Belgium
(Dutch)
212
Gaudesaboos, Pieter (text/illus.)
Roodlapje (Little red rag)
Tielt : Lannoo, 2003. – [26] p.
ISBN 90-209-5358-3
Solitude – Fantasy
This graphically outstanding picture book tells the story of the girl Lapje
(Little Rag), who always wears red during her journey through life. As she
travels around, she is never alone, or is she? The red that Roodlapje (i.e.
Little Red Rag) wears attracts bulls that recur in all possible ways in
pictures, illustrations, and even in a computer game’s fragment, frightening
and reassuring the girl at the same time. The nostalgic-looking pages with the
– sometimes rhyming – descriptions of events, alternate with texts written
by the main character herself that seem to consist mainly of associations with
the colour red. This picture book lends itself particularly well to reading
with adults. (6+)
213
Guldemont, Agnes (text)
Cneut, Carll (illus.)
Mijnheer Ferdinand (Sir Ferdinand)
Wielsbeke : Uitg. de Eenhoorn, 2003. – [28] p.
ISBN 90-5838-173-0
Search – Philosophy
Sir Ferdinand feels as if he had lost something, but he doesn’t know what.
He searches his entire house for it – in vain – but the feeling that
something is missing stays with him. Therefore, he continues to search in the
city. He meets odd people who make him realise that, when you look around
carefully, you continuously find special things. The unusual, delicately
drawn, slightly surrealistic illustrations, executed in a mixed technique,
represent solitude and the loss of reality in a striking way. The poetic
language isn’t easy to understand but fits in very well with the
illustrations. A brilliant, artistic picture book for connoisseurs. (7+)
214
Van Daele, Henri (text)
Verplancke, Klaas (illus.)
Glamp! of hoe Paddenwratje Kabouter opkikkerde (Glamp! Or how Paddenwratje [Little Toad’s Wart]
cheers up Gnome)
Leuven : Davidsfonds/Infodok, 2003. – 313 p.
ISBN 90-5908-075-0
Gnome – Witch – Quest
»Glamp,« that is how Gnome feels. And even though he himself doesn’t know
exactly what that is, one definitely should do something against it. On
Owl’s advice he goes to the sea »whom you can tell everything.« During the
exciting journey – a price has been put on Gnome’s head, so there are
enough pursuers – in a wooden-shoe-boat jointly made by the animals of the
Wild Woods, Gnome understands that this rough ride is necessary for him to
recover and rediscover himself. The help of the little witch Paddenwratje is
imperative to this end. This modern fairy tale, which never becomes overly
moralistic, is told with mild humour and a wink at modern society. (13+)
215
Vranken, Dirk (text)
Bode, Ann de (illus.)
Berenklauw (Hogweed)
Hasselt; Amsterdam : Uitg. Clavis, 2003. – 71 p.
ISBN 90-448-0025-6
Outsider – Bullying
A boy is teased terribly by his classmates for unknown reasons. When he goes
to the forest with his class, he even gets sprinkled with the
poisonous juice of hogweed. The forester gives him an ointment that makes him
feel as strong as a bear and is able to resist the annoying nuisances.
However, before midnight, he has to drink from the pool because otherwise he
will remain a bear forever. This exciting story presents a mixture of reality
and fantasy. The paralysing fear and humiliation of the bullied boy are
described in a realistic way. The open ending does not answer the question
whether Bruno will succeed in fighting off the bullying for good. (9+)