VASCO THE LITTLE SOCCER-PIG

VASCO HET VOETBALVARKENTJE (VASCO THE LITTLE SOCCER-PIG)

year:

2013

genre:

picture book, 32 p.

publisher:

De Eenhoorn, Wielsbeke

illustrator:
Alain Verster
age:

6+
awards:
Nominated for the Boekenpauw 2014 (Best illustrations, Belgium, for the illustrator)
rights sold:
Chinese (mainland) (Petrel Publishing House)
Portuguese (Brazil) (Pulo do Gato)
Spanish (Thule Ediciones)
Franch (Editions Versant Sud Jeunesse)

Braziliaanse cover

My second picture book with Alain Verster, and the first of a happy, warm series about Vasco (the pig) and Matteo (the boy). Matteo gets two wonderful presents for his birthday: a soccer ball and a little pig. That pig is Vasco. Matteo and Vasco do everything together: eat, snore, watch television,… Matteo’s favorite game is soccer. Vasco doesn’t know much about soccer. But that’s not so bad: Matteo simply goes looking for real soccer-opponents. And Vasco goes along. Because that’s what you do when you’re someone’s soccer-pig.


- Prooftranslation in English is available

       

THE DOG THAT NINO DIDN'T HAVE

HET HONDJE DAT NINO NIET HAD (THE DOG NINO DIDN'T HAVE)
year:

2013

genre:

picture book, 32 p.

publisher:

De Eenhoorn, Wielsbeke

illustrator:
Anton Van Hertbruggen
age:

6+
awards:
Prix Sorcières 2015 (France)
Boekenpauw 2014 (Best illustrations, Belgium, for the illustrator)
Gulden Palet 2014 (Best illustrations, Netherlands, for the illustrator)
Besten 7 August 2015 (Germany)
Silver Medal (Best books of the year, by Society of Illustrators, USA, for the illustrations)
Deutsche Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (Germany)
rights sold:

Franse uitgave

Chinese (mainland) (Petrel Publishing House)
Danish (Turbine)
French (Didier Jeunesse)
English (USA) (Eerdmans)
German (Coppenrath Verlag - Bohem Press)
Portuguese (Brazil) (Pulo do Gato)
Korean (Jiyangsa)
Russian (Samokat)
Ukrainian (Bobrovnikova L.A.)
Turkish (Final Kültür Sanat Yayınları)
Macedonian (Ars Lamina)
Spanish (Argentina) (Limonero)
Slovenian (Sodobnost)

Nino is the proud owner of an imaginary little dog. When he goes to the forest, the little dog he doesn’t have mimics a squirrel. When he goes to the lake, the little dog jumps fearlessly into the deep. But sometimes the little dog acts so silly, that it stands out. One day Nino doesn’t have the little dog anymore. Instead he has gotten a real little dog. This little dog doesn’t dare to climb trees. But that’s not so bad, because Nino has many imaginary animals... This is the first book of young illustrator Anton Van Hertbruggen, and immediately he won the biggest prize there is to be won in Flanders... And afterwards he repeated that trick in The Netherlands, France, USA and in Germany!

- Proof translation in English is available

ONE MILLION BUTTERFLIES

EEN MILJOEN VLINDERS (ONE MILLION BUTTERFLIES)
year:

2007

genre:

picture book, 32 p.

publisher:

De Eenhoorn, Wielsbeke

illustrator:
Carll Cneut
age:

6+
awards:
Zilveren Griffel 2008 (Best books for children)
Plantin-Moretusprize for the bookdesign
rights sold:
Danish (Lamberths Forlag)
German (Boje)
French (Pastel)
Italian (Adelphi)
Portuguese (Portugal) (Kual)
Portuguese (Brazil) (Cosac Naify)
Slovenian (Narava)
Spanish (Spain) (Barbara Fiore)
Norwegian (Cappelen Damm)
Chinese (Taiwan) (Reader Publishing)
Chinese (mainland) (Petrel Publishing House)
Georgian (Bakur Sulakauri)
Romanian (Signatura)
Ukrainian (Nebo Art Publishing)
South-African (Protea Boekhuis)

The big picture book I got to make with Carll Cneut! My most wide-spread book, up til this date, thanks to the great illustrations. The story: Nelius first sees them in the middle of the night: the butterflies. They fly around his head, one million of them. His parents tell him that it is time to start on his journey. Nelius follows the butterflies and meets many animals. Some of them are too young, but others are old enough to know what the butterflies mean. The butterflies guide him to the love of his life!

- A proof-translation in English is available.
- The book was also issued with a cd with the story, read by the famous Flemish actor Roel Vanderstukken.
   

ZEA WAS HERE

ZOOTJE WAS HIER (ZEA WAS HERE)
year:

2004

genre:

first reader, 64 p.

publisher:

De Eenhoorn, Wielsbeke

illustrator:
Carll Cneut
age:

8+
rights sold:
French (Éditions du Rouergue), Portuguese (Brazil, SM).

Still one of my personal favourites. This was my first chance to work with the great Carll Cneut. He made wonderful colour-illustrations for my first reader (short sentences of no more than eight words) about a boy who tries to help two illegal children. Or: 'Hello, my name is Tepper. The children at school tease me about my lazy eye. I hope that you won't do that. Last summer, I found two black boys in my secret hut. They had fled their country and wanted to stay here. As they were not allowed to stay, they went into hiding. We played together all summer and became close friends. After a while, we were four: Zea the ghost had joined us. Or did we only invent her to deal with difficult situations?'       

- A partial translation in German, by Rolf Erdorf, is available.