Lisa and Lottie

The classic book that spawned the beloved movie The Parent Trap, Lisa and Lottie tells the story of identical twins who reunite after being separated at birth. Nine-year-old Lisa from Vienna—bold, with a head of curls—meets Munich’s buttoned-up, braid-wearing, Lottie at summer camp. Soon, a newspaper clipping tells the tale: they’re identical twins, with Lisa living a colorful, big-city life with her father, while Lottie keeps house in the country with her gentle mother. The girls learn that their parents divorced when they were babies, with each keeping one of the girls. Deciding that it is unfair that neither of them has ever been told that she is a twin, or that both of their parents are alive, the girls decide to trade places at the end of the summer. Lottie curls her hair, Lisa braids hers, and both go off to where they have never been before, to meet the parent they never knew. And with that, the heartwarming and comical adventure begins.

Erich Kästner (1899–1974), was a German satirist, poet, and novelist especially known for his children’s books, including Lisa and Lottie and Emil and the Detectives. During World War II, his books were banned by the Nazis, and were published abroad. Kästner won the G. Büchner literary prize in 1957, and was president of the FRG branch of the International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists (PEN).