Rosa Riedl, Schutzgespenst

by Christine Nöstlinger

Nasti hat Angst vor finsteren Räumen, vor dem Keller, vor Hunden - sie hat immer Angst. Da bekommt sie plötzlich Hilfe - von Rosa Riedl. 1938, gerade in dem Moment, als sie Herrn Fischl, der mit einem Zahnbürstel den Gehsteig reinigen sollte, zu Hilfe eilen wollte, wurde Rosa Riedl von einer Straßenbahn überfahren. Und seither ist sie ein Gespenst. Ein liebenswertes und couragiertes Gespenst mit dem Herzen auf dem rechten Fleck, das energisch in das Leben Nastis und sogar einer ganzen Schulklasse eingreift.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, 20th Century, Supernatural, German Literature

157 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1979

About the author

Christine Nöstlinger was an Austrian writer best known for children's books.

By her own admission, Nöstlinger was a wild and angry child. After finishing high school, she wanted to become an artist, and studied graphic arts at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. She worked as a graphic artist for a few years, before marrying a journalist, Ernst Nöstlinger, with whom she had two daughters.

The majority of Nöstlinger's production is literature for children and for young people, and she also writes for television, radio and newspapers. She centres on the needs of children in her work, with an anti-authoritarian bent. She does not shy away from tackling difficult subjects like racism, discrimination and self-isolation.

Her first book was Die feuerrote Friederike, published in 1970, which she illustrated herself. The book was published in English in 1975 as Fiery Frederica.

Awards and recognition:

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize) 1973, 1988
Friedrich Bödecker Prize 1972
Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis der Stadt Wien (Viennese Youth Literature Prize) (five-time winner)
Österreichischer Staatspreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur (Austrian Youth Literature Prize) 1974, 1979
Hans Christian Andersen Award 1984
Tolereis des österreichischen Buchhandels für Toleranz in Denken und Handeln 1998
Zürcher Kinderbuchpreis "La vache qui lit" (Zurich Youth Literature Prize) 1990
Erster Preis der Stiftung Buchkunst 1993
The inaugural Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation for Der Hund kommt! (English: A Dog's Life, translated by Anthea Bell) 1996
Wildweibchenpreis 2002
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2003

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr liebenswürdige Geschichte!

[Theogirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nöstlinger enttäuscht nie! Nasti, der mega Angsthase, lernt dank Rosa, was im Leben wirklich zählt, und wofür es sich lohnt einzustehen. Ein eher kurzer Roman für Alt und Jung, der voller skurriler Abenteuer und Persönlichkeiten steckt, v.a. aber auch auf kindgerechte Art und Weise das Thema "Nationalsozialismus und Judenverfolgung" verdeutlicht.

[Mihal Neuwert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das Buch war mein absolutes Lieblingsbuch als Kind. Ich weiß nicht, wie oft ich es gelesen habe - doch auch 25 Jahre später steht es noch in meinem Bücherregal. Es ist ein herrliches Buch für kleine Angsthasen, wie ich es als Kind war.

[Gerardo Manz · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my very personal opinion, the German literature for kids is in some aspects better than the German literature for adults.

[Weatherwax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a really sweet book

[Alena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Buch war heilend! Ich liebe wie nett die Eltern immer sind in Nöstlingers Büchern. Und auch mit fast 30 braucht man manchmal ein Schutzgespenst :)

[Nina#Sreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr gelungene Geschichte über ein Schutzgespenst für Kinder mit Ängsten!

[heidilbeere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wie Kaiserschmarn mit 13 an einem Freitagnachmittag!

[Novels and Neckties - Kira Murasaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

i needed a book whichs story takes place in my hometown.
there it is.^^

Rosa Riedl is a book read in most schools, but to me it is not a book for children, rather teenagers, because children of 10 to 12 wouldn´t understand the conflicts Rosa refers to when telling about her life under the Nazi regime. And can you talk to kids so young about your soul suffering from claustrophbia because your dead body is trapped under a collapsed house? I guess this would only scare them.

I like the way the characters talk in this book. Nöstlinger gave the the famous vienna accent, which i speak myself of course^^.
The story is told from an 10 year old girls angle of view. Nasti wants to be brave, but she believes she needs an guardian angel first. When Rosa saves her Nasto belives she finally got herself that angel and keeps Rosa a secret from everyone.
But soon she has to reviel Rosas exsistence to her parents. Well, we saw it coming.
Before the book reaches it heart warming end, Rosa and Nasti have to see through a little, not really scary, but complicated conflict, which is solved by tricking someone in a daring and funny way.
This is what separates the childrens books from the books for adults, no one is really hurt.

The end is not a very big surprise, but i good idea by Nöstlinger. Rosa becomes the guardian ghost of Nastis school, but only Nasti knows she is there.

Watching Nasti changing from shy and timid to brave and daring was really interessting.
It once again proves, we all have it in us, showing just demands a little help from a friend.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a nice book, well I read it in Spanish but I only cand find the german title.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my childhood favourites.

[elli · Rating 5 out of 5]

bestes kinderbuch auf der ganzen welt