Judith kerr autobiography examples
BiographiesJudith Kerr
Wikimedia Commons, von Christoph Rieger
(Geburtsname: Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr, Ehename: Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kneale-Kerr)
Born 14 June 1923 in Berlin
Died 22 May 2019 in London
German-British author and illustrator
100th birthday 14 June 2023
Biography • Quotes • Literature & Sources
Biography
Best known in Germany for the novel for young readers based on her own experiences When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Judith Kerr became most famous in her new home in Great Britain for her children's books featuring the cat MOG and “the tiger who came to tea”.
CHILDHOOD IN BERLIN
Born and raised in Berlin, she was to say later that she never knew the real Berlin. For her, the city was only her childhood years and her childhood memories until 1933, when she had to leave Germany with her Jewish family. Judith Kerr and her brother Michael, who was two years older, were brought up without religion; as a child she described herself as a “freethinker” who believed that one had to behave decently in life, regardless of whether one believed in a God or not. This was an attitude she was to retain throughout her life.
Her father was the well-known author and theater critic Alfred Kerr, her mother the composer Julia Kerr née Weismann. Judith was unable to understand her father's profession as a young girl, and she never wanted to become a mother because for her a mother was someone always having to write music.
Judith Kerr began drawing at an early age, and this seemed to her to be a completely ordinary pastime. But she also discovered the power of words; she loved writing about accidents.
Looking back, she said that she had experienced only unimportant things in Berlin and had had a happy childhood. She had had no idea at the time about what was happening around her.
FLIGHT AND EXILE
In mid-February 1933, her father fled to Prague after being warned that the Nazis wante
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Step into the enchanting world of Judith Kerr, a literary icon whose timeless tales have captivated generations of readers. With a career spanning over five decades, Kerr has woven magic into the fabric of children's literature, creating unforgettable characters and stories that continue to resonate with both young and old alike. From the moment The Tiger Who Came to Tea first graced bookshelves in 1968, Kerr's unique blend of whimsy, warmth, and gentle humour has been delighting families around the globe. Her ability to tap into the universal joy of imagination, and the unexpected adventures that can unfold in everyday life has made her books staples in homes, schools, and libraries worldwide. At the heart of Kerr's literary universe lies Mog, the lovable, forgetful cat whose misadventures have been charming readers since 1970. Through Mog's eyes, children have explored themes of friendship, family, and the magic that can be found in the most ordinary of circumstances. But Kerr's repertoire extends far beyond her feline protagonist, encompassing a rich tapestry of characters and stories that tackle everything from the whimsical world of zoo animals after dark, to the poignant experiences of a child fleeing Nazi Germany. Her work not only entertains but also gently educates, helping young readers navigate complex emotions and historical events with sensitivity and grace.
1. The Judith Kerr Treasury by Judith Kerr
The Judith Kerr Treasury is a magical compilation of five beloved children's stories that have charmed young readers for generations. This enchanting collection showcases Kerr's perennial classics, including the ever-popular The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Forgetful Cat. These tales have been cherished by families worldwide for over half a century. The treasury also features One Night in the Zoo,The Other Goose, and When Willy Went to the Wedding, offering a diverse range of adventures for young i Judith Kerr opens the door of her home in the salubrious south London suburbs and a flash of chartreuse pops behind her diminutive 93-year-old frame. Immaculately clad in a black twinset and pearls, she leads me down the hallway to where the colour sings, in the kitchen where her most famous picture-book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, is set. The room is preserved in its 1968 immortalisation, although there is no tiger stretched out across the countertop, “drinking all the water in the tap”. There is, however, a white beast of a cat skulking around. This is Kalinka, the ninth cat in the Kerr household, and the last in a long lineage of felines who have provided inspiration for Kerr’s other well-known creation, the ornery tabby Mog, who has been entertaining young readers with her adventures since 1970. “Everything I have done in my work is autobiographical in one way or another,” Kerr says, when describing her remarkable 50-year career in children’s literature. “Taking ideas from cats I’ve known, or my childhood, or something I came up with to entertain my children.” READ MORE She winces, as if apologising for her lack of imagination, but Kerr – a Jewish refugee from wartime Germany – has led an extraordinary life, and even the sanguine domesticity of her picture-books pay testament to a personality shaped by the extreme circumstances of her childhood. Kerr was nine years old when her family fled Berlin, after her father’s name appeared on a Nazi watchlist. He was a theatre reviewer, writer and outspoken critic of the regime that was about to come to power. A man “who knew what was coming long before it happened”, he fled the country immediately. On the eve of Hitler’s election as führer, Kerr’s mother set off to join him, smuggling Judith and her younger brother on a milk train across the Swiss border to Zurich. Kerr left behind a favourite stuffed toy, the pi Judith Kerr’s Creatures by Judith Kerr My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s hard to define how beautiful a book this when you’re typing a review in that thick haze you get after crying, but I shall. I shall try. I love Judith Kerr. There are a handful of authors that I cling to in children’s literature, like somebody who is drowning and in search of a lifebelt and Judith Kerr is one of them. She is my safe space, my shore. I have loved her from When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit through to Mog the Forgetful Cat and back again. And, whilst I am on this paragraph in which I confess my love, if you have not seen this documentary on Kerr and her work, give yourself an hour out and do so. It is a joy, she is a joy, and I love her. Judith Kerr’s Creatures functions as an autobiography, lavishly illustrated and holding many remarkable items relating to a remarkable life. It is graceful and self-effacing and a must for anybody interested in writing, illustration and the life behind books that become classics. Seeing some of Kerr’s earlier work juxtaposed against the proofs of her later work is undefinably wonderful because it allows the reader to trace the development of a brilliant artist. Line, for example, is something I talk about a lot in picture books because you can do so much with such a simple thing. The thickness of it. The thinness. The direction. The boldness. The shape. Try it now, doodle a sad line, a happy line. I’ll bet one curves down and one curves up and that, beyond it, you’ll see the shape of a face tight and sad, or round and full of joy. That’s line, that’s the evocation of line and that’s what we do with it as people. We fill it. We give it context. Kerr’s line is a wonderful thing in that it is human and full of movement. There are sketches in this that sing of movement and of the ability to watch and study people. To find the shape of them, to find the bits that matter in the sketch
Judith Kerr: the only bedtime story my children liked was about a tiger
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