October 13, 1936

An obituary for Christine Nöstlinger (October 13, 1936 to June 28, 2018) says she 'is considered to be the most important author of children's books in Austria and has written over 150 books during her career.'

And indeed her reputation gave her an obituary also in the Washington Post

'...Ms. Nöstlinger was a major literary force in Europe, where she acquired a reputation as a champion for disadvantaged children and racial equality. Her books, which included collections of poetry and journalism for adults, sold millions of copies and were translated into 30 languages.

'In a statement, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen wrote that the country had “lost one of its most important international literary voices” as well as “a loud and clear voice against all forms of injustice and oppression.”
.....
'“Since children live in an environment which offers them no encouragement to develop utopias for themselves, we have to take them by the arm and show them how beautiful, cheerful, just and humane this world could be,” she said in 1984, accepting the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s literature.

'“Rightly done,” she continued, “this will make children long for that better world, and their longing will make them willing to think about what must be initiated in order to produce the world they long for.”

'Among Ms. Nöstlinger’s best-known books was the young-adult novel “Fly Away Home” (1973), which was based on her childhood in Vienna during World War II, when the city was occupied by Nazi forces and then the Soviet Red Army. (The book was adapted into an Austrian film of the same name in 2016.)...

'...Ms. Nöstlinger, who was reportedly twice married, dropped out of art school in the late 1950s to raise her two daughters, Christiane Nöstlinger and Barbara Waldschütz. They later contributed illustrations to her books.

'Ms. Nöstlinger received one of Austria’s highest national honors, the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic, and in recent years published books including “Being a Woman Isn’t a Sport” (2011), a collection of her newspaper columns, and “Happiness Is a Moment” (2013), a memoir.

'She had stopped writing for children altogether, she told the magazine News shortly before her death, in part because she found herself out of touch with today’s young readers.

'“How am I supposed to know what makes kids move when they sit on their smartphone for half a day and do something with two thumbs on it?” she said. “Besides, if I hear what today’s kids like to read, it’s mostly fantasy, and it’s so far from me. . . . I understand that they have a longing to flee this complicated world and to go to another, where other rules, different laws prevail and ultimately good always triumphs. But that’s not what I could write.”'

Here are some covers in different languages




(Okay maybe that is a mouse)