Sylvester and the New Year

by Eduard Mörike, Emmeline Pidgen (Illustrator)

On a cold winter’s day, Eduard Mörike takes a walk with the young daughter of his friend. While stumping through the snow he tells her the story of Sylvester and the New Year. This story left a lasting impression on the young girl. When she was an adult, she wrote it down and so it has been passed on, thus creating a new tradition – the reading of this book on New Year’s Eve. Inspired by this tale, Far Far Away has created a new version that will be enjoyed by our readers, regardless of their age. Although this tale is not listed in Mörike’s works, most experts agree that it is from him.

Genres: Picture Books, Christmas

48 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

German Biedermeier poet and novelist.

Eduard Friedrich Mörike (Ludwigsburg, 8 September 1804 – 4 June 1875 in Stuttgart) was a German romantic poet. He studied Theology at the Seminary of Tübingen, and followed the ecclesiastical career, becoming a Lutheran pastor. In 1834 he was appointed pastor of Cleversulzbach near Weinsberg, and, after his early retirement for reasons of health, in 1851 became professor of German literature at the Katharinenstift in Stuttgart. This office he held until his retirement in 1866; but he continued to live at Stuttgart until his death on 4 June 1875.
Mörike is a member of the so-called Swabian school which gathered round Ludwig Uhland. His poems, Gedichte (1838; 22nd ed., 1905), are mostly lyrics, often humorous, but expressed in simple and natural language. His lieder (songs) are traditional in form and have been compared to those of Goethe. He also wrote a somewhat fantastic Idylle vom Bodensee, oder Fischer Martin und die Glockendiebe (1846; 2nd ed., 1856), and published a collection of hymns, odes, elegies and idylls of the Greeks and Romans, entitled Klassische Blumenlese (1840), and several novels and narratives, among the former Maler Nolten ("The painter Nolten", 1832; 6th ed., 1901), a bildungsroman which enjoyed great popularity. Another work is the novella Mozart auf der Reise nach Prag ("Mozart on the way to Prague", 1856), a humorous examination of the problems of artists in a world uncongenial to art. Many of his lyrics were set to music by Hugo Wolf. Mörike's Gesammelte Schriften (Collected Writings) were first published in 4 volumes. In what political and social views he espoused, he was Monarchist and conservative.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on a story by Edward Morike, a german poet and novelist who was born over 200 years ago. Sylvester sleeps all year to wake on new years eve to take the new years child down to earth and collect the old years child, who, after a year on earth has aged somewhat and needs a good soak in the river of life that washes time away. Really nice illustrations and a nice story, 4.5 stars, it's hard to rate though, it's good but I wouldn't buy it.

[AnnaB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wie der alte Silvester jeden Winter das neue Jahr zu den Menschen bringt, illustriert mit wunderbaren Aquarellbildern von František Chochola.
Die Geschichte kann schon mit kleinen Kindern gut am Silvesterabend gelesen werden