Der Struwwelpeter – Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher

The Story of the Thumb Sucker from the picture book Der Struwwelpeter by Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann published in 1845 and intended for children age 3 to 6.
This is perhaps the most scary story of the book and cause of most of the criticizm: An unnecessary cruel consequence of an unimportant misbehavior, explicitly displayed in a graphic picture – from today's point of view not at all child-oriented. Most recent research, however, has shown that even young children are able to distinguish between fiction and reality and to understand and cope with stories like this. They may react with obedience to or even rebellion against the rule of not sucking their thumbs; the latter reaction would probably not happen in the