Judith Kerr. Judith Kerr About the tiger who came to tea Judith Kerr the tiger who came to tea

The writer was born in Berlin, but the family left Germany in 1933 - first they moved to Switzerland, then to France, and only in 1936 they settled in England. Judith's father, Alfred Kerr (1867–1948), was a theater critic and noted writer who was persecuted for speaking out against the Nazi government and had his books burned.

During World War II, Judith Kerr worked for the London Red Cross, caring for the wounded. After the war, in 1945, she received a scholarship to study at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (Central School of Arts and Crafts) and became an artist. After graduation, Kerr taught art for a while, and then met her future husband, Nigel Neal, who worked as a screenwriter for the BBC and advised her to go to work in a television company, where she, like Nigel, began to write screenplays. The couple got married in 1954, the couple lived together for more than fifty years - until 2006, when Neil died. They have two children: son Matthew Neal, a writer, and daughter Tacy, who works in the film industry.

The idea for the first book - "The Tiger Who Came to Drink Tea", about a talking tiger - came to the writer's mind after she and her three-year-old daughter went to the zoo. They had to be at home alone for a long time, because their father was often away, and so a story arose about an unexpected guest. Kerr told this story to her daughter and then wrote it down when her son Matthew asked for something to read other than boring school books. Kerr decided to write as simple a text as possible with pictures, which would allow her children to learn to read English with pleasure. Subsequently, the book went through many reprints and was translated into many languages, including German, Danish, French, Spanish, Russian and Japanese. In 2008, on the occasion of the book's 40th anniversary, a musical performance based on the plot of this book premiered in London (staged by David Wood).

The most popular stories are about the cat Mog (in Russian translation - Meowli). Invented by Kerr over forty years ago, the books have gone through many reprints and have a combined circulation of more than five million copies. Books about the adventures of Meowli are considered classics of children's literature. In Russia, they were issued by the Melik-Pashaev publishing house. Other recurring characters in the Mewley stories are Mr. and Mrs. Thomas (Mowley's owners) and their two children, Nick and Debbie. In each book, Meowli gets into different predicaments, interesting events occur, new characters appear. Judith Kerr drew the house in which the Thomas family lives from her own house in London, and the appearance of the head of the family from her husband.

In addition to stories about the adventures of the cat, Judith Kerr is the author of the Out of the Hitler Time trilogy, based on her memories of Nazi Germany and the war. The first novel - "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" (translated into Russian as "The pink rabbit that Hitler stole") - tells about the events that accompanied the departure of the Kerr family from Germany: before leaving, the mother allowed Judith and her brother to take with them only one toy. Judith was choosing between a plush dog and a pink bunny, which remained in their apartment in Berlin. The life of the main character of the book, the girl Anna, seems to her a great adventure: she and her family are constantly moving from place to place, meeting different people. Kerr herself has repeatedly said that thanks to her parents, she did not even know what difficulties her family had to face. So, the toy rabbit left in Germany due to forced flight became the personification of irreparable childhood loss, childhood grief, piercing loneliness and defenselessness.

Judith Kerr spent her last years in London illustrating books. She collaborated with HarperCollins Children's Books. The first public school in south London is named after Judith Kerr, where teaching is conducted in German and English.

"She was an amazingly talented artist and storyteller and left behind some incredible artwork. Always modest and very, very cheerful, she loved life and people - and especially parties.," Charlie Redmayne, head of the publishing house, said in a statement.

Subsequently, Judith Kerr wrote a book based on the events of her childhood. The book is called How Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit (1971). Before leaving Germany, her mother allowed Judith and her brother to take only one toy with them. Judith was choosing between a plush dog and a pink bunny, which remained in their apartment in Berlin. The life of the main character of the book, the girl Anna, seems to her a great adventure: she and her family are constantly moving from place to place, meeting different people. Kerr herself has repeatedly said that thanks to her parents, she did not even know what difficulties her family had to face; Anna exclaims in the book, "It's so much fun being a refugee!"

During the war, Judith Kerr worked for the Red Cross, and in 1945 she entered the London Central School of Arts and Crafts: she had been drawing since childhood and dreamed of becoming an artist. After graduation, Kerr worked for a while as an art teacher, and then met her future husband, Nigel Neal, who worked as a screenwriter for the BBC and advised her to go to work in a television company, where she, like Nigel, began to write screenplays. .

Kerr's first book, The Tiger Who Came for Tea, was published in 1968. This story, which Kerr told her children many times at bedtime, and then decided to write down and illustrate, is still one of her most popular works.

No less beloved by readers is a series of books about a cat named Mog. So, as a rule, in England they call ordinary outbred cats. Something akin to our Murka. (But in the Russian translation, Mog turned into Meowli.) The first book about Mog (Miauli) was published in 1970, and in total Kerr wrote and illustrated 17 books about this cat. These stories were inspired by all those cats that lived in the Kerr house. Judith Kerr thinks cats are amazing creatures. Some of them don't meow because they think babies make too much noise anyway, some are afraid of Christmas trees, and some even have multiple owners at once and secretly live in multiple houses.

One of Kerr's latest books is called My Henry (2011) and is dedicated to her husband, who died in 2006. In it, the widowed narrator imagines that her husband has grown wings for himself and takes her every evening from four to seven so that they can spend time together: ride a dinosaur or hunt lions.

Judith Kerr received an MBE in 2012 for her contributions to children's literature and Holocaust education.

In recent years, Judith Kerr has lived in London with her ninth cat, Katinka, and has continued to write and illustrate books.

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sonya, and once she and her mother were drinking tea in the kitchen.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

Sonya's mom said:

I wonder who it could be?

The milk was already delivered this morning, so it's not a milkman.

It is unlikely that this is a boy from a candy store, he usually arrives on Thursdays.

And this is not dad - he also has the keys. Let's open the door and see who's there.

Sonya opened the door - a huge fluffy striped tiger stood on the threshold!

Tiger said:

I'm sorry, but I'm terribly hungry. May I come and have tea with you?

And Sonya's mother answered:

Certainly! Come in.

Tiger immediately went to the kitchen and sat down at the table.

Would you like a sandwich? - suggested Sonya's mother.

But the tiger didn't just take the sandwich. He grabbed all the sandwiches that were on the plate and swallowed them all at once - um!

However, he still looked very hungry, so Sonya handed him raisin buns.

And again, the tiger did not just take and eat one bun - he instantly ate all the buns on the platter.

Then he also ate all the biscuits and the whole pie, and finally there was nothing to eat on the table.

Then Sonya's mother asked:

Maybe you're thirsty?

And the tiger drank all the milk from the jug and all the tea from the teapot.

Then he looked around for some supplement.

He ate everything that was cooked in pots for dinner...

And all the food that was in the fridge.

And all the cans and cans from the cupboard, and he drank all the milk, and all the orange juice...

And all daddy's beer, and all the tap water.

And then he said:

Thank you for such wonderful tea! But it's time for me to go.

Sonya's mom said:

I don't even know what to do.

Now dad will be left without dinner - the tiger ate everything that was!

And it also turned out that Sonya can’t go to the bathroom now ...

After all, the tiger drank all the water from the tap.

Just then, my father returned home.

Sonya and her mother told him about everything that had happened, how the tiger came and ate all the food...

And he drank everything that was in the house.

Then Sonya's dad said:

I know what we'll do.

I had a great idea - now we'll get dressed and go to a cafe.

The famous English writer and illustrator Judith Kerr is not an Englishwoman at all, but a German. She was born in Berlin in 1923. Her father, theater critic and writer Alfred Kerr, was persecuted for speaking out against the Nazi government, and in 1933 the family had to urgently leave Germany. After living for several years in Switzerland and France, the Kerrs received permission to enter England in 1936.

Subsequently, Judith Kerr wrote a book based on the events of her childhood. The book is called (1971). Before leaving Germany, her mother allowed Judith and her brother to take only one toy with them. Judith was choosing between a plush dog and a pink bunny, which remained in their apartment in Berlin. The life of the main character of the book, the girl Anna, seems to her a great adventure: she and her family are constantly moving from place to place, meeting different people. Kerr herself has repeatedly said that thanks to her parents, she did not even know what difficulties her family had to face; Anna exclaims in the book, "It's so much fun being a refugee!"

During the war, Judith Kerr worked for the Red Cross, and in 1945 she entered the London Central School of Arts and Crafts: she had been drawing since childhood and dreamed of becoming an artist. After graduation, Kerr worked for a while as an art teacher, and then met her future husband, Nigel Neal, who worked as a screenwriter for the BBC and advised her to go to work in a television company, where she, like Nigel, began to write screenplays. .

Kerr's first book was published in 1968. This story, which Kerr told her children many times at bedtime, and then decided to write down and illustrate, is still one of her most popular works.

One of Kerr's latest works is called (2011) and is dedicated to her husband, who died in 2006. In it, the widowed narrator imagines that her husband has grown wings for himself and takes her every evening from four to seven so that they can spend time together: ride a dinosaur or hunt lions.

Judith Kerr lives in London with her ninth cat, Katinka, and continues to write and illustrate books.

This year in England, both big and small are celebrating the anniversary of the children's book.
HM. No, this is not Harry Potter.

This is a thin picture book "How the tiger came to visit to drink tea."

For forty years now, this merry little book has been delighting new and new generations of readers who, with bated breath, have been watching what a huge tiger is doing in a respectable English house.

This book is forty years old this year, and on the occasion of the anniversary, a performance was staged and an exhibition was opened at the Museum of Childhood in London.

And the artist Judith Kerr wrote the story and drew pictures. When she decided to write her first book, she did not think about fame, but simply wanted to write something funny for her son: he refused to read boring edifying stories from the school curriculum.

For him, she later wrote a story about her childhood, which took place during the Second World War. The book "How Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit" was liked not only by my son, but also by readers from different countries. Judith Kerr spoke about how she fled with her parents from Nazi Germany, how she later wandered around Europe with them, how difficult it was to settle down in a new place in England. And this book also showed the talent of a writer who knows how to see what is happening through the eyes of a child. So, the toy rabbit left in Germany due to forced flight became the personification of irreparable childhood loss, childhood grief, piercing loneliness and defenselessness.

But boundless love and fame were brought to Judith Kerr by books not about a tiger, and not even about a rabbit, but about the most ordinary domestic cat named Mog.

17 (!) Books have been written about him. In fact, a child can grow up with their favorite character: there are cardboard books for the little ones,

there are toy books with moving elements,

Here in this book about Mog, a cat is trying to make friends with a small dog. Everyone thinks that this cutie should melt a cat's heart

But Mog has a different point of view and he is not at all happy with his newfound "buddy"

There is also a Christmas story - where without it!

And there is ... a story about death - poignant and wise.

This summer, at the Judith Kerr exhibition at the London Museum of Childhood, one could not only learn how favorite books were born from numerous sketches, but also read them and then, dressed as a cat, become the hero of your favorite story yourself,

Or, choosing the role of a hostess, give tea to a huge but cute tiger.

And to feel that although he is big, he is very kind.

And in our reading room, you can look at different books by Juthi Kerr. Our readers love them too. Come!

Olga Mäeots

Our other articles on the work of Judith Kerr.