Thomas Brezina facts for kids
Thomas C. Brezina (born January 30, 1963) is an Austrian author who writes books for children and also hosts TV shows. He is famous for his book series like The Knickerbocker Gang and A Case for You and the Tiger-Team. He also created stories about Tom Turbo, a talking bicycle. Thomas Brezina hosted the children's TV show Am Dam Des. He has written over 550 books, and his work has been translated into 35 languages.
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Discovering Thomas Brezina's Life
Brezina was born in Vienna, Austria. When he was in school, he started writing. He even won the "Grand Austrian Youth Prize" for his TV scripts. These scripts were for a puppet show called "Tim, Tom and Dominik." After that, he worked as a puppeteer. He played characters like the magician Tintifax.
Brezina wrote bedtime stories and radio plays. Later, he became an assistant director for shows. One of these was Am Dam Des, a children's program by the Austrian TV channel ORF. He then joined ORF full-time. He worked as an editor, director, and finally, a presenter for kids' and youth programs.
His big break as a writer came in 1990. This was with his book series The Knickerbocker Gang. Three years later, the Tom Turbo book series began. This was a detective series about "the world’s smartest bicycle." It was later made into an interactive TV show for children. Since 2008, Brezina has been in charge of the children's program okidoki. This show is broadcast on ORF eins.
Brezina has won many awards for his work. These include the "Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria". He also won the Romy, a major Austrian TV award. He received it for his educational program Forscherexpress ("Researcher’s Express").
Brezina lives in Vienna and London. He helps charities that support children in need. In 1996, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Austria. For his 50th birthday, he sponsored a child through "Light for the World." He also supports the Austrian charity Volkshilfe.
Thomas Brezina's Creative Works
Books: Adventures and Mysteries
Overall, Brezina has written more than 550 books. Some of these have been translated into over 35 languages. With about 40 million copies sold, he is one of the most successful German-language authors for children and young adults.
Because of his many screenplays, Brezina was asked to write books. His first series was The Knickerbocker Gang in 1990. These are detective stories about four kids who solve mysteries using their brains. This series was also turned into a musical, a play, a movie, and a TV series in 1995 and 1996.
Three years later, Brezina created Tom Turbo. This is known as "the coolest bike in the world." The book series and interactive TV show have been running for over 30 years. The Tom Turbo stories are about a talking bicycle. This bike can do 111 amazing stunts. Tom Turbo, along with his two friends, Caro and Claro, and his boss, Thomas Brezina, solves mysteries. His main enemy is the purple-clad villain Fritz Fantom.
Other book series followed, such as No Boys! – Witches Only, Pssst! Our Secret! and Seven Paws for Penny. The main character of the Penny books lives on a farm. In the first book, she saves a dog from danger. The "seven paws" in the title refer to Penny's dogs. One dog has four white paws, and another has three white paws and one black paw. His adventure series A Case for You and the Tiger-Team was a big success worldwide. It was especially popular in China. There, it even sold more copies than Harry Potter at times.
Brezina's books have also inspired movies and TV series. Examples include The Knickerbocker Gang: The talking tomb and Tom Turbo – From 0 to 111. They have also led to theater plays, musicals like Ritter Rups und der Pirat Kartoffelsalat (Knight Rups and captain Potato Salad), radio plays, and interactive video games. He also helped create textbooks for schools. He wrote and presented educational videos about famous composers. He also wrote an interactive series of art books for children called Museum of Adventures. His newest books for children include A MINI-Case for You and the Tiger-Team. This is a simpler version of the Tiger-Team adventures for younger readers. Another new series is Liz Kiss, about a girl who becomes a ninja-superheroine.
TV Shows: Fun and Learning
As an author, producer, or presenter, Brezina has worked on over 40 TV series and shows for children. His shows are mainly shown on Austrian national television, ORF. They also appear internationally on channels like TV Educasi, Al Jaazera Children, Arte, DaVinci Learning, Nick, Sat.1, and SuperRTL. For many years, Brezina wrote scripts for the Austrian TV series Helmi. This is an educational program for kids. It teaches them about dangers and safety rules in traffic. He also created the character of Sokrates, a slightly clumsy dog who is Helmi's friend. Brezina started as a presenter. He hosted many interactive TV shows for ORF's children's program. These include Am Dam Des, Die Rätselburg (Quiz Castle), Drachenschatz (Dragon's Treasure), and Forscherexpress (Researcher's Express).
In Austria, one of his most famous TV shows is the detective series Tom Turbo / Tom Turbo Detective Club. This interactive show features Tom, a talking bicycle with 111 tricks. Young detectives catch clumsy crooks and solve mysteries with the TV audience. The series was filmed in famous places across Austria. It has been running since its first episode aired in 1993.
In 2008, Brezina and his company Tower10 relaunched ORF's children's program. They renamed it okidoki. They have been in charge of the program ever since. As part of this, Brezina presented and still presents several shows. The most notable ones are 7 Wunder (7 Wonders), Trickfabrik (Trick Factory), and Genau so geht’s (That's How It Goes).
Other Exciting Projects
Besides writing books and working on TV and movies, Brezina organizes many events for children. For example, he created the Wien-Detektiv (Vienna-Detective). This was an educational book project by the city of Vienna. Kids received free books and could join a citywide detective game.
Together with Gerhard Krammer, Thomas Brezina wrote four musicals. These were for the family festival "Forchtenstein Fantastisch" at Castle Forchtenstein in Burgenland, Austria. In these musicals, a small knight named Rups goes on many adventures. These musicals have been performed for seven years.
The tourist area Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis has an adventure trail for children. Brezina designed this trail, called “Mountain of Adventures.” It includes three hiking routes. Children can solve puzzles on these routes using special detective equipment.
Brezina has also written audio guides for St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. These guides tell the history of the cathedral in an adventurous way that children can enjoy.
In 2017, Brezina designed the Visitors Area for Vienna International Airport. This is a multimedia experience for both kids and adults.
For the Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Zoo), Brezina designed the app "Zoo Adventures by Thomas Brezina." The app guides users on different tours through the zoo. One tour is called "Thomas Brezina's favorite animals." The app is available for iOS and Android smartphones.
See also
In Spanish: Thomas Brezina para niños
