Janosch was born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931 in what was then Hindenburg (now
Zabrze, Poland) in
Upper Silesia to a family of mixed German and Polish origin, though he identifies his nationality as "
Silesian". His mother was a pious Catholic, and his father a violent alcoholic. In 1953, he went to
Munich, where he studied for some terms at the Academy of Arts, but broke off his studies eventually. Afterwards, he worked as a freelance artist. In 1960, his first book for children was published with
George Lentz, a friend of his, and then relocated to the island of
Tenerife, where he currently resides. == Awards ==