#WorldKidLitMonth & #DutchKidLit Wrap-Up – Children’s Book Week 2021 “Be what you want to be!”

It is one of those questions that you often get as a child: do you already know what you want to be when you grow up? Fortunately, you don't have to choose a study or profession until the end of secondary school. Until then, you can fantasize about many professions, for example by reading books about them.-- … Continue reading #WorldKidLitMonth & #DutchKidLit Wrap-Up – Children’s Book Week 2021 “Be what you want to be!”

#DutchKidLit – The Female Gothic and Lampie and the Children of the Sea by Annet Schaap

Like all good fairytales, Lampie and the Children of the Sea starts with things going horribly wrong for a young, vulnerable heroine. Lampie's name is a nickname that reflects her purpose, as she is in charge of lighting the lamp every night at the lighthouse where she lives with her drunken, lame father. She is … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – The Female Gothic and Lampie and the Children of the Sea by Annet Schaap

#DutchKidLit – The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

"De brief voor de Koning" image via Trouw Post by guest author Aaron Tyo-Dickerson from the International School of The Hague.Dutch author Tonke Dragt was born in 1930 in the city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (Jakarta, Indonesia today). Only a year younger than Anne Frank, Dragt’s adolescence was also interrupted dramatically by … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

#DutchKidLit – Historical Fiction and the 2014, 2015 Batchelder Awards

"The Batchelder Award is awarded to a United States publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States and in a language other than English and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States during the preceding year."-- Association … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – Historical Fiction and the 2014, 2015 Batchelder Awards

#DutchKidLit – Translate This! We Moeten Allemaal Feminist Zijn by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, adapted and illustrated by Mylo Freeman

Mylo Freeman’s 2021 picture book adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay We Should All Be Feminists is currently only available in its Dutch edition in translation by Hi-en Montijn, We Moeten Allemaal Feminist Zijn. This is a picture book introduction to feminism for children ages 8 and up, and full of Freeman’s characteristically bright, bold figures … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – Translate This! We Moeten Allemaal Feminist Zijn by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, adapted and illustrated by Mylo Freeman

#DutchKidLit – Zaza Series by Mylo Freeman

Post by guest author Nathalie Morrissey from the International School of Amsterdam.When Mylo Freeman’s father was an 8-year-old boy living in America, his school held a drawing competition sponsored by Disney. Although his drawing was selected as the winning piece, as soon as the Disney representative came to the school and discovered the favored artist … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – Zaza Series by Mylo Freeman

#DutchKidLit – I’ll Keep You Close by Jeska Verstegen and the Story of a Dutch Publisher: Querido

Post by guest author Lyn Miller-Lachmann. September is #WorldKidLitMonth, the time to raise awareness of translated children’s books. These books are excellent ways of introducing young readers to the history and present-day lives of children and teens around the world. For parents, teachers, and librarians, it’s the time to highlight the publishers of these books, … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – I’ll Keep You Close by Jeska Verstegen and the Story of a Dutch Publisher: Querido

#DutchKidLit – If Only… by Mies van Hout

If only I were a bee, thinks the firefly.If only I were a spider, thinks the bee.Everybody wishes to be like somebody else sometimes --but we should never forget what makes us special.- If Only... Oh, to have wings like a butterfly, a joyful child with black braids and brown skin wishes, "Then I could … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – If Only… by Mies van Hout

#DutchKidLit – Where Is the Cake? by Thé Tjong-Khing

Post by guest author Sabrina Rossi from the International School of Amsterdam.Last August, during my staycation in the Netherlands, I decided to visit the Kranenburgh museum in Bergen with the intention of exploring the exhibition on Thé Tjong-Khing and his children’s book illustrations for the last twenty years, Thé Tjong-Khing: In the Master Illustrator's Studio, … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – Where Is the Cake? by Thé Tjong-Khing

#DutchKidLit – I Wish by Toon Tellegen, ill. Ingrid Godon, translated by David Colmer

Post by guest author Helle Kirstein from the International School of Amsterdam. “I WISH I wasn’t scared of dying.” “I WISH I never had to blush.” “I WISH I had more courage.” “I WISH happiness was a thing and I / found it somewhere and took it home with me.” “I WISH I had a … Continue reading #DutchKidLit – I Wish by Toon Tellegen, ill. Ingrid Godon, translated by David Colmer