The author of the books Rotraut Susanne Berner is German. We have all of her books and the kids love them. But I am afraid that your title is wrong. See wikipedia for details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotraut_Susanne_Berner or https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotraut_Susanne_Berner
12
The books of Richard Scarry offer the same experience! My two boys loved them...
47
I know dutch and deutsch seem very similar... Dorothy Göbel and Susanne Rotraut Berner are both German illustrators. Just for the record. Weird that a psycholinguist wouldn`t notice... the languages are close, but not the same, and the culture and everyday life is similar, but not the same.
12
What a wonderful essay, just what I will tell students about.
2
One of my grandmothers was born in Nijmegen. Holland is so densely populated, and so reliant on public transportation, one is compelled to be sociable, or miserable.
5
I too am a lover of Dutch children's books. Healthy, no dodging of human physiques, bad behavior, problems, infirmities, bodily functions, cooking chores and real work, etc. Refreshing. American children's books are comparatively pathetic. And I see a lot of them.
4
My fantasy is to retire to the Netherlands.
Intelligent people, good beer, and good horses (Dutch warm bloods).
And the Dutch are friendly, too!
8
Makes no sense. The so-called zoekboeken in this article are all German Wimmelbuecher.
11
My 3 half-German, half Scottish children and now my 2 half-French, quarter-German, quarter-Scottish grandchildren love the books of Ali Mitgutsch; we describe the pictures in 3 languages - and sometimes in a 4th, Bavarian... That's today's Europe! Lovely.
6
This is wonderful. My son is moving to Amsterdam for at least two years. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner involved with children's literacy, and I will head straight for these books on my first visit. Thanks again for the heads up. Wonderful approach for children.
5
These sound wonderful. Some standout wordless books I read with my son and with preschool children I taught include Zoom by Istvan Banyai, the various award winners by David Wiesner, the Carl (an infant's Rottweiler babysitter) books by Alexandra Day, the classic Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie de Paola, and a historical two-book series from the UK by John S Goodall that shows the changes that come to both a castle and a village square over centuries. The Reading Rockets website has a good list. For older kids I recommend Here by RIchard McGuire. It's technically a graphic novel but that doesn't begin to describe what it accomplishes. Most basically it can be explained as the history of a corner of a room in a house in what looks like rural Westchester or Connecticut. (Note: a bit of sexuality in it, but nothing prurient or graphic). If you have never read a graphic novel, try Here.
4
This may be overthought, just a bit. I’ve always considered these wordless narrative books to be tools for conversation — whether that be between adult and child or among children. They are interactive tools that prompt a child to string together a story...and talk about it. Whether they reveal anything about the culture or society of their illustrator/author’s country is a moot point, really. All books do.
5
I'm one more person chiming in on the books of Richard Scarry. They were read so often by my brothers (who were not great readers), especially the book about cars and trucks, that they fell to pieces and my mother thriftily scotch-taped them back together.
33
I lived in the swamp pretending to be country called Holland for more than 40 years. These books, cute as they are, provide a false image of what Holland is really about. A country based upon the religious ideals of Jan Calvijn, (a protestant religious fanatic who had everyone killed off who did not agree to his views - including close friends), Holland is a country where the population are breastfed hypocriscy from birth.
Here are just two egregious examples of Dutch hypocrisy:
- Despite (or due to the fact) the the International Court is located in The Hague, the Dutch have consistently resisted any form of accountability after more than 70 years for their genocide in Indonesia - in fact it has almost been erased from everyone's memory in The Netherlands;
- All the photo material to be used in the accounting of the Screbrenica massacre that took place under the eyes (and 'protection') of Dutch UN forces just disappeared into thin air out of the safes of the federal Dutch authorities. In fact, instead of taking action against the army members responsible, they gave them medals, once the furor died down and they thought no one cared anymore.
Prick through the veneer of 'gezelligheid' and cuteness that Holland loves to promote, and you will see bigotry and small mindedness hiding in the corners.
7
Rushwarp, you could apply your last paragraph to almost any country or society. Books for young children are often an idealized, cleaned-up version of reality. It’s okay. They are created for children. Allow kids a brief period of innocence.
19
The wimmelbooks, in particular, soiund 'wunderbar'. ;-) I wonder if they can be found for sale on Amazon, or otherwise if they are sold at any bookstores or German-centric shops in Manhatttan?
1
Richard Scarry books are, perhaps, a younger version of these Dutch books.
1
From a linguistic perspective, such pictorial detail does nothing but stimulate conversation and language—delightful.
From a cultural perspective, it is one dimensional and populist—Advent candles, Christmas trees, Claus-like grandfathers amidst an idyllic Dutch landscape. I almost leaned in to see if the Dutch version of Fox News was on the television screen.
Where are the newly arrived refugee children? I spy one Muslim man at the bus stop.
Librarians in the US strive to introduce children to “diverse” materials to promote identification as well as tolerance.
One of the first words we should be trying to introduce is “friend”.
9
As a Dutch national living and working in the US, I was excited to read this article about my clever countrymen. However, this article has nothing to do with Dutch books! All of the books listed were created by German artists and translated into Dutch. In fact, even the illustration from Berner's book (it is hard to find that kind of hilly landscape in the Netherlands), not to mention her name "Rotraut", should have been an indication that we were looking at a non-Dutch artist.
Please change the word "Dutch" to "German" in the headline.
39
Richard Scarry books are terrific, but, BUT they are not the same as these books. Yes, they are rich in detail and very similar in this respect. But most of them have text! In addition, Scarry is often trying to explain something: how a visit to the dentists works, for example. The illustrations in the Wimmelbooks have no goal, no content as such: it's like taking a random picture of your street or of people climbing up a mountain. In these sense, they are profoundly different. There are also no personified animals like in Scarry's. I am amazed at how ethnocentric all these comments are. Why cannot the Wimmelbooks be great and Scarry too? Why is there a need to talk about what we have at home?
11
They remind me of the beloved Richard Scarry books my sons, and now my grandson, never tired of reading. I hope a lot of them are available in English for him!
4
Benjamins Bilderbuch, Susanne Muller-Firgau. Herder, Germany, 1957
3
I remember growing up with Remy Charlip's Thirteen and David Weisner's Tuesday, which, while different than the tableaux described here, were both wordless, or nearly so.
1
Haha! This observant American noticed that very fact, when visiting Amsterdam. Upon returning, I remarked to my American friends that, 'I noticed many homes had no curtain or shades.... and it was almost as if they were inviting you to look into their homes. I also noticed that the home interiors all looked 'perfect', as if ready for an interior design magazine shoot. Some homes even had small 'tableaus' on their windowsills, again, seemingly wanting us to go up to the window to view them.'
Some folks responded to me that, I guess the weather in Amsterdam doesn't lend itself to outdoor activities for much of the year...that the Dutch spend a lot of time indoors...and so this is why they put so much effort into making their homes so warm and inviting.
5
We also have the 4 seasons and the Night Book from the same series: have you discovered it? I love the normal, regular life that they show. It's a life devoid of consumerism, modest but with a high quality of experiences. It is full of the pleasures of the mundane rituals: eating cake by a lake. It is a life full of community, how you rightly point out, people live near each other and with each other. In these books, there are different ethnicities that seem to be fully integrated into this orderly, peaceful life. Yes, it is an ideal but it is also true when Germany is at its best. The reality in the books is profoundly comforting and soothing. Even the animals seem to be a part of it! Thank you for the article and your insights.
7
I am Dutch, and I have read the books of Rotraut Gertrude Berner with my kids, much to their delight. However, the images do not deflect Dutch culture in particular. Berner is German by the way. I would rather say these are German villages and customs that she depicts. For a Dutch version in this genre, Dematons has very beautiful zoekboeken. She is French but often depicts The Netherlands. If one wants to make a psychological cultural analysis by studying childrens books, perhaps one should include a study of the autors origins and intentions...
24
My grandkids are 5 years old. They like to play computer games and watch story in Amazon's Fire HD. The only time they read a story is my daughter read story to them before bed time. The stories are all American classic.
Busytown Europe (haiku duet) "Easiest way to - study foreign culture is - through its children's books"; "Children feel at home - in zoekboeks and wimmelbuchs - filled with daily life"
5
Contrary to the subtitle this article has little to do with understanding current European life in any unique way. What we do have its a very simplistic blurb about the revolution of1848, and it's supposed long term effect on European thinking. However that too is not surprisingly not supported by a children's wordless picture book.
6
"Where's Wallace" by Hillary Knight has been a favorite baby gift for many years.
2
"zoek" and ye shall find...much.
So enjoyable. And I’ll pass this onto my daughter’s Dutch in-laws. Yet I have to think back at the smiles on my own children’s young faces as they learned to read and about life itself thanks to our Dr. Seuss. Or how about Shel Silverstein as they metaphorically walked “Where the Sidewalk Ends” .. or were part of Schultz’s Peanuts family? Yet it needs to be said that whether in the US, the Netherlands, or Germany the books of now and even of a generation ago sure as heck beat my Dick, Jane, and Spot!
4
Two things here:
1. It's a bit strange that someone studying psycholinguistics in the Netherlands, and reading wimmelbooks, somehow uses a google translator for Dutch terms rather than simply asking a colleague.
Yes, "boek" in Dutch is pronounced in a way that is close to the English "book", but it's not the same though, as the "oe" in "boek" sounds like the "ou" of "you" (but without the closing at the end).
More importantly, the plural of "boek" is not "boeks" but "boeken". It's a bit sad to see a NYT headline written by a psycholinguist and that gets the basics wrong.
2. The same goes for nationalism, unfortunately. Yes, "Volk" (originally, this notion, when linked to nationalist theories, is German, and in German nouns always begin with a capital) indeed refers to local customs. But:
(a) it's not JUST that, it's a notion charged with a much deeper connotation: the idea that a "Volk" has one single "soul", which binds together all the people belonging to it in a perfectly "organic" way (= naturally grown connections between members of a Volk). That's why for nationalists it's so important to defend "the nation", because people's identities are supposed to be DEFINED by those habits, and destroyed once you change them.
(b) There were no nationalist theories under monarchs. Nationalism was invented in the 19th century, philosophically. And back then just like today, "nations" continue to have LOTS of different customs, languages etc. So it has always been a myth ...
29
Thanks for pointing out the correct plural of boek. Also, although I lived in various parts of the Netherlands for a total of 5 years, I don't remember ever hearing a Dutch person pronounce zoeken as though it were spelled zhoeken.
@ Bob
Thanks for completing my comment (you're right indeed, no "h" after the "z") ... I only had 1,500 characters ... ;-)
1
How could the author have written this piece without at least mentioning the wondrous works of American author Richard Scarry?! I “read” them as a child in the 70s and with my own children just a few years ago. On one visit to my parents’ home, my father picked up “What Do People Do All Day?” and subsequently found himself lost in its pages. At one point he looked up with eyes full of wonder and said “I think everything in the world might be in this book!” Scarry’s books might not offer the caché of foreignness, but they are likely a lot more accessible to most of the Times’ readers.
44
Agree. It is pretty clear from this essay that Michael Eard has never been to Busytown or is familiar with the many books of Richard Scarry. Scarry's books are closer in spirit and purpose to these two genres of children's books than Martin Handford's "Where's Waldo?" books.
4
I had a "Busy, Busy World" which in today's light might not be considered politically correct by some, but at the time it engaged me as a young girl thinking of the world as an accessible wonderous place where fun and crazy things happened, but no matter the predicament, with humor and a positive attitude one could save the day.
2
We cannot produce such books. For starters, we do not see ordinary citizens as worthy of being center stage. We would have to make the books about very wealthy people, doing extravagant things while living in gated estates. If we did a streetscape, we would need to edit out people who are homeless, children who are hungry, police who are themselves violent. Our values are not those that fit into the world of wimmelbooks. Where would we put the casual shoppers with their AR-15s as accessories? Where would we put the children cowering in school closets as their classmates lie dead on the floor? How would we depict our potholed roads and crumbling bridges? Wimmelbooks would make us long for a contentment and sense of community we do not have. It would be dangerous.
39
Indeed. Not to mention that we'd consider images of people 'showering, sunbathing naked, or peeing under a boardwalk' as 'unsavory' and not appropriate for kids (....'oh no, not bodily functions!.....not human bodies in their natural forms?!') But the kids doing active shooter drills? That sounds much more suitable.
8
I grew up in Richard Scary’s wonderful books that were similar. I followed all his characters on amazing adventures, esp Lowly the Worm who popped on somewhere unexpected on every page. I will try these wimmelbooks with my non-verbal son. He cannit speak but he sees all.
34
Interesting how the author explains the appeal of these books. I too enjoyed them as a child and spent hours poring over illustrations. It was also during the time when my family moved out of the city into the suburbs, and I now recognize that much of the appeal for me was from how I missed the visual and aural richness of city life.
3
I tried to look up whether there are any people of color in these books, but couldn't find any answer...would be good for readers to know.
8
I laughed at the end. Looking into people’s front rooms from the street is such a Dutch thing. Old ladies will tsk at you for keeping the curtains drawn and wonder what you are hiding. Keeping the house “gezellig” is almost as much for passersby as for visitors.
17
Mr. Erard, you might want to check out an older book, Peter Spier's Noah's Ark, which you can find second hand on bookfinder.com, a lovely website. (Or on Amazon, of course.) It exemplifies some of the things you're talking about. To one extent or another, all of his books did. It begins with a wonderful Dutch poem, translated into English also, but the rest of the book is wordless.
4
I loved Richard Scarry as a child and then with my children.
21
Sounds wonderful. Us as we actually are. This country could use a huge gob of them.
It would bring people to an understanding of what unites us rather than dividing us.
2
Change the title to What Adults Can Learn From German Children's Wimmelbooks. Where's Waldo' is British. The imaginative paintings from Hieronymus Bosch have a different background.
6
I grew up looking for the Goldbug in the Richard Scarry books! Kids love them.
26
Those books wouldn't be as charming if the culture they reflected wasn't itself so charming. Think how different a Wimmelbook of Aleppo or Lagos would be.
5
I’m sure there is an Aleppo every bit as charming buried in memory of those who survived its destruction. What a thing to say!
4
https://nyti.ms/2mg2snz
My German-American son grew up on Wimmelbuecher (the German plural), including the wonderful one shown in the illustration and described in the text, and similar books that work by opening flaps to see alternative versions of the same scene. Many are charming views into ordinary life in Western Europe (and just about anywhere), and others are educational. I never gave deep thought to any social or political implications although I was impressed with the engaging frankness about everything from fender benders to the use of toilets. My son and I just thought they were cool.
6
Seems to me, we can identify how great these books from other cultures are; but let’s not forget we have our own, very similar options from American authors. Richard Scarry’s books are very similar, and the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture associated with the article. Let’s not discount the gems we have available right here. While the books Mr. Erard lauds seem lovely, it is almost as if he is implying we have a literary desert here in the US.
23
Lived in Amsterdam, and spent hours with my son "reading" Richard Scarry's Busytown ought from one of the local English language bookstores. Never thought of that genre as particularly Dutch. We had lots of Dutch books at home as well.
3
I remembed my sophomore soring spent in Paris. The bread is better, the trains are better, the attitude toward alcohol is more mature and sophisticated, and they barely work. I couldn't wait to get back and tell my friends how much better and more sophisticated everything in Europe was. My sociology professor back home loved my new enlightenment. I got an A in Social Problems - for some reason the sociology-and-victims-studies departments never developed a course on Social Solutions - and now I start many sentences with "In Europe they..."
17
Last paragraphs of article:
"The activity in wimmelbooks also has a healthy, comfortable publicness, almost as if people on the pages realize the walls of their houses are transparent — and they don’t mind. Even though we see into houses in some wimmelbooks (because exterior walls have been magically dissolved), we don’t see into people’s heads; by featuring the exteriority of life in its community dimension, the wimmelbooks leave the people private. It’s like depicting a snowstorm through its flurries and drifts, because the point of view of each snowflake is irrelevant.
In the pages of wimmelbooks, everyone lives as if they’ve never left, nor for that matter are they recently arrived. Everyone is living together in their teeming everyday, and that may be a fine model for living together."
Sounds like a perfectly mundane, banal, transparent totalitarianism. An enclosed, transparent world in which people's thoughts are private, but so what if their thoughts are private, for their private thoughts can never break out of of the model in which they move and are watched through transparent walls. I'm trying to imagine a world in which those in power are those raised on these books, people watching me through transparent walls (read surveillance technology), to see whether I am operating within the parameters allowed by these books or not. Here there is no criminality or genius, just tiny controlled freedoms, everybody going through perfectly equal and mundane motions.
2
Er, Rob, isn't Michael's point that these are *visual* representations -- images, few words (so no need for "translated voiceovers").
But a great idea to support their publication/distribution in the US to get kids thinking about their own community.
7
Daniel in Wash d.c., You might want to read Piers Plowman with its 'fair field full of folk', representing the world of mankind. There is a long tradition of putting forth the daily mundane fabric of life, not so much as totalitarianism but the cycle of life over the seasons and ages of man.
Then you might want to check out The Ship of Fools allegory based on Plato's Book VI of the Republic. The "taller and stronger" captain is deaf, needs glasses, cannot navigate, cannot command his crew, cannot contain profligate consumption of limited resources, and mutineers who may question whether the fact-based (sky and wind) functional skills of the navigator will prevail. The moral might serve you well in Washington under Trump. You could also see it as an argument of universal healthcare and science.
5
A wee bit paranoid, no?
(Am thinking now of immensely satisfying, wide-ranging imagination-rich hours spent with small children discussing the images).
5
So, how hard can it be to provide English language translations and flood the American market with these delights? How about doing translated voiceovers and putting them out as apps on iPads? Not all great ideas are American. Perhaps what's missing most in American publishing is vision, risk-taking and entrepreneurship. So, who is going to take up the challenge of bringing these gems across the pond? Will it be a forcibly retired baby boomer, or a Milennial who has rejected corporate servitude? Most likely, it will not be a US publishing executive.
9
Although one commenter mentioned Peter Spier, the breadth of his work was not mentioned. Not only did he depict Noah in his Ark, and traditional Dutch countryside, but his book on New Amsterdam is one of our family’s all time favorites. It was a perfect addition to my daughter’s second grade class when they were studying New York City.
Also not mentioned was John S. Goodall whose “The Story of an English Village” depicts the same scene from the Middle Ages to modern times.
As a teacher of children from families who may not speak English, or from families whose reading skills left them intimidated by most books, wordless books were always on my “lending shelf”.
19
Like others here, I kept waiting for you to mention Richard Scarry but you never did. I loved his books as a kid for exactly the reasons you covered here. I made up my own stories about Lowly Worm and Gorilla Bananas. I got lost in the illustrations for hours.
62
I too hoped you would credit Richard Scarry's books, so beloved by my children and myself in the 60's and 70's.
7
As a kindergarten teacher I was just about to write about Scarry......thank you.....My urban students in New Orleans love them just as much as I did. Just the comprehension conversation from the illustration alone......
3
To my knowledge, Rotraut Susanne Berner is a German author and graphic designer living in Munich and her books were originally published in German as "Wimmelbuch" and translated into numerous languages. So by name and origin they are part of the German genre of Wimmelbooks. They do invite you to look out for a couple of main characters and follow their story though. Whether Zoekboeks or Wimmelbooks, Rotraut Susanne Berner's books are wonderful.
14
Yes, it‘s a bit odd that the article goes on about Dutch books when it‘s illustrated by a page from a famous German children‘s author. Some of the character in the book are based on real-life people: the bearded bookseller, I believe, was Berner‘s husband.
4
Not to mention Ali Mitgusch's work from the 1970s. He was from Munich, Germany.
3
This fine article is written from Nijmegen.
When I see that name, what comes to mind is the disaster of A Bridge Too Far. Nijmegen was the last bridge actually taken, and that taken too late.
This is a stark reminder that the Volk concept celebrated in this article utterly destroyed Europe in my own parents' lifetime.
It should be a reminder that what happened once is possible, and could happen again. Actually, it was much more than once, as Europe's long series of civil wars dragged on for centuries. The 1848 redefinition of nationalism only helped to increase the bloodshed over the next century.
If this is ended, it is by the experiment of NATO and the EU that dates from around 1948, and is specifically not this idea of Volk.
Yes, immigration and population shifts have already changed the Volk seen in those books, but the current political anxiety in Europe is about defending or moving on from that older Volk being lost.
That makes it timely in American politics too.
Nijmegen gives us many things, not just the reading of these books.
14
The Bridge Too Far was in Arnhem, not Nijmegen. And while Europe was dealt a terrible blow by World War II, it wasn't utterly destroyed. The whole "volk" question is an interesting one that all the countries of Europe are struggling with right now. How do we uphold the liberal values of the Enlightenment -- freedom, toleration -- and at the same time maintain the distinctive national features that give us meaning? This is why many European countries require a stringent naturalization test for people wanting to live here, which includes not only language skills but also familiarity with the local culture.
15
There are definitely American versions of this genre! My child and I loved the series by Bonnie and Arthur Geisert that includes "Mountain Town", "Desert Town", "River Town". They are wordless and depict everyday life as well as some unusual occurrences in these towns.
The ages of a European city are depicted in "A Street through Time", by Anne Millard and Steve Noon, with some sophisticated opportunities for history lessons leavened with humorous details.
Sector Seven by David Wiesner is a wordless fantasy storybook, a Caldecott winner and entertaining to imaginative current and former children.
Age is not a factor- we "read" these books as early as 18 months and they are still fascinating for parents!
23
I also thought of Richard Scarry's books!
40
The Isle of Nose was a wonderful read for my young children thirty years ago. As was/is Trouble for Trumpets, an exceedingly hard book to find, with illustrations (in both mentioned books) that are mesmerizing.
4
I love this article. We need more books like this in the
states--and yes, for all ages. In fact, I think I will buy some for myself as well as my ever-growing children's library, as I wait patiently (laugh) for my grandchildren.
19
Friends gave us Annie Schmidt's Tow Truck Pluck when our boys were young and to this day I think it is still their favorite. If you have young kids, get this book!
9
Dutch paintings are always fascinating. I don’t know the era, but prosperous Holland had a sizable middle class who purchased paintings for their homes which modeled both good and bad behavior. Very enjoyable to see even now - humorously depicted evil drinkers and gamblers; industrious women and children in the kitchens.
20
Seems like British author William Bee may have been inspired by this genre when he created a couple of our favorites: the brilliantly playful Migloo's Day and Migloo's Weekend, in which a little dog named Migloo wanders through a vibrant multi-ethnic town with lots and lots of funny details to see.
21
As an American in Amsterdam I was intrigued by your article. But you fail to mention Richard Scarry who has for generations entertained English speakers (and via translation other cultures) with this books: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Scarry.
119
Yes, much love to Mr Scarry!
Scarry may be similar but he has a frightening police state overtone
Richard Scarry, yes! As soon as I saw the illustration and read the first few sentences I said his name aloud. My now 29 year old son was a Scarry fan.
These books sound wonderful! I wish I knew about them when my child was young. They sound like a cross between the wordless wonders like "Good Night Gorilla" and the amazing detail of Richard Scarry's Busy Town books.
54
Yes the books sound very much like Richard Scarry's wonderful, busy books.
Do sound a bit tricky around issues lie sunbathing in the nude. This might be normal in Europe, but...
8
... American dermatologists would gasp in horror ...
Eve, if you haven’t sunbaked in the nude, then try it. It’s very liberating. So much body shaming! Why are people ashamed of their bodies?
And we have lots of Richard Scarry books. I just bought a few more at a garage sale. The best!
1
This immediately made me think of Richard Scarry's "Busy, Busy World" and all its sequels. In particular, the pleasure of following Lowly Worm from page to page seems very similar.
159
I would bring Richard Scarry books on the airplane for my daughter when she was little. Engaged for the whole plane ride!
15
Several differences with Scarry come to mind however. All of Scarry's books that I can think of include some words, even just lists of words to recognize and match up with the drawings. Then there is the cartoon fantasy world of Busytown, with its dressed animals and wacky vehicles. Part and parcel of this is Scarry's fondness for mayhem -- all very light-hearted of course, but still -- planes crashing, cars colliding, lots of pratfalls, etc.
It sounds from the article as if the Dutch and German books are quite this-world realistic, with all human characters (except pets, farm animals, etc. as appropriate) and do not feature this kind of slapstick.
9
Lots of commenters mention Richard Scarry. Several differences with Scarry come to mind however. All of Scarry's books that I can think of include some words, even just lists of words to recognize and match up with the drawings. Then there is the cartoon fantasy world of Busytown, with its dressed animals and wacky vehicles. Part and parcel of this is Scarry's fondness for mayhem -- all very light-hearted of course, but still -- planes crashing, cars colliding, lots of pratfalls, etc.
It sounds from the article as if the Dutch and German books are quite this-world realistic, with all human characters (except pets, farm animals, etc. as appropriate) and do not feature this kind of slapstick.
4
Here, here, Mr Erhard!
As an army brat growing up in Germany in the early eighties, I was fortunate to have a mother who sought out amazing wimmelbuchen for me and my then baby brother. The layers of visual narrative in everyday scenes continued to fascinate me even through adulthood, and now I can't wait to share my (now-40-year-old and rather 'well-loved') copy of Ali Mitgutsch's Das Riesenbilderbuch with my infant son.
41
I must mention the lovely, and lovingly drawn books of Peter Spier, whose detailed drawings allow a child to create his or her own narrative surrounding the art. I was not too surprised to discover Mr. Spier was born in Amsterdam.
63
When my partner and I lived in the Netherlands in the 1980s and 1990s we bought a number of children's books to help us learn Dutch and understand Dutch culture.
Children's books are a way into the heart of every culture. They hekped us comprehend the variety of meaning of "gezellig".
30
These books sound wonderful! We read so much to our children, (adults now) and in the earliest years picture books were so fascinating, and these ones sound extra fascinating.
My favorite, (Moms have them, too) was Peekaboo, by Janet and Alan Ahlberg. It was practically wordless, but the illustrations were so beautifully detailed, showing the life of a baby and his large family who were living in a small house in wartime Britain. A lot was going on and it was all so warm and cozy, though their life was not exactly depicted as easy. One recognized the feeling that the small and intimate things in life hold a family together. I think our world could sure use more warmth and coziness, that's for sure. I hope to find a wimmelbook for my son and daughter in law for their coming baby.
31
Then surely you know Charlotte Dematon's De gele ballon (The Yellow Balloon), which takes you all over the world. In each gorgeous illustration you have to try to spot the yellow balloon, in cities and countrysides on every continent, and combining historical periods in a single illustration. Dematon's Holland (in English, A Thousand Things About Holland) is the same idea. I'm a Dutch-English translator living in the Netherlands for 36 years, and I can testify that Dutch children's lit is fantastic. (Raised our five kids on it, too.) And there are some excellent translators out there.
33
How wonderful to learn of this! I hope it's possible to find these books in the U.S. for my grandchildren. I spent a good part of my childhood in the Netherlands, even attending school there for a while, and became fascinated by the rollicking Dutch children's theatre productions there.
On another note, I would so very much like the books on the Dutch contribution in WWII by Eppo Hero Brongers to be translated into English. They are superb works. To the best of my knowledge, only one is in English translation.
As a dutch librarian I recommend the book (zoekboek)Nederland from Charlotte Dematons accompanied with the book Duizend dingen over Nederland also in english available A thousand things about Holland. The best zoekboek to learn about our country. All three of them are available in the Library of Nijmegen. If you can’t find them ask the local librarian to make a reservation.
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Also "Lemons and Lightbulbs" by Alexandra Jones deHaven. Life lessons for children are offered by a charming lemon and charismatic lightbulb.
It should also be noted how subversive children's books can be. I also used them to learn various languages and was often surprised. In the 1980's I read many of them to learn Portuguese while in Brazil. Then under military rule, most upper-middle class Brazilians went to private secondary schools, practically the only way to then get into public universities, totally subsidized by the government and in reality, a private domain of the wealthy. Thus the government, which in other areas saw a revolutionary around every corner, ignored state run secondary schools. It turned out that the books used in public schools were thoroughly indoctrinated in "Liberation Theology", and I told my Brazilian friends that when democracy came, a populist would be elected - to which they laughed (it then happened with Lula).
And when I lived in Saudi Arabia, public education was "ceded" to the religious establishment as part of the "grand bargain" made between the House of Saud and the Imams following the tumultuous events of 1979. Hence Saudi school and leisure children's books were thoroughly anti-Western, anti-Christian and anti-American (books, by the way, read by the 9/11 hi-jackers while they grew up there).
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