Helme Heine's books sold millions of copies and were translated into 35 languages. Photo / 123rf
Helme Heine's books sold millions of copies and were translated into 35 languages. Photo / 123rf
A globally celebrated children’s book author, illustrator and designer has died at his home in Russell, Bay of Islands.
Helme Heine died on Thursday, aged 84.
After several months in Germany and “excellent care” from doctors in New Zealand, the author died from multiple cancers, his representative Christoph Van Radowitz,told the Herald.
“Everything seemed better. And then in September, it started again in different places in his body.”
Born in Berlin on April 4, 1941, Heine became internationally known for his gentle, humorous and philosophical stories about friendship and community.
“He did not only want to be a picture book artist.”
Heine’s creative interests ranged across art, sculpture, theatre and satire.
One of his most recognisable local works was a 50kg brass mermaid sculpture that sat at the front entrance of the home he shared with his wife, Kiki.
The statue, cast in Europe and originally conceived as part of a fountain project he had designed for the Russell Business Association, became something of a landmark on Wellington St.
In 2006, the Herald reported the mermaid had been stolen in an overnight raid.
Heine, then 65, believed at least two people had lifted the figure off the steel rod securing it to his gatepost.
“I think it was pinched on order,” he told the Herald at the time, estimating the artwork’s value at about $10,000.
His books sold millions of copies and were translated into 35 languages.
Among his many honours were the European Youth Book Prize, the “Most Beautiful German Books” award and the Grand Prize of the German Academy for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.
Petra Albers, head of children’s and youth publishing at the Beltz Group, said in a statement that Heine made a lasting impression on those who worked with him.
“Every encounter with Helme Heine was something special for me.”
Helme Heine at home in Russell, where he settled after moving to New Zealand in 1990. Photo / Supplied
Heine studied economics and art before travelling through Europe and Asia in the early 1960s.
He later moved to Johannesburg, where he founded the political-literary cabaret “Sauerkraut”, directed a theatre troupe and edited a satirical magazine.
His international breakthrough came in 1976 with the picture book Elefanteneinmaleins, followed by Na warte, sagte Schwarte. Freunde (Friends) was first published in 1982 and has remained in print for more than 40 years.
Heine also contributed to New Zealand causes, donating artwork to fundraising auctions after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Heine’s decades in Russell offered a quieter backdrop to a life filled with international acclaim, Radowtiz said.
