The school of magical animals
The School of Magic Animals is a series of children's books by the German writer Margit Auer with pictures by the German illustrator Nina Dulleck .
So far, 10 volumes of the main series and five volumes of the spin-off series The School of Magical Animals - Holidays at long last and a special volume have been published. Both series are not yet completed. The translation rights have been granted in more than 20 countries, including the books in Japan, Spain, Hungary and Turkey. The books regularly reach top positions on bestseller lists .
action
The series takes place at the Wintersteinschule, a school in Germany. The city is not specified, nor is the age of the schoolchildren. In contrast to the usual German schools, there are magical animals here. These animals can talk and become a child's best friend. The animals (including a fox , a turtle , a penguin and a brush-eared pig ) are presented by Mister Mortimer Morrison, the owner of a magical pet shop. This pet store is in the same town as the Winterstein School. Few people know the secret around the magical animals: Mr. Morrison, Miss Cornfield, the teacher, and her school class, which consists of twelve girls and twelve boys. In the 10th volume a child moves away (Luna Nadolny) and a new child (Oliver) joins the class. In the spin-off series, the focus is on holiday adventures. The same holiday week is described, but from different perspectives. In the main row, one to three animals per volume are presented.
Characters
children
- Ida Kronenberg
Ida is new to the Winterstein School and at first doesn't feel comfortable there. Ida is ambitious and has good grades, she often appears as a know-it-all. Her parents run the "Elfriede hairdressing salon" on Johannisplatz. She is the second child to have a magical animal in a school lesson after Benjamin Schubert. Ida is in love with Jo.
- Benjamin Schubert
Benjamin (nickname Benni) is a student at the Winterstein School. He is unsportsmanlike, shy and is teased by his classmates. He is the first child in class to have a magical animal.
- Jonathan Wieland
Everyone in the class calls him "Jo". Jo is sporty and vain, his parents are very strict. Some girls, including Ida, are in love with him.
- Anna-Lena Zink
Anna-Lena is shy and helpful. She belongs to Helene's court. With the help of her magical animal, she learns to assert herself against Helene. In the school play she plays the lead role, Robin Hood. Anna-Lena hates injustice.
- Chocolate
Chocolate is actually called Samuel Trewes. He got the nickname because he likes chocolate and often gets a hot chocolate from the school drinks machine. His trademark is the knitted hat. He never drops her off, much to the annoyance of school principal Siegmann.
- Edgar Petersen
His nickname is Eddie. He has the role of the class clown. He often trips over his feet, tells nonsense and gives the wrong answers in class. With the help of his magical animal, he finds out that he needs a hearing aid. His talent: he can draw well.
- Helene May
Helene loves to scare other girls around, she is conceited, a show-off and loves luxury and shopping. She is the leader of a girl clique that includes Finja, Katinka and Anna-Lena. Hairbands, dresses and ballerinas (princess look) are currently in fashion in their clique.
- Silas Sawatzki
Silas is a friend of Jo. He loves dinosaurs. Because of his nasty manner, he is quite unpopular at the Winterstein School. He comes to school every day on his racing bike.
- Finja Degenhardt
In the fourth volume Finja suffers from homesickness. Fortunately, she gets her magical animal in time. She too belongs to Helene's court.
- Yannik Nowak
Yannik finds it difficult to stay seated in the chair during class. He loves to make nonsense.
- Franka Lindbergh
Franka wears black clothes. She is excellent at computers and is a math genius.
- Max Kramer
Max is called "the professor". His specialty: Egypt. His trademark: the round glasses.
- Hatice Akay
Hatice is Sibel's best friend. She is terrified of water until she gets her magical animal.
- Henry von Waldenfels
Henry has wealthy parents who deal in vintage cars, including Cadillacs. He lives on Cranacher Allee in a villa with a swimming pool. His grandparents own a castle in Austria.
- Ronja Jablonski
Ronja has red curly hair and is very bad at maths. She likes to wander around town, is unreliable and, to the annoyance of her parents, often comes home late. In the 7th volume, she forges her mother's signature because she got a 6 in maths and is afraid that her mother and father will get angry and cancel the upcoming visit to the fair.
- Lothar Roggenthiel
Lothar is the smallest in the class. He loves basketball and is very bad at maths. Lothar's parents run a stationery shop on Lindenallee.
- Zack Martens
Zack suffers from the separation of his parents until he gets his magical animal in the 8th volume. His hobby: playing the guitar.
- Luna Nadolny
Luna loves music, dance and poetry, she is a romantic. In the 10th volume she leaves the class.
- Katinka Ivanov
Katinka lives at Beethovenstrasse 9, she belongs to Helene's court. In the 9th volume she releases the magical animals from their fossilization.
- Anthony Madaki
Anthony lives on Albert-Einstein-Straße and plays football with passion. His father Kovi comes from South Africa.
Oliver, Sibel, Elisa, Leonie and Matteo have not yet received a magical animal.
Animals
- Pinkie the magpie
Pinkie comes from Germany and is Mortimer Morrison's magical animal. She came to Mortimer when he was a child.
- Rabbat, the fox
The fox comes from Norway , where it grew up in a cozy cave in the earth. He is Ida Kronenberg's magical animal.
- Henrietta, the turtle
Henrietta comes from the Caribbean and is Benjamin Schubert's magical animal. She is almost 200 years old and very wise. Her favorite saying is: "Not bad, not bad at all."
- Yuri, the penguin
Juri comes from Antarctica and is Jo's magical animal. It can pick locks with its sharp beak.
- Caspar, the chameleon
Caspar comes from Madagascar and can change color. His favorite saying: "Hupsi-pupsi". Caspar is Anna-Lena's companion.
- Hot peppers, the brush-eared pig
Hot peppers come from Senegal, he loves chocolate. It belongs to chocolate.
- Eugenia, the bat
Eugenia comes from a ruined castle in Upper Bavaria, has a speech impediment and is Edgar Petersen's magical animal. She is the author's favorite animal.
- Karajan, the cat
The noble tomcat Karajan has green eyes and black fur. He used to live in Paris. He is just as snooty as his companion Helene.
- Rick the crocodile
Rick is from Florida and is the talking animal for Silas. Rick suffers from bad breath.
- Sydney, the koala girl
Sydney is from Australia and is Finja's magical animal.
- Tingo the chimpanzee
Tingo is from Tanzania. He belongs to Yannik.
- Cooper the rat
Cooper is from London. Cooper has brown spotted fur and loves punk rock. Favorite saying: "Cool baby!" Cooper belongs to Franka.
- Muriel the owl
Muriel is from Athens. She is Max's magical animal.
- Mette-Maja, the seal
Mette-Maja comes from Denmark. She is the magical beast from Hatice.
- Leander the leopard
Leander is from Kenya. He has honey yellow eyes and belongs to Henry.
- Toffi the dog
Toffi comes from Germany. He likes sausage and stracciatella ice cream. He is Ronja's magical animal.
- William the kangaroo
William is from Australia. William belongs to Lothar.
- Zeki, the porcupine
Zeki is Zack's magical animal. It can sing well.
- Salim, the peregrine falcon
Salim comes from Oman and belongs to Luna. He's an excellent flyer.
- Polly the flamingo
Polly is from Florida and is Katinka's magical animal. Hobby: ballet. Polly also has a handbag skill.
- Madonna, the guinea pig
Madonna is from Chile and belongs to Anthony. Her favorite exclamation: "Caramba!"
- Murphy the polar bear
Murphy lives at Mr. Morrison's Magical Pet Store. He is from Canada. Murphy is very strong, loves snow and ice and can write texts with a typewriter. Murphy is the only detective of the magical animals and the main character in a new series of books.
- Agent Y, the tarantula
Agent Y is from the "Valley of Death" in California. The spider was forgotten in the glove compartment of Mr. Morrison's omnibus and now lives in the magical pet shop. Agent Y loves raspberry syrup.
- Ashanti, the black mamba, and Leonardo, the chipmunk
Two of the many talking animals from the cosmos in the book series "The School of Magical Animals".
Adults
- Mister Mortimer Morrison
Mortimer Morrison comes from Scotland and has a magical animal of his own: Pinkie, the magpie. He is the owner of the magical pet shop. He travels around the world in his omnibus to collect magical animals to talk to. Magical animals understand each other and they understand human language. Morrison first takes the magical animals to the magical pet shop, where he lovingly takes care of them.
- Miss Mary Cornfield
Miss Cornfeld is a teacher at the Winterstein School and the younger sister of Mortimer Morrison. She has been a teacher at the Winterstein School since the beginning of the school year. The students wonder about Miss Cornfield because sometimes the children feel like she can read minds. She wears a long, red velvet coat and an amulet around her neck. She is from Scotland. Together with Mortimer Morrison, she decides which child in the class will get a magical animal next.
- Heribert Siegmann
The director of the Winterstein School values Miss Mary Cornfield as a competent colleague. Heribert Siegmann gets married in the eighth volume in the series ( full of crushes! ). He doesn't know the secret of the magical animals.
- Willi Wondraschek
The caretaker at the Winterstein School runs a lunch break, looks after the school garden and takes care of the cleanliness of the school building. Willi Wondraschek lives in the caretaker's bungalow behind the school meadow. He doesn't know the secret of the magical animals.
- Barbara Bergmann
Barbara Bergmann is a sports teacher at the Winterstein School. She heads the dance group. She doesn't know the secret of the magical animals.
- Hilla Radish
As the housekeeper for the von Waldenfels family, she is very good at cooking. Her priority is cleanliness. She is Hatice's neighbor.
Special features of the magical animals
Magical animals become a child's best friend. They can understand human language and understand each other. The child can also talk to his magical animal - if it belongs to him. Magical animals can petrify. If people are present who do not belong to the magic circle, magical animals turn into cuddly toys.
Surrender and oath
Before a handover takes place, the child concerned receives this message: “The magical pet shop announces: The selection process is ongoing. You are the next to get a magical animal. Be ready! Best wishes! The magical pet shop! ”Before each handover, the class vows not to talk to anyone about the secret. The oath is:
- “Never, never do we speak
- with others about the magical beast.
- The magical pet shop is top secret,
- so it should be forever and ever. "
Background and motivation
The author wanted to "tell everyday stories that are so turbulent and funny that the children don't want to stop reading". The basic idea arose when the author's three sons were going through elementary school. Many of these school experiences flowed into the stories, though never directly. “There are no real role models - my children would strangle me if I used their résumés or those of their friends for my books. But of course I get a lot of ideas from my surroundings: What do children laugh about? What are they concerned with? What are their worries? The deep love that children have for animals plays an important role in my books. "For the author, animals are ideal protagonists for conveying important messages. Her aim is to strengthen the children's self-confidence and to help them find their role. “There is a message behind this idea: Everyone is exactly right as they are. You don't have to pretend to be something to do with the world. Be yourself. The children also learn that with the help of their animals. ”The animals help their children when there are problems. “The animal always stands firmly by the child's side, no matter what. Turtle Henrietta gives Benni clever advice, such as not to put up with everything from Ida. The seal Mette-Maja helps Hatice to overcome her fear of the water and Silas learns from his crocodile that showing off is not everything. The magical animals understand their children's worries and can empathize with them. "
Filming 2019
The film rights to the book series were given to the Berlin film production company Kordes & Kordes in 2014 after producer Meike Kordes became aware of the first volume on a train ride in the summer of 2013. A father read the book to his daughter, Meike Kordes secretly photographed the cover. A year later, the two producers Alexandra and Meike Kordes met with the publishing house and the author in a Munich café to negotiate film rights.
Shooting began in September 2019 at Grafenegg Castle in Lower Austria. They were continued in October 2019 in Munich (Rathaus and Bavaria Studios) and in November 2019 in Cologne (MMC Studios). Viola MJ Schmidt wrote the script. Gregor Schnitzler was entrusted with the direction .
The main adult roles were given to Nadja Uhl (Mary Cornfield), Milan Peschel (Mortimer Morrison), Justus von Dohnányi (Heribert Siegmann), Heiko Pinkowski (Willi Wondraschek) and Marleen Lohse (Elvira Kronenberg). The main roles of the children went to Emilia Maier (Ida Kronenberg), Leonard Conrads (Benni Schubert), Loris Sichrovsky (Jo Wieland) and Emilia Pieske (Helene May). Over 3,500 girls and boys applied for the children's casting. The animal voices speak Katharina Thalbach (turtle Henrietta), Max von der Groeben (Fox Rabbat) and Sophie Rois (Magpie Pinkie). The film is due to hit theaters on November 26, 2020. Four weeks in advance, on October 29, 2020, the "book about the film" should appear.
Theater adaptation
In 2017 "The School of Magical Animals" premiered in Hungarian at the Kolibri Theater in Budapest.
Rows
The school of magical animals
- 1: The school of magical animals. Carlsen, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-551-65271-3 .
- 2: full of holes! Carlsen, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-551-65272-0 .
- 3: lights off! Carlsen, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-551-65273-7 .
- 4: Crazy! Carlsen, Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-551-65274-4 .
- 5: top or flop! Carlsen, Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-551-65275-1 .
- 6: Wet and Wet! Carlsen, Hamburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-551-65276-8 .
- 7: Where's Mister M? Carlsen, Hamburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-551-65277-5 .
- 8: full of crushes! Carlsen, Hamburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-551-65278-2 .
- 9: Petrified! Carlsen, Hamburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-551-65279-9 .
- 10: There and away! Carlsen, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-646-92910-2 .
The School of Magical Animals - Holidays at long last
- 1: Rabbat and Ida, Carlsen, Hamburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-551-65331-4 .
- 2: Silas and Rick, Carlsen, Hamburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-551-65332-1 .
- 3: Henry and Leander, Carlsen, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-551-65333-8 .
- 4: Helene and Karajan, Carlsen Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-551-65334-5 .
- 5: Benni and Henrietta, Carlsen Hamburg 2020, ISBN 978-3-551-65335-2 .
The school of magical animals is investigated
- 1. The green goo letter. Carlsen, Hamburg 2020, ISBN 978-3-551-65591-2 .
- 2. The slipper thief . Carlsen, Hamburg 2020, ISBN 978-3-551-65592-9 .
Special volume / extra winter edition
- Snowed in! A winter adventure, Carlsen, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-551-65046-7 .
literature
- Antonia Bauer: "Bought, read, loved", In: "Dein Spiegel", edition 2/2017
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anja Witzke: "I catch my breath while writing", in: Donaukurier, issue December 31, 2016/1. January 2017, p. 18
- ↑ Antonia Bauer: "Bought, read, loved", in: "Dein Spiegel", edition 2/2017
- ↑ Interview by Christine Schniedermann with Margit Auer , accessed on May 29, 2017.
- ↑ Kinderbuch-couch.de
- ^ Interview with the author on the Carlsen publisher's website
- ^ Photo of the day: Shooting in Munich: "The School of Magical Animals". Retrieved October 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Start of shooting: September 5th at Grafenegg Castle. Retrieved October 23, 2019 .
- ^ Potsdam: Actors wanted! - Margit Auer's series 'The School of Magical Animals' is filmed - the children's casting is running. Retrieved September 2, 2019 .
- ↑ The camera is showing the film and the action. Retrieved October 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Movie: The schedule is set. Retrieved May 26, 2020 .