of people? Peter Wohlleben answers questions that are unusual, original and often very funny. His easy-to-understand and nearly always surprising answers help children to see life in the woods with new eyes.
Only one person knows the dark secret.
Caspar’s parents are brilliant puppeteers. But there’s a price to be paid for their success. For generations, his family has had to sacrifice its youngest child to the Master of the Forgotten. Then one day, Till, Caspar’s brother, also disappears from the adults’ memory. Only Caspar and his sister can save him from the Master’s cold-hearted ambition: to use all of the vanished and forgotten children to bring to life the perfect puppet.
“Caspar and the Master of the Forgotten” by Stefanie Taschinski is a timeless, atmospheric narrative combining elements of children’s daily life and fantasy.
English sample translation available!
In their search for her seafaring daddy, Nelly and her mother, Ava, travel all over the country in a brightly coloured bus. One day, a flying postman puts Nelly and Ava off course and leads them behind a wall of fog to the strangest place Nelly has ever been. Here, everything is padded and secure. There are thousands of prohibitive signs – and lots of frightened people. Then Ava suddenly disappears without trace, and Nelly discovers that her mother isn’t the first person to have gone missing here. Anyone who breaks the rules disappears. Just like that! But where do they go to?
Twelve-year-old Felix Vorndran’s newly won friendship with his pals, and above all with Ella, is put to an acid test. But what role do the seemingly friendly biology replacement teacher Dr. Dr. Quip, who is obsessed with flying, and the “resurrected” Hulda Stingbeard play in all this? And why is it Felix who is shrinking this time? Another fast-paced and gripping story by Sabine Ludwig.
Ludwig at her best: spooky classroom goings-on that are guaranteed to raise a smile!
English sample translation available!
Marine mystery, adventure and a wonderful friendship!
For as long as she can remember, Alea has felt drawn to the sea. But she is also afraid of it because coming into contact with water could be fatal to her – that’s what Alea’s mother told her foster mother before she disappeared. One day, Alea joins the Alpha Cru kids, who sail the sea on a yacht. During the first big storm, Alea is swept overboard. After that, nothing is the same again.
This bestselling series (already more than 550,000 books sold in Germany) strikes a chord with the young Fridays for Future crowd. Book 6 “The River of Oblivion” comes out this autumn.
An international screen adaptation (feature film and TV series) is in the pipeline.
New series: Comics for beginning readers. With large print in the speech bubbles.
In a league of their own: The Pitch Monsters are no ordinary football team. Exposure to sunlight reduces Bram’s teammate Drago to dust, werewolf Lars has a terrible temper and the monster twins would rather eat the ball than kick it. Still, the friends end up winning the match against their arch-enemies, FC Redspike!
Tammie has an aneurism in her head that could implode at any time – or not. A moving story about enjoying life.
Being happy is what really matters
After Luke lost his father years ago, his father’s partner became a friend and father figure for him. Because Luke is shy, especially when it comes to girls, that is exactly what he needs. His friend Birol is involved in some shady dealings, but Luke only has eyes for the lovely young Kurdish woman Gülbahar – until an accident occurs, that is, and then Luke is forced to realise that while some calamities bring people together, others tear them apart.
Explosive theme and a touching romance at the same time.
Jess and her best friend Robyn are spending their holidays in a summer camp in the Rocky Mountains. Jess is planning to brush up on her Ancient Greek whiles she’s there as well as to enjoy the summer with her friend. But then she meets good-looking Cayden, and immediately feels there’s something familiar about him. She simply cannot keep away from Cayden and her suspicion becomes a certainity: Cayden is not the boy he makes himself out to be.
Since early childhood, Faye (16) has suffered from a rare sleeping disorder. Short of sleep, it is often hard for her to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Then her best friend, Amy, is killed in a car accident but, at night, Faye meets the supposedly dead Amy in the street. Is Amy still alive? It would be better not to ask too many questions, not even at the Monday Club, which reunites all the important people in town...
English sample translation available!
At midnight, the robed men take Lucas to an underground boarding school, where the wrong knowledge can be fatal... Modern High Fantasy meets Mystery in this unique project mentored by renown Fantasy author Bernhard Hennen.
Fifteen-year-old Nelly lives a carefree life with her family in smart Hamburg-Poppenbüttel. Then her life takes a dramatic turn, when Nelly’s father dies, leaving mountains of debt! Nelly’s mother is forced to move with Nelly and her 14-year-old brother from the quiet streets of Poppenbüttel with its attractive houses to a high-rise estate in Hamburg-Steilshoop.
Soon, Nelly has a reputation for being the arrogant bitch of the neighbourhood who never misses a chance to put her foot in it. But when 18-year-old skater Yannik comes on the scene, fitting in starts to get easier for Nelly in her new environment.
Summer unter Black Wings won the German Youth Literature Award in 2016!
“A multilayered book that makes the reader sit up and think; an incitement to resist every form of Neo-Nazism.” (Büchermagazin 04/2015)
Never without a book: Magical Whispers! She has a mysterious birthmark in the shape of a book on her wrist and also the ability to hear books whispering to her. When 17-year-old Lucy starts a stint of work experience at the British Library in London, she discovers books with blank pages. Not only have their texts vanished, but no one appears to have any recollection of them, either. When, with increasing urgency, the books entreat her to help them, Lucy attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery. And Lucy has the feeling that Nathan, to whom she feels irresistibly drawn, is somehow involved in it all.
Incredibly exciting story with a bibliophile subject!
Thomas scores one goal after another for the football team in his home village. His team is so good they have even been invited to play in a major competition. Thomas is keen to show everyone what he can do at the competition because then perhaps his greatest wish will be granted and he will be discovered by his dream team.
Even football-crazy boys who normally don’t bother with books learn to read like world champions with Thomas Müller. “How I Came to Join My Dream Team” is an autobiographical story with lots of comic-style pictures, a postcard with the football star’s autograph plus 16 pages of reading puzzles and games.
The two meet one night in summer: Sean, a student from Iran, who’s been in Germany for two months, and Davy, a home kid who’s run away to look for a friend. Both become witnesses to a robbery. Pursued from now on by both the criminals and the police, they go on the run together, from one end of Germany to the other, across strawberry fields, beneath dark storm clouds, through beer gardens, in a hot-air balloon, by train and moped.
Brilliant, bizarre and funny: Antonia Michaelis takes her readers on a tour of Germany through the eyes of a refugee and tells the story of an unusual friendship.
Brain doping, societal pressure and optimisation mania: Four teenagers in a totalitarian society.
In a future world, where performance and behaviour are rated on a points system and people’s score has reallife consequences, a scientist makes four teenage friends an unbeatable offer: to raise their score by testing a performance-enhancing, wonderchild drug. On the strength of their new powers, the government recruits the four to work as agents. The downside is that the drug has terrible sideeffects.
Be your best self – always, at all times! Explosive futurefiction thriller for the Instagram generation
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22765 Hamburg
Germany
Phone +49 (0)40 607 909 02
Managing Directors Julia Bielenberg, Christian Graef, Thilo Schmid, Juliane Lachenmayer
Program Directors Corinna Küpper/Susanne Mardt (Target Group 0-6 years), Nina Horn (Target Group 7-11 years), Lilly Raible (Target Group 12+ years), Imke Ahrens (Editor at large), Carmen Udina (migo im Verlag Friedrich Oetinger), Katharina Hammann/Markward (Oetinger Media)
Marketing Anne Petersen
marketing@verlagsgruppe-oetinger.de
Sales Thilo Schmid
vertrieb@verlagsgruppe-oetinger.de
Foreign Rights Ulrike Düwert
lizenzen@verlagsgruppe-oetinger.de
Events Helga Blümlein and Lennart Schaefer
h.bluemlein@verlagsgruppe-oetinger.de
l.schaefer@verlagsgruppe-oetinger.de
Public Relations Judith Kaiser
j.kaiser@verlagsgruppe-oetinger.de