Belgium
(Dutch)
213
Clement, Dorine (text)
Clement, Sabien (illus.)
Het grote verlangen (The great longing)
Tielt : Lannoo, 2006. – [40] p.
ISBN 978-90-209-6483-7
Friendship – Love – Desire
Elise and Cyprian are best friends. One day, the boy tries to tell Elise something important, but it seems that he simply doesn’t know how to express his feelings. Therefore, he decides to go on a journey to discover the right words while Elise remains at home. During his absence, the girl literally longs for him: She gets longer and longer, until the day Cyprian returns carrying a box with two hearts. This poetic story is accompanied by surrealistic illustrations in collage-technique created from old copperplates and new gouache paintings in sober colours. The characters are depicted with oddly proportioned limbs so that their whole body expresses their emotions. The concise text is written in a beautifully rhymed rhythm that strengthens the poetic character of the book. (5+)
214
Schuurmans, Hilde (text/illus.)
Plotter is jarig (Plotter’s birthday)
Hasselt [et al.] : Clavis, 2006. – [28] p.
ISBN 978-90-448-0606-9
Birthday party – Envy – Friendship – Jealousy
Little dog Plotter will soon be six years old and he looks forward to having a real birthday party. The first guest to arrive is Pollie, the little pig. Soon, she takes over the whole party organisation and it almost seems as if she were the birthday girl whereas Plotter is pushed into the background. After a while, he feels his anger rising. Later, as they sit in the sandpit together, Pollie admits that she was jealous and apologises to Plotter. This entertaining picture book offers plenty of possibilities for identification for little readers. The full-page illustrations, rendered in ink and water-colours, both follow the story faithfully and add new aspects to the text. The book naturally lends itself to discussing the topic of jealousy with young children. (4+)
215
Vandermeeren, Hilde (text)
De Vos, Rosemarie (illus.)
Mijn eerste sprookjesgroeiboek : ik lees het zelf! (My first fairy tale book : I can read it on my own!)
Leuven : Davidsfonds/Infodok [et al.], 2006. – 166 p.
ISBN 90-77942-20-3
Fairy tale – Adaptation
This interesting fairy tale collection includes 24 (both well known and lesser known) tales from Perrault, the Grimm Brothers, Andersen, and Madame Le Prince de Beaumont, retold for first readers. At the beginning of the book, there are comicstrip-like retellings with monosyllabic words that can even be read by first graders almost immediately; the tales placed towards the back feature longer texts that budding readers from second or third grade will be able to work out. Even the extremely short versions perfectly manage to keep the essence of the original fairy tales alive. The accompanying illustrations, mostly rendered in dark acrylics, are fresh and vivid. (6+)
Special Mention
216
Verrept, Paul (text/illus.)
Mist (Fog)
Wielsbeke : De Eenhoorn, 2006. – [28] p.
ISBN 978-90-5838-377-8
Father – Son – Distress
One day, the 16-year-old first-person narrator feels an inexplicable urge to
venture outside into the fog. He walks past invisible houses to the playground
in a park where he bumps into the slide. Suddenly, he is transported back to
the moment when he was seven years old and his father recited a song about
leaving. The next day, he disappeared. The boy’s mother never talks about his
father’s abrupt departure nor does she answer her son’s questions. In the fog,
the son senses his father’s presence and derives some comfort from the idea
that he might have come to say that he loves him. Yet, when the fog lifts, the
boy is alone again. This impressive, complex picture book combines a poetic
text with enchanting illustrations. Despite the dreamy atmosphere, the story
also confronts readers with the harsh reality because the question about why
the father left remains unanswered. This book should be read by adults
together with their children. (10+)