Felix (children's book series)
Felix is the title of a children's book series written by Annette Langen and illustrated by Constanza Droop . It was published by Coppenrath Verlag Münster and celebrated its 20th anniversary in spring 2014. In addition to the book series, two films, an animated series and a musical have been produced.
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The series is about the little stuffed bunny Felix, who is lost to its owner, the girl Sophie. She is very sad about his loss. One day, however, there is a letter from Felix in her mailbox. Others follow, each from a different place that Felix visited on his further journey. In every book in the series, letters arrive from other places, for example Felix sends letters from the past in Felix's book Neue Briefe .
Development and special features
Felix, the rabbit who loves to travel, and his girlfriend Sophie were designed in 1994 by the children's book author Annette Langen and the illustrator Constanza Droop. In the meantime, in addition to the eight picture books, creative and non-fiction books have also been published.
The humorous and informative letters that Felix writes to Sophie from his travels are an integral part of the books. The messages in scrawled letters are stapled in every book with a real envelope and always contain a little surprise. In addition, the readers learn something about the hare's whereabouts, for example about the culture, language and history of the country.
Sales figures and international success
The books have been sold over 7 million times, translated into 29 languages and have appeared in 20 countries including France, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Japan, Korea and the USA. The success of the children's book series is extraordinary, especially in the Pacific region, as interest in modern German literature is generally rather low in these countries. In Israel, Letters from Felix made it onto the bestseller list as the first post-war German book.
In spring 2002 Felix appeared as a series hero in the series Letters from Felix on KIKA and ZDF. In 2005 the film "Felix - A Hare on a World Tour" was released, which attracted over 1.4 million fans to the cinemas. "Felix 2 - The Rabbit and the Darn Time Machine" followed in February 2006. In addition, from 2008 to 2011 around 100,000 fans visited the Germany-wide stage show "Felix - The Musical".
Felix now has his own website; Under www.felixclub.de, children can send him e-mails, sign in his guest book or try out games. Coppenrath-Verlag receives many messages every day, all of which are answered.
At the beginning of August 2013, Felix was appointed the official ambassador of the 545 SOS Children's Villages worldwide in Caldonazzo (Italy).
Felix Club and other products
The "Felix Club" was founded in October 2001 and now has around 9,000 fans. Members receive regular mail from Felix, receive little surprises and are informed about the culture and customs of the countries to which Felix has traveled in the meantime.
In addition to the books by Annette Langen and Constanza Droop, Coppenrath Verlag also offers other products in its “Die Spiegelburg” edition. Felix u. a. Available as a plush bunny, but Felix suitcases, backpacks and travel accessories are also sold successfully.
In addition, many well-known licensees are expanding their own product range with articles related to Felix. For example, Felix blankets (Biederlack), Felix bed linen (Bierbaum), Felix bicycle accessories (Bike Fashion), Felix organic chocolate (EcoFinia), Felix porcelain (Kahla), Felix children's glasses (Nussbaumer) are available in stores. , Felix shoes (Pölking), Felix children's tea (teapot), Felix audio books (Universal Music) and Felix fruit spreads (Tom's kitchen) available.
Published (selection)
- Letters from Felix
- New letters from Felix
- Adventurous letters from Felix
- Christmas letters from Felix
- Circus letters from Felix
- World's best letters
- Felix with the children of this world
- With Felix on a long trip to Germany