8.4 /10 1 Votes
Language German Originally published 1966 Genre Science Fiction Country Germany | 4.2/5 Goodreads ISBN 4-89642-097-7 Adaptations Timm Thaler (1979) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Followed by Timm Thalers Puppen oder Die verkaufte Menschenliebe Science Fiction books Professor Dowell's Head, Dunno on the Moon, In Search of the Castaways, The Naked Sun, The End of Eternity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timm Thaler oder Das verkaufte Lachen (roughly translated as Timm Thaler, or the Traded Laughter and best known as simply Timm Thaler) is a 1962 children's novel by German author James Krüss. Regarded by the Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature as Krüss' best known children's book, Timm Thaler tells the story of a boy who trades his enchanting laughter to a wealthy mysterious Mephistopheles-like Baron in exchange for the ability to win any bet he makes. Regretting the exchange, he undertakes a four-year journey to win his laughter back. In 1979, Krüss wrote a sequel novel, Timm Thalers Puppen oder Die verkaufte Menschenliebe (roughly translated as Timm Thaler's Puppets, or the Traded Love for Mankind).
The popular story was subsequently adapted into a 13-part German children's television miniseries in 1979, and again, as a 2-part Soviet musical television movie in 1981. The story was later re-adapted into an animated German television series in 2002.