VOTE FOR THE OKAPI

STEM OP DE OKAPI (VOTE FOR THE OKAPI)
year:

2015

genre:

non-fiction, 160 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

8+
awards:
Woutertje Pieterse Prijs 2016 (Best book of the year)
Zilveren Griffel 2016 (Best books)
Vlag en Wimpel van de Penseeljury 2016 (Honorary mention for the illustrations)
Tower of Babel Honour Diploma 2018 (Estonia, best book in translation)
rights sold:
Estonian (Päike ja Pilv)


For years it has been my favourite animal: the okapi. This animal that is shy and majestic at the same time, that was discovered only 100 years ago (in Congo), and that bears zebrastripes as well as horns - since it's the only actual familymember of the giraffe.
In this fullcolour book, that illustrator Martijn van der Linden and me have been working on for years, we present 88 reasons to take the okapi as your new preferred animal. The book has nine chapters, and each chapter is different. In the first one we describe the okapi from head to toe, in another one we follow an okapi-zookeeper for some (dramatic) years, there are chapters with just okapi-illustrations, there is one with 4 okapi-poems, there is the okapi museum, in which we collect okapi-pictures (made by many leading illustrators, especially for this book).
It's a book full of passion, it's a book that provides you with everything that there is to know about the okapi, it's funny and light, it's serious and informative, we hope we have convinced you at the end to keep an eye on the shy and majestic animals ánd people around us...

- This book is promoted by the Dutch Literary Fund, so foreign publishers could apply for translation and production grants here.
   

SAM IN WINTER

DE RAADSELS VAN SAM (SAM IN WINTER)

year:

2012

genre:

children's book, 144 p.

Publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Philip Hopman

age:
8+
awards:
Honor Book  Paterson Prize for Young People (USA)
rights sold:
German (Carlsen)
Estonian (Päike ja Pilv)
English (USA) (Eerdmans)
French (L'école des loisirs)
Czech (Petrkov)

This second story about the beautiful dog Sam is, just as SAM SHOWED UP, based on a real dog, a real story, and real dog-owners: my brother's family in Canada. In this book the dog disappears and 9-year old Kix sets off in search of him. The book is just as dear to me as the first one. The beautiful black and white illustrations were once again made by Philip Hopman, whose pencil masters all animals and all children.

- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on both the books about Sam - here.
- This book can be read separately, or as the follow-up book of SAM SHOWED UP.

A DOG LIKE SAM

TOEN KWAM SAM (A DOG LIKE SAM)

year:

2011

genre:

children's book, 128 p.

Publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Philip Hopman

age:

US cover

8+
awards:
Zilveren Griffel 2012 (Silver Slate Award, best books for children)
List of best books, chosen by Estonian child care (Estonia)
Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2017 (USA)
rights sold:
German (Carlsen)
French (L'école des loisirs)
Estonian (Päike ja Pilv)
English (USA) (Eerdmans)
Czech (Petrkov)
Afrikaans (Protea Boekhuis), and the other ten languages of South-Africa: Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu and African English (South African Department of Arts and Culture).

Estonian cover

This story is based on the real events that occurred when I was visiting my brother's family in Canada. This beautiful dog appeared - and it decided to stay. But it had a heartwrenching history, that urged my nephew Kix (the young main character in the book) to act, because no-one else but him could save Sam... The book is very dear to me. It got great response, together with the second volume (SAMS MYSTERIES), which belongs to this first book as a twin story. The beautiful black and white illustrations were made by Philip Hopman, whose pencil masters all animals and all children.



German cover

- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book - here.
- A full professional translation in English by David Colmer is available.
- In 2012 the folllow-up to this book came out: SAMS MYSTERIES.
- The South-African Department of Arts and Culture chose this book to be translated in all eleven official languages of South-Africa and spread amongst school children in the entire country.

SOFIE AND THE PENGUINS

SOFIE EN DE PINGUÏNS (SOFIE AND THE PENGUINS)
year:

2010

genre:

childrens book, with comic- and non-fiction-elements, 160 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Floor de Goede (illustrations and comics)
Ype+Willem (photo-comics)
age:

7+
awards:
Nominated for the Prize of the Dutch Children's Jury 2011
Feather of the Senate of the Dutch Children's Jury 2011
Winner of the Flemish Children's and Youth Jury 2012
rights sold:
Italian (Il Castoro), Estonian (Päike ja Pilv), Israel (Rimonim Publishing)


Cover paperback version (2014)

I really like penguins. I really wanted to make a book with several elements (text, illustrations on every page, comics, photo-comics, short non-fiction pieces and extra's at the end of the book). And I really wanted to work with Floor de Goede again (after the comic-poem-books we made) and with Ype Driessen and Willem Stam, who make wonderful and funny photo-comcs. All the wishes combined gave me SOFIE AND THE PENGUINS, the story about a sweet girl with her two funny friends Billie and Timmie, and the rest of her family. Sofie adores penguins. She thinks she might even be in love with them. And so her story became the basis for a whole, still ongoing series. Winning two children's jury awards (for the first time in my career) absolutely helped us wanting to make more and more volumes, every episodes combining an upbeat story with information about penguins ánd some other animal (polar bears, Dolphins etc.) - and a small lesson to be learned about family, friendship or love, as well.

- The other volumes are called:
SOFIE EN HET VLIEGENDE JONGETJE (2012)
SOFIE EN HET IJSBEERTJE (2013)
SOFIE EN DE DOLFIJNEN (2014)
SOFIE EN HET GEHEIME PAARD (2015) -
to be continued...