History
As children's literature scholar Penni Cotton writes, Hoffmann wrote Struwwelpeter in reaction to the lack of good children's books. Intending to buy a picture book as a Christmas present for his three-year-old son, Hoffmann instead wrote and illustrated his own book. Hoffmann was persuaded by friends to publish the book anonymously as Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorierten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren (Funny Stories and Whimsical Pictures with 15 Beautifully Coloured Panels for Children Aged 3 to 6) in 1845. It was not until the third edition in 1858 that the book was published under the title Struwwelpeter. The book became very popular among children throughout Europe, and, writes author and researcher Penni Cotton, the pictures and characters showed a great deal of originality and directness.
Struwwelpeter has been translated into several languages. In 1891, Mark Twain created one translation of the book into English. Due to copyright issues, Twain's "Slovenly Peter" was not published until 25 years after his death in 1935. A link to an English translation of the entire book is here.
In 2006, Fantagraphics Books published the first completely digital version of Struwwelpeter, reinterpreted and illustrated by Bob Staake.
Struwwelpeter was republished in English by Dover in 2010.
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