The Parent Trap

Erich Kästner, Anthea Bell (Translator (GER)), Walter Trier

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English

Pushkin Press
21 October 2025

Children's & Educational; Classic fiction (Children's&YA); Family & home stories (Children's&YA)

Series: Pushkin Children’s Classics

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

By: Erich Kästner
Illustrated by: Walter Trier
Translated by: Anthea Bell (Translator (GER))
Imprint: Pushkin Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781805331704
ISBN 10: 1805331701
Series: Pushkin Children’s Classics
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 21 October 2025
Recommended Age: From 9 to 11 years
Audience: Children/juvenile , Children / Juvenile
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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. 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. Anthea Bell 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.

Reviews for The Parent Trap

'There are so many books where its the combination of author and illustrator that makes you love them. In the case of The Flying Classroom and The Parent Trap... its the combo of author, illustrator and translator. The bold line drawings by Walter Trier are the work of genius... As for the stories, if youre a fan of Emil and the Detectives, then youll find these just as spirited' - Melanie McDonagh, 'Children's Books of the Year' 'The classic story... is famous as a film. Here, in this beautifully produced edition, Erich Kastners original is incomparably more subtle and touching while still being very funny... A wonderful story brilliantly translated by Anthea Bell' - Julia Eccleshare, Books of the Year 'Walter Triers deceptively innocent drawings are as classic as Kastners words; I never tire of them' - Quentin Blake 'A treasure-trove of childhood reading' - Huffington Post 'Gorgeous' - Books Are My Bag