Author: Jugendbuchkollektiv
Title: Die Kleine Ratte kriegt es raus
Description: Berlin, Basis-Verlag, n.d. [1972?]. orig. wrappers. 20x14cm, 71 pages.. Rubberstamp to title. Minor wear. Good. ¶ German New Left juvenile literature. ["Basis Verlag...developed from a collective which worked in daycare and youth centers during the late 1960s and has continued this work, largely in Berlin. The members of Basis are socialists, who see their task as preparing the base for a new socialist society. Their main emphasis is on the production of books for children between the ages of four and twelve,...To date, they have published over fourteen books for children, all of which tend to deal with the contemporary scene and social conditions in a realistic manner...The Basis books for children were developed at a time when the anti- authoritarian phase of the New Left was coming to an end in West Germany- that is, the phase when arbitrary authority was defied for the sake of defying authority. Though there are some anti-authoritarian elements in Basis books, their main goal is to demonstrate how working collectively can lead to a greater sense of oneself and the world and to the resolution of problems confronting children in their everyday lives....A story for somewhat older children, 'Die Kleine Ratte kriegt es raus', deals with Renate Müller, about ten, who does not understand why her father, a sanitation worker, earns less than Doctor Gruschwitz, the father of a friend, nor why she and her family must live in such cramped quarters compared to the huge apartment of the Gruschwitzes..." - Jack Zipes " Impact of 'Der Struwwelpeter' on Children's Literature" (1976)].

Keywords: German Political History, Juvenile Fiction, Anti-Authoritarian, Children's Books, Child Literature, West Germany, New Left, ,