EMIL AND THE DECTECTIVES would be Friedrich’s favorite book even if the author, Erich Kästner, didn’t happen to be his neighbor and friend. Ever since reading it, he has dreamed of becoming a detective himself. Together with his friends Albert and Viktoria—who is so clever that she is known simply as "Doctor"—he already helps the Berlin police track down lost items in the Tiergarten. His older brother Rolf, on the other hand, joins the Nazis and enthusiastically takes part in the 1933 book burnings. Friedrich is forced to watch as Kästner’s books are burned there, too. And soon after, the police even task the children with spying on the author! When a murder occurs, Friedrich suddenly realizes that the time for detective games is over for good.
Originally published in German only - difficult to find in English