"Never do what your mother tells you to do, then everything will be all right,” to quote Annie M.G. Schmidt. Just saying what you want to say, not making a fuss, breaking any rules that don’t make sense, and recalcitrant humour; these are the secrets of her pen [sic]."1911-1995 Annie M.G. Schmidt: Going against the … Continue reading #DutchKidLit and The Canon of the Netherlands, Part 2 – The Subversive Wit of Annie M.G. Schmidt
#DutchKidLit and The Canon of the Netherlands, Part 1 – Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl
Image: Canonslinger 2020 wall chart. The Canon of the Netherlands is a huge cultural project that tells a story about the historical and cultural development of the Netherlands from ± 5500 BC to present. The Canon was first conceived in 2006 and was recently updated in June 2020. It is now a 50-window timeline using … Continue reading #DutchKidLit and The Canon of the Netherlands, Part 1 – Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl
#WorldKidLitMonth September 2021 – Spotlight #DutchKidLit
When Karen Van Drie, the enthusiastic and dedicated Executive Director of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, invited me to be the guest editor for the GLLI blog during World Kid Lit Month this year and to feature Dutch kid lit all month long, I was happy to do so because it would mean that I … Continue reading #WorldKidLitMonth September 2021 – Spotlight #DutchKidLit
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Princess Arabella at the Museum
Princess Arabella at the Museum is a bold and quirky ode to a selection of brilliant artists. The portrait-style cover features little Princess Arabella wearing her signature crown and a geometrical print dress that pays homage to the works of twentieth-century Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian, just like Yves Saint Laurent did in the 1960s! This … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Princess Arabella at the Museum
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Little Fox
Little Fox catches air during his pursuit of two purple butterflies, and then the earth rushes up to meet him with a THUMP! As he lies, dazed, he starts to dream as he has never dreamt before. He dreams of good things like his mommy’s milk, the sights and smells of little animals and flowers, … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Little Fox
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Witchfairy
Rosemary is a fairy who doesn’t want to be neat and sweet all the time. No way! She’d rather be a witch living in a treehouse in the witches’ wood, roller-skating and getting nice and dirty. Her mom rejects her wayward daughter’s choices, while the witches encourage Rosemary to take risks and challenge herself. But … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Witchfairy
The Golden Cage
Drawn in by Carll Cneut’s glorious artwork and the prospect of a ‘deliciously dark European picture book’, I backed this book on Kickstarter earlier this year. It is due for release this month. The Golden Cage is a wonderfully unique picture book. First, its size: At 340 x 260 mm, it is larger than most … Continue reading The Golden Cage
World Languages Review: Op de rand van het zwijgen (The Netherlands)
On the verge of silence Although we live in a society full of means of communication that are hardly ever shut off – modern mankind finds itself still having difficulties and misunderstandings in simple person-to-person conversations. We talk in images that are clear to us, but frequently incomprehensible to those we are talking to. When … Continue reading World Languages Review: Op de rand van het zwijgen (The Netherlands)
Excerpt: Lampie and the Children of the Sea by Annet Schaap
Part 1 The Lighthouse Match An island barely attached to the mainland, like a loose tooth on a thread, is called a peninsula. On this small peninsula, there is a lighthouse, a tall grey one that swings its light at night over the small town by the sea. It stops ships from smashing into the … Continue reading Excerpt: Lampie and the Children of the Sea by Annet Schaap
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Mister Orange
Who is Mister Orange? And why is this quiet, moving book named after him? Written by award-winning Dutch author and editor, Truus Matti, and beautifully translated by another award-winner, Laura Watkinson, Mister Orange won the Netherlands' 2012 Silver Slate Pencil Award and the American Library Associations's 2014 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. The story begins in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Mister Orange
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 