In 2022, Australian authors Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, who is also an illustrator, were chosen to write the Kinderboekenweekgeschenk for Children’s Book Week (Kinderboekenweek) in the Netherlands.
Children’s Book Week
Children’s Book Week, or Kinderboekenweek, is an annual event in the Netherlands that brings the magic of literature to young readers across the country. The event first ran in 1955 and in 2022 marked its 68th edition, running from October 5th to 16th. The week-long celebration highlights the importance of reading and storytelling for children, aiming to inspire the next generation of readers and writers.
During the week, Dutch bookstores, libraries, and schools host various events such as author readings to encourage children to read. Special editions of children’s books, designed with exclusive covers or content, are often released for the event. Each Children’s Book Week also has a theme that the books, activities and events of the week reflect. The theme for 2022 was Gi-ga-groen! (giant green/nature), which aimed to encourage children to discover nature through books.
One way that Children’s Book Week encourages Dutch children to read is through the kinderboekenweekgeschenk, a gift – a free children’s book – that people receive when purchasing a children’s book that costs €12.50 or more. In 2022, the geschenk/gift was a copy of WAANZINNIGE boomhutverhalen over toen het Stoel-in-je-Neusdag was en andere WAANZINNIGE gebeurtenissen by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. (A rough translation of the book’s title is: ‘Amazing Treehouse Stories about Chair-in-your-Nose-Day and other Amazing Events’). Edward van der Vendel translated the book into Dutch.
First foreign writers selected for Children’s Book Week
Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton were both born in Melbourne (respectively in 1961 and 1950). In Australia they are wildly popular as a children’s author/illustrator duo, and have produced 35 books together.
The selection of Griffiths and Denton to write the geschenk/gift for the Dutch Children’s Book Week in 2022 marked the first time that non-Dutch authors were selected for this role. Griffiths and Denton’s children’s books are popular in the Netherlands, contributing to why they were chosen.
Denton and Griffiths wrote Waanzinnige boomhutverhalen especially for the 2022 Children’s Book Week. The book contains six comedic short stories about the adventures of two best friends, Terry and Andy, who live in a treehouse that keeps growing and adding new floors. Alongside Terry and Andy is their neighbour Jill. Waanzinnige boomhutverhalen is therefore part of Griffiths’ and Denton’s ‘The Treehouse’ series.
Having Australian authors like Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton write the kinderboekenweekgeschenk in 2022 signifies that their work transcends national boundaries and cultures. Through their selection and the book Waanzinnige boomhutverhalen, Dutch-Australian ties are strengthened through literature.
Sources:
- Official website of Andy Griffiths
- Official website of Terry Denton
- SBS Dutch podcast episode ‘Popular Australian writer Andy Griffiths in the Netherlands for children’s book week’
- CPNB, ‘Kinderboekenweek 2022’
- Ingrid Rijnbout-Evers, ‘Waanzinnige boomhutverhalen‘
