Little Princess in the Woods

Olfers, Sibylle, 1881-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 2.1K words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Prinzeßchen im Walde by Sibylle OlfersAuthor: Olfers, Sibylle, 1881-1916,Language: German, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Oct 14, 2018

Editor's review

*Prinzeßchen im Walde* is a German children's picture book by Sibylle von Olfers, set in a forest and telling the story of a little girl like a princess. Olfers was an important German picture-book author of the early twentieth century, and her visual style shows Art Nouveau influence, emphasizing decorative lines and combinations of natural elements. The book is in German, with brief text and illustrations, suited as a German primer or as material for studying picture-book art. For adult readers its value lies more in understanding the text-image relationship and aesthetic taste of early children's picture books; for child readers, an adult must read along to bridge the language barrier. As a public-domain electronic edition released by Project Gutenberg, it is easy to obtain, but the reading experience depends on how well illustrations display on screen.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginner German learners who want to start with short illustrated texts
Art enthusiasts studying the history of children's picture books and illustration styles
Parents or teachers willing to read along when introducing German to children
Collectors and researchers interested in early twentieth-century European children's book aesthetics

Not a good fit for

Independent young readers with no German at all and no adult support
Readers expecting a full-length fairy-tale plot
Those who prioritize high-quality printed illustrations and have high standards for electronic image quality

Reading tips

Look at the pictures before the text, using the images to guess word meanings and reduce the pressure of reading German
When reading parent-child, have the adult read the German aloud while the child repeats and points to objects in the pictures
Record new words by category—nature, characters, actions—to build a small vocabulary list
Researchers can compare with picture books of the same period to observe features of line and color

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read this book without knowing German?

You can understand the general situation from the pictures, but the textual information requires German or someone's translation. As a picture book to appreciate, the images have independent value; to understand the story, it is best to have some German or an adult who knows German reading along.

What age is this book suitable for?

Judging by the length of text and images, it falls into the category of picture books for very young children, suitable from preschool to early primary school. But the original is in German, and children in a Chinese-language environment need an adult to read and explain; the actual suitable age depends on whether German reading support is available, not merely on how easy the content is.

How good are the illustrations in the electronic edition?

The Project Gutenberg edition is released as public-domain scanned or edited text; the illustrations are readable but their clarity depends on the source file and screen and may not reach the standard of a printed art book. If you are mainly studying illustration details, compare with other high-resolution editions.

Comments

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About the author

Olfers, Sibylle, 1881-1916 Author

Sibylle Olfers (1881–1916) was a German author and illustrator of children's literature. Public information about her is limited, and many details of her life remain unknown. In her short life she produced several picture books, four of which are held in this collection: Etwas von den Wurzelkindern, Im Schmetterlingsreich, König Löwes Hochzeitsschmaus and Prinzeßchen im Walde. These works mostly draw on nature, the changing seasons and fairy-tale worlds; their illustrations are at once decorative and fantastical, while the text is simple and rhythmic, suited to very young readers. Etwas von den Wurzelkindern is the best known, portraying the cycle of the four seasons through personified earth spirits. It is regarded as one of the classics of German picture books and has influenced later nature-themed picture-book creation.