Emil and the detectives

The mother of twelve-year-old Emil Tischbein works as a hairdresser because they are not in the best financial situation after the death of her husband. To make sure the boy enjoys his holidays at least a little, his aunt Marta and his grandmother invite him to visit them in Berlin. His mother gives him 140 marks for the journey, of which he is to give 120 to his grandmother as an allowance. It's a lot of money for both of them, so the little traveller puts it in a bag so he doesn't lose it. But he falls asleep on the train, and when he wakes up, he finds that the money is gone. What's he gonna do? Should he go to the police? No! He decides to track down the culprit on his own. Thus begins a dramatic chase after the thief that could never have ended successfully if Emil had been alone. But he finds a friend in an unfamiliar big city and then the chase becomes the business of the whole gang of boys, where everyone has a job to do.

This thrilling and funny children's mystery was first published in 1929, but has lost none of its freshness since then and has entertained generations of children. It has also been made into a film several times.