What would you do if you had money stolen?

Emil and the Detectives

Written by: Erich Kastner

Illustrated by: Walter Trier

Translated by: Eileen Hall

Published by: Vintage Books

Published on: 2012 (first published in Britain 1931)

Price: £6.99

First line: “Now then, Emil,” Mrs Tischbein said, “just carry in that hot jug of water for me, will you.”

Genre: Detective mystery

Thanks to my local library for the copy.

What’s it all about? Emil and the detectives is set in Germany in the inter war period (1930s) and stars Emil as a young boy sent to Berlin for a visit. On the way, whilst travelling on the train, Emil’s money is stolen by a man in the carriage and instead of involving the police, Emil decides to get the money back for himself. Luckily, he recruits help from some local boys to gain back his money in the right way – not stealing it, but by bringing the thief to justice.

Why should I read it? This story comes highly recommended by Philip Pullman: “it’s a great political story: democracy in action.” This is an example of one of the first child detectives, so a classic for this genre. The moral message of the story is very high! There are some great characters amongst the boys, and his grandma is quite fiesty. The story moves along nicely, and even though the start is quite slow, I enjoyed reading it.