A review by sathyasekar
Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner

5.0

This tiny book is a gem. I finished it in an hour or so and finished with a big smile. As many have observed, this is a children's book done perfectly. It is written from the perspective of the children and how they think and behave. There is no attempt in creating caricatures of the children, a trap to which a lot of adult writers of child fiction fall. The book is just plain fun and a honest look at the world through a child's eyes. Emil's relationship with his mother, particularly, is so warmly captured, exactly how a child feels. I closed by deeply wishing we could all dissolve into this beautiful innocent world forever, such a more beautiful world than ours. A must-read!