{"title":"Hansi","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"my-village-book-hansi-9780863156564","title":"My Village","description":"There is a little village deep in the countryside of Alsace in France. To find it, get off the train at a small station decorated with flowers, and walk down a narrow road between some orchards. In the distance, you'll see the church spire rising above the wheat fields.  This is not a made-up village: it really exists. It was the village where Jean-Jacques Waltz, known through his books and drawings as 'Hansi', lived, and it was the place he loved more than any other on earth. At the time he wrote My Village, Alsace was under occupation by Germany following the Franco-Prussian War, and Hansi used his skills as an illustrator to poke gentle fun at the German authorities.  The beautiful, colourful and detailed pictures in this book show Alsatian adults and children in their traditional dress, going about their traditional lives in harmony with their surroundings. They are patriotic, kind, and always smiling, despite their difficult circumstances, and they honour the values handed down through the generations. In contrast, the Germans are portrayed as brash and self-indulgent, imposing petty laws on the villagers as well as trying to impose German culture.  Hansi's satire, however, is always humorous, and the book is a joy throughout. Sharp-eyed readers will enjoy spotting the subtle references in his illustrations. The text is suitable for children aged from about eight years old, but will equally be appreciated by adults.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49545624486161,"sku":"GOR002601088","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0863156568.jpg?v=1750915867"},{"product_id":"my-alsace-book-hansi-9780863157677","title":"My Alsace","description":"Alsace is a region in the east of modern-day France which changed hands four times between France and Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries. When Jean-Jacques Waltz ('Hansi') was born in 1873, it was two years since the Prussian army had marched into Alsace, and the province remained under German annexation until the end of the First World War.  Hansi remembered his years at the German school in Colmar as among the worst of his life. Above all, he hated the history lessons in which the teacher forced the French pupils to learn about Prussian conquests and the defeat and humiliation of Alsace. Nothing was ever said about the glorious and happy past when Alsace was a free land, joined to the ancient region of Gaul with its Celtic races.  In 1912, Hansi decided to write his own History of Alsace for children. He wanted to show them how much pride they could have in their past, and to hear the story from their own side.   The first edition was published in Paris and was a great success, though as a result of its satirical gibes at all things German, Hansi was given a heavy fine and warning from the German authorities in Colmar. Soon afterwards he was given a year's prison sentence for 'insulting the German officer corps'.  The present book is a hand-picked selection from Hansi's L'Histoire d'Alsace and his L'Alsace Heureuse written in 1919 to celebrate the province's return to freedom. It is full of Hansi's trademark colourful and detailed pictures of Alsatian life, as well as his critical but humorous portrayal of the occupying Germans. The text is suitable for children from about eight years old, but will equally be appreciated by adults.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49770823057681,"sku":"GOR013780885","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50419266814225,"sku":"GOR008466386","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52462012367121,"sku":"GOR014530657","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/086315767X.jpg?v=1751107759"},{"product_id":"les-enfants-d-alsace-cd-9782716506052","title":"LES ENFANTS D'ALSACE","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50334928371985,"sku":"GOR013931774","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/2716506051.jpg?v=1751348988"},{"product_id":"hansi-mon-village-reedition-book-hansi-9782716508292","title":"HANSI MON VILLAGE-REEDITION","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50735074509073,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50735074803985,"sku":"GOR014054354","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/2716508291.jpg?v=1751220837"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-hansi.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}