DERTIEN RENNENDE HERTJES (THIRTEEN RUNNING DEER)year:
2012
genre:
children's book, 160 p.
publisher:
illustrator:
Mattias De Leeuw
age:
8+Mattias De Leeuw
age:
awards:
Nominated for the German Literature Award 2015 (Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis)
rights sold:
Chinese (mainland) (Petrel Publishing House)
German (Gerstenberg)
Chinese (Taiwan) (Taiwan Interminds Publishing Inc.)
Korean (Lime co.)
Italian (Sinnos)
This richely illustrated book (in full colour) was my first cooperation with the young and highly talented illustrator Mattias De Leeuw. It's a magical, thrilling story, about a girl that has an enchanting encounter: one day Luna sees thirteen little running deer. They jump out of a blue vase in front of her on the table. It's the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. The little deer call her 'Duchess'. Suddenly the deer disappear again in a blue poster of the ocean. Luna wants to tell everything to mum. But her brother Ralf stops her. Ralf also saw an animal once, he tells. But when Ralf told dad, he never saw his animal again...The story culminates in a thrilling showdown between Raf ’s animal, a roaring lion, and Luna’s deer. And it turns out that Raf is also looking for confirmation that he matters and that he’s important too.
This book came as a storm: I wrote it (in short sentences) as if I was chasing the story. Great experience!
- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book - here.
- A proof-translation in English is available.
- Also available in German audiobook-version.
