50 thousand euros for a children’s book. For youth authors, the Boon, the new Flemish literature prize, which is awarded live on television to an adult and a youth book at the same time, is unheard of big news. We want that in the Netherlands too. Here there is only a three-yearly oeuvre prize for children’s literature of this magnitude.
There is another reason to look forward to the award ceremony on the evening of 24 March with special interest: it is not yet obvious who will win. So there is really something at stake.
Spicy detail: only one of the candidates is Flemish. That is the wonderful, sleek, poetic picture book A sea of love (Lannoo; €18.99; 5+) by Pieter Gaudesaboos. Penguin is in love with bear, but he has some trouble accepting the amorous offer. Aren’t they too different? But then penguin goes back to the far north and the big miss begins.
Almost the opposite of this instantly classic-feeling cartoon is funky and contemporary Lennox and the golden sickle (De Harmonie; € 20; 6+). Writer Zindzi Zevenbergen and artists Hedy Tjin and Brian Elstak each tell the big-city story of Lennox in their own way. His father is very secretive about an appointment that no one is allowed to attend. Lennox and his stubborn girl next door Aya investigate.
The somewhat awkwardly designed Movies that don’t run anywhere by the beginning writer Yorick Goldewijk, illustrated by his partner Yvonne Lacet (Ploegsma; € 15.99; 11+), is the biggest surprise on the shortlist. The first chapters are full of children’s book clichés: Cato’s mother died at birth, her father grotesquely depressed and the strict housekeeper meddlesome. In an old, neglected movie theater, Cato meets Mrs. Kano, who makes lonely and sad people travel back to their fondest memories. There the plot turns out to be ingenious and original and the story still manages to drag, amaze and move the story.
Routinier Lida Dijkstra has already written about eighty children’s books in Dutch and Frisian and delivered one of her very best titles with Tut’s shadow, illustrated by Djenné Fila (Luijtingh-Sijthoff; € 18.99; 10+). The smart and tough Ankhesenamun takes care of her frightened and deformed half-brother, the later famous Tutankhamun. A witty and sensitive portrait from the inside out about the strange state of affairs at the royal court, intrigue, power, struggle and learning to be brave in the midst of it. It’s set over three thousand years ago but feels like you’re there and that’s a masterful achievement.
The jury couldn’t have known beforehand, of course, but The tunnel by Anna Woltz (Querido; € 16.99; 13+) has suddenly become the most current candidate due to the war in Ukraine. Woltz tells the story of Ella, Quinn, Robbie and Jay during the Blitz, the months-long bombardment of London by Hitler. However serious it may be, in this book full of splashing and crackling sentences, the young people discover that life is not long in coming, despite everything. Amazing how Woltz managed to write one of the most grim and most sensual youth novels in ages at the same time.
What is not on the list is striking: The girls by Annet Schaap (Querido; € 14.99; 11+). Certainly the most interesting, best written and best published children’s book of last year, but not necessarily the most audience-friendly. It’s hard to look at it as long as the jury has not yet issued its report, but with this interesting and colorful selection, our Flemish language companions seem to want to give accessibility a natural place in their assessment in addition to artistry. We can also take an example from this in the Netherlands.