The writer and journalist Erich Kastner was born on the twenty-third of February 1899 in the city of Dresden, Germany. His mother, Ida, daughter of the butcher Augustin, was married to Emil Kastner, a tanner, who adopted Erich. Since his mother was a sickly woman, little Erich found himself taking care of her and taking care of her. This kind of treatment, by its nature, created a great closeness between them which was also reflected in the relationships between the heroes of his books. Indeed, in almost every book you can find names and events from his family and hints about his private life. This is the fifth of Erich Kastner's children's books that comes out in a new Hebrew translation. Some see 'The Flying Classroom' as Kastner's most successful book for young people. Kastner also particularly liked him. The adventures of Johnny and his friends in the boarding school of the gymnasium, the war against the students of the real school, the taking prisoner of the student Rudy and the burning of the notebooks. The fight for honor, the approaching holiday, loneliness versus true friendship, the story of Johnny Trotz and Sebastian, Eli using an umbrella as a parachute, Mathias who wants to be the world champion in boxing, and of course the man called 'no smoking'. All these made 'The Flying Class' a classic youth book. Both in the two introductions to the book and in the end, Kastner, in his special way, blurs the line between the real writer and an imaginary writer who is another character in the book, thus he shares with his readers, if only a little, in the life of a book. Every book has its own life. sounds strange? Read and understand. Preceded by "The Flying Class" in a new translation: Double Ora, Emil and the Detectives, Thirty-Five May and Pesfunat and Anton.
