The Crown Snatchers is a self-described "superstorybook" written by German authors F. K. Waechter and Bernd Eilert.

The book follows the adventures of three young children – Robert, Joanna, and Moritz – who run afoul of the local tyrant, King Fatback.

It turns out that the meadow lies within a small kingdom inhabited by the three children and a variety of anthropomorphic animals.

They are taken to the castle and introduced to the caretaker, a matronly cat named Miss Bellmouse, who places them in separate rooms.

Life at the castle is a regimented series of rings, gongs, bells, and buzzers that announce one dismal activity after another: sleep; lessons taught by the unpleasant teacher-dog, Mr. Prouch; brainwashing lectures given by the king's overbearing cousin Clemens; flavorless meals; and a weekly trip to the playroom.

The three fake an escape, pretending to have broken out of the play room window, but in fact they return to the storeroom and hide inside the Royal Litter.

The castle is in an uproar searching for them, but the children pass the time with Holger telling stories, and eventually fall asleep.

The party reaches a bridge and springs the plan into action: Holger uses his trunk to blow a smoke screen, grabs the crown, and passes it to the concealed children.

They range from quickly sketched cartoons to comic strips to detailed pen and ink renderings and paintings (which, apart from the cover illustration, are printed in black and white).

There is silly poetry, illustrations from the characters' imaginations, several maps, a cut-out model of King Fatback, a story told phonetically using single letters and digits, and other features that defy simple description.

It is notable that many of the puns, puzzles, and jokes depend on word play, which must have resulted in substantial re-writing during translation.

Besides names, the only German words that appear in The Crown Snatchers are "Baden Verboten" ("No Swimming"), which appear on the main map on a sign next to the river.