Before
the world locked down due to the pandemic, I found myself in The Netherlands
last month because of a sudden medical emergency of a close family member. And
though I wasn’t there for pleasure, as soon as things looked up a little, I
found my way to a couple of bookshops.
First, a small bookshop in a hospital
and later my old neighbourhood bookshop in the North of Amsterdam.
Most
Dutch bookshops have a range of books translated from English to Dutch. This year
The Storm Whale by Benji Davies was popular and, as usual, there were
some translated copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Rupsje Nooitgenoeg)
by Eric Carle.
Books
written by Dutch-speaking authors and illustrators are plenty and published by various
well-respected Dutch and Belgium publishing houses.
Having
lived in Australia for most of my adult life, and mostly reading picture books
published here, in the UK or the USA, I set out to speculate on what makes
Dutch picture books typically Dutch.
I have
reviewed some of these picture books below. As far as I can tell, none of them have
been translated into English. So, if any publishers are looking for translations,
contact me!
For
what its worth, here are my thoughts based on a small sample of Dutch picture
books:
They are often emotive without being sentimental
They are more matter of fact and less didactic
Real-life truths are acknowledged without making them prettier than they are
Though I grew up with the minimalist illustration styles of Dick Bruna’s Nijntje (Miffy) and Fiep Westendorp’s illustrations of Jip en Janneke, the illustrations in today’s Dutch picture books are varied and original with most appearing to be made using traditional art techniques and minimal digital effects.
The book creators and publishers trust children to tell fact from fiction and reality from fantasy.
Children in these books are not always well behaved. Child characters are modelled on realistic child behaviour.
Characters have faults and don’t always have redeeming features.
They are more matter of fact and less didactic
Real-life truths are acknowledged without making them prettier than they are
Though I grew up with the minimalist illustration styles of Dick Bruna’s Nijntje (Miffy) and Fiep Westendorp’s illustrations of Jip en Janneke, the illustrations in today’s Dutch picture books are varied and original with most appearing to be made using traditional art techniques and minimal digital effects.
The book creators and publishers trust children to tell fact from fiction and reality from fantasy.
Children in these books are not always well behaved. Child characters are modelled on realistic child behaviour.
Characters have faults and don’t always have redeeming features.
De
boer en de dierenarts (The Farmer and the Vet)
In
this sweet, feel-good story, the farm animals have noticed the farmer acting
kind of confused lately. He tries to milk the chickens and looks for eggs in
the pigsty. When he ploughs his tractor into a hay bale, the animals realise
the farmer is a little sick … lovesick, he can only think of one person all
day, and that is the vet. The
animals work together to give the farmer a little push in the right direction.
Children
will love how the cow has painted itself green, and the sheep are barking, that
is until they reach the vet, then everything is back to normal, and the Farmer
has no idea what is going on.
Each
time, as the dumbfounded farmer is about to leave the vet wants to know: Is
there something else you’d like to ask me? and each time the farmer is too shy
to answer.
Finally,
the animals, through some clever scheming,
get the vet to come to the farm. Here, the pair find the courage to
express their feelings. The final spread shows the two men cuddled up, enjoying
a picnic surrounded by the approving animals.
This
love story is a fun read for young children. That the romance just happens to
be between two men is not central to the story.
The
illustrator and author first worked together on the picture book, Het
lammetje dat een varken is (The lamb who was a pig). In one of the
illustrations a concerned farmer and his lamb meet the vet. After illustrating
this page, illustrator Milja, first saw the spark between the farmer and the
vet. She mentioned it to the author and that is how this story came to be.
The
text is sparse and well-written. The illustrations painted in acrylics are
sweet and gorgeous.
Marije
Tolman is one of my favourite Dutch illustrators. You might have seen her
wordless picture book, The Tree House.
Vosje, was awarded the Zilveren
Penseel (for the illustrator) and Zilveren Griffel (for the author) in 2019, the
runners-up at the Dutch equivalent of the Children’s Book Council Australia
awards.
Vosje
translates to Little Fox. Add ‘je’ or ‘tje’ to a Dutch word, and it becomes
smaller (and often cuter), so ‘little Fox’ is ‘Foxje’, just as ‘little book’
would be ‘bookje’ and a ‘small monster’ is a ’monstertje’ and so on.
Vosje
lives in the dunes along the Dutch seashore surrounded by birds, deer and other
wildlife. He is a curious little one, so much so that his father warns him that too curious results in dead curious. One day, while chasing two purple
butterflies, Vosje leaps off a tall dune and crashes, knocking himself out. He
falls into a dream state.
Much
of the book takes place in this dream where he remembers his earliest days, surrounded
by his mother and siblings in their den, and his first forays into the wild. As
Vosje crunches down on a mouse, the most beautiful sound there is, they crunch
between your teeth, his clever sister explains: ‘When you chew on a mouse, it
has been dead curious.’
Vosje
meets a deer, and explores the garbage in someone’s backyard. Here he meets a
little boy who helps him when curious Vosje’s head gets stuck in a jar.
While
Vosje is dreaming, in another part of the dune landscape, a deer and birds beckon
this same little boy, who follows them to the place where Vosje lays wounded.
Vosje
can see himself from above, wondering what will happen to that little fox down
below. As the little boy takes Vosje back to his den, Vosje decides that the
little fox below should open his eyes.
This
is a quiet story with a lot to say. From friendship, curiosity, growing up, and
being in that strange place of a fever dream to exploring and respecting nature.
The
contrast of the bright, almost fluorescent orange of the little fox is beautifully
contrasted with the muted green photographs of the dunes, sea and forest.
My
8-year-old loves books and foxes and even though he can’t read the Dutch words
himself, after hearing the story and seeing the illustrations, he hugged it,
and it is now taking pride of place on the ‘special’ shelf in his bookcase.
Raar
(Strange)
The
illustrations in Raar feature painterly and
humorous animals surrounded by white space and a few lines to represent a
mirror.
A
variety of animals explore a mirror as it lies flat on the ground, trying to
make sense of the strange object. When a sloth stands the mirror up and moves
it in the spine of the book, the left and right pages reflect each other.
Now,
even more animals take turns to view and interact with their mirror images which
they believe is another animal. It is a little elephant that figures out that
it is themselves they see reflected. This leads to the animals trying out
various poses resulting in hilarious distortions as they press themselves
against the mirror/ spine from all angles.
But
then the overexcited hippo breaks the mirror into a thousand pieces. And the
animals? Well, suffice it to say, things never get back to normal!
This
book is part of a series of books about Suzie Squabble. These character-driven
stories feature a little character that is even more troublesome than Pig the
Pug.
In
this story, the scissors (‘schaar-tje’direct translation ‘little scissors’)
speak to Suzie from within a set of drawers. Het Schaartje is hungry and
wants to be released. But is it not hungry for cake, it is hungry for ‘some
cutting’, and it likes the delicious taste of girl’s hair the best, and that is
only the start!
The
hungry scissors cut a cactus, a chair, a lamp (ouch, cutting through electrical
wire … in a book for toddlers!) and even the pants of the angry neighbour’s
jeans, revealing a tattooed bunny on his bottom, ‘that was gross’ says the
scissors. On it goes, until … Schaartje cuts Suzie’s finger.
The
illustrations are hilarious and complement this fun story.
One
of the other stories in the series is titled: Suzie Squabble and the stinky
finger. I’m kind of scared to find out what happens in that story.
Let
me know if you have any experience with Dutch language books and what your
thoughts are.
Title: De boer en
de dierenarts (The Farmer and the Vet)
Author: Pim Lammers
Illustrator: Milja Praagman
Publisher: De Eenhoorn
Publication
Date: 7 February 2018
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9789462912885
For
ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
Title: Vosje
(Little Fox)
Author: Edward van
de Vendel
Illustrator:
Marije
Tolman
Publisher: Querido
Publication
Date: 19 September 2019
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9789021414348
For
ages: 3 - 12
Type: Picture Book
Title: Raar
(Strange)
Author/
Illustrator: Mark Janssen
Publisher: Lemniscaat
Publication
Date: 1 January 2020
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9789047712046
For
ages: 6+
Type: Picture Book
Title: Suzie
Ruzie en het schaartje (Suzie Squabble and the scissors)
Author: Jaap Robben
Illustrator: Benjamin Leroy
Publisher: Gottmer
Publication
Date: 1 February 2016
Format: Boardbook
ISBN: 9789025761646
For
ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
