WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU TRIP OVER A HIPPO

WAT JE MOET DOEN ALS JE OVER EEN NIJLPAARD STRUIKELT (WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU TRIP OVER A HIPPO)
year:
2019 
genre:

poetry, 64 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

illustrator:
Martijn van der Linden
age:

9+
awards:
Silver Slate 2020
Silver Pencil 2020
White Raven 2020
Golden Poetry Medal 2020
Honorary mention Big Poetry Award 2020
The poem 'What to do when you worry about a friendship' was awarded with a Poetry Star 2020

These 25-poems go under the title of What to do when you trip over a hippo and they also have a second title: Poems that are of use ('Gedichten waar je wat aan hebt'). The title of every poem starts with 'What to do when...'  and several 'questions' are being 'answered': What to do when you don't know what to draw? What to do when you are waiting for a train? What to do when you don't like your name? 
Martijn van der Linden, my brilliant campanion for our Vote for the okapi-book, now delivers 25 large and stunning illustrations in full colour. And I must say, it's one of those books that I'm kinda sad about because it's ready and published - it was such a joy making it! 
Thanks also to Steef Liefting, who did the book design. 

A special on this book by the Dutch Literature Fund, aimed at possible translations, is to be found here. 
There are also some poems translated into English by David Colmer. Ask for them at my mail: e.vendel@chello.nl.    
And here you'll find a 1-minute clip about this book.

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.
   

FOR YOU AND NO ONE ELSE

VOOR JOU, VOOR WIE ANDERS? (FOR YOU AND NO ONE ELSE)
year:

2008

genre:

picture book, 32 p.

publisher:

Lemniscaat, Rotterdam (rights at the author)
illustrator:

Martijn van der Linden
age:

6+
rights sold:
Italian (Lemniscaat/Il Castello), English (USA) (Lemniscaat/Boyds Mills Press)

A small picture book in black and white (and one colour) about Deer and Sparkle Deer, about their friendship-since-long, until the day that Sparkle Deer is more and more interested in female deer. Is their friendship betrayed? Or do they find a new way to be friends?

THE FUN

DE LOL (THE FUN)
year:

2004

genre:

first reader, 32 p.

publisher:

Zwijsen, Tilburg

illustrator:
Martijn van der Linden
age:

6+

At the very easiest reading level, this is a story about two moles that have been together since forever. But the female mole misses 'the fun' and leaves her husband. He runs after her and asks all kinds of animals about their idea of 'fun'.  In the end he finds his wife back. And the fun. Great tongue-in-cheek scraper-boards illustrations by Martijn van der Linden.