The Parent Trap

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

The book behind the world-famous film —  in a new translation by Anthea Bell

Luise has ringlets. Lottie has braids. Apart from that they look exactly the same.

But they are sure that they have never set eyes on each other in their lives.

When the two girls meet at a summer camp and discover the secret behind their similarity, they decide to switch places. Everyone is fooled (apart from the dog) and, despite a few mistakes and misadventures, everything goes to plan for Luise as Lottie and Lottie as Luise - until their father meets a young, beautiful woman and things start to unravel...

Funny, moving, affectionate and improbable, The Parent Trap has twice been adapted for film - but the book remains one of the great classics of German children's literature.

Story Locale:Germany

Series Overview: Pushkin Children’s Classics is a list of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, carefully selected for our most discerning readers - children. This timeless, ever-growing library, featuring stylish covers and deluxe editions, takes you from the Netherlands to Brazil, Germany to Japan and beyond. Ranging from familiar favourites to newly discovered treasures, these are books that young readers will want to return to time and again.

About the Author

Erich Kästner, writer, poet and journalist, was born in Dresden in 1899. His first children's book, Emil and the Detectives, was published in 1929 and has since sold millions of copies around the world and been translated into around 60 languages. After the Nazis took power in Germany, Kästner's books were burnt and he was excluded from the writers' guild. He won many awards, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1960. He died in 1974.

Anthea Bell, an acclaimed translator of German and French literature, was born in Suffolk in 1936. An illustrious, award-winning translator, she was best known for her translations of the much-loved Asterix books and the work of Zweig and Sebald. She died in 2018.

Author Residence: Muenich, Germany (deceased)

Author Hometown: Dresden,Germany (deceased)

Walter Trier was born in Prague in 1880. After moving to Berlin, he became an acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator, and Kästner’s collaborator on more than a dozen children’s books. Forced to emigrate under Nazi rule, he died in 1951 in Ontario, Canada.

Illustrator Residence:Ontario, Canada (deceased)

Illustrator Hometown:Prague, Czech Republic (deceased)