The book that expanded the imagination of an entire generation of children has been celebrated on Google, with a Doodle for the 37th anniversary of The Neverending Story’s first publishing.
When was The Neverending Story book published is, perhaps, not a question that Google is often asked, but today it reveals the answer anyway, with a Doodle to celebrate its 37th anniversary, with the Michael Ende masterpiece having gone down a storm upon its 1979 release.
“Every once in a blue moon a book captures the imagination, providing a portal into magical places unknown,” said Google of the children’s favourite.
To celebrate, a graphic has been created for each stage of the journey through a strange world of the book’s protagonist, Bastian Balthazar Bux.
In the original, Bux steals a copy of The Neverending Story from an antique store and leaps into its pages, where he’s tasked with giving the ruler of this book-within-a-book’s world a new name.
Sophie Diao’s series of doodles feature as usual on Google’s homepage, with the story scrolling across as you click on each image.
The Neverending Story
Born in Germany in 1929, Ende was the son of Edgar Ende, a well-known surrealist artist of the time.
He wrote film reviews and satirical sketches before jumping into the world of children’s literature.
His first success, Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver, set him on his way.
The Neverending Story’s 1979 release was followed by an English translation in 1983, with the ever-popular film version released the following year. Ende died on 28 August 1995 aged 65.
