Belgium (Dutch)
221
Dreesen, Jaak (text)
Moons, Sofie
(illus.)
Een man voor mama (A husband for mama)
Averbode : Uitg. Altiora, 2001 - 48 p.
ISBN 90-317-1704-5
Family relations - Single-parent family
The father of Maus and Vegge has gone to sea with his accordeon and never
come back. Their mother Dolorosa has been very sad ever since. As the brothers
think that things can't go on like this, they start looking for a new husband
for their mother. After some failed attempts they find Felix, who is a reader
like their mother. The two get along very well. This is a romantic story of
sorrow and desire in an extremely sober style in which there is not one word too
many. The melodious names and the number 7 have magic and symbolic power, which
the poetic songs accentuate even more. (8+)
Special
Mention
222
Tock, Annelies (text)
Talsma, Nynke (illus.)
Varen naar de overkant (Ferry to the other side)
Tielt : Lannoo, 2001. - 55 p.
ISBN 90-209-4091-0
Death - Grandfather - Granddaughter – Friendship
The ferryman is old and there won't be any work left for him when the
bridge is built. Together with his granddaughter Raja he wants to listen to the
singing of the river one last time. When grandfather dies, Raja is left behind,
and when her boyfriend threatens to leave her, too, she is fed up with life. But
then, suddenly, there is a man who wants to be ferried across and a woman with
herbs who wants to get back to bring her medicine to a patient. Raja becomes a
ferry-woman and takes over the duty of her grandfather. At the centre of this
beautifully and sensitively written story is Raja's desperation after her
grandfather's death. She is tormented by self-doubts and only this dramatic
moment helps her regain faith in herself and in life. (9+)
223
Brouwers, Peter (text)
Cate, Marijke ten (illus.)
Freek! <proper name>
Hasselt : Clavis, 2001. - [44] p.
ISBN 90-6822-801-3
Love - Marriage – Hare
Hare Freek is different from other hares. He doesn't like carrots and has a
cold in winter. One day he goes to live in the forest. There he meets a squirrel
and immediately falls in love with her. A year later they get married. In this
simple story the illustrations are particularly important. Marijke ten Cate
succeeds in giving the animals something human, in a personal way, without
overcoating it with too much sugar. This book's characteristic feature is the
contrast between the animals and the overwhelmingly huge trees - an effect which
is reinforced by contrasting techniques. (5+)