Pelckmans aims to inspire, inform and relax today’s readers.
At Pelckmans Uitgevers, we are committed to delivering high-quality, thoughtprovoking literature that enriches lives and inspires minds. With a rich history and a forward-looking vision, we embrace the power of stories to transcend boundaries and foster understanding.
Our mission is to publish books that not only entertain but also educate, challenge, and empower readers of all ages. We believe in the transformative power of knowledge and the importance of diverse voices in shaping a better world.
We invite you to explore our catalogue and discover the unique titles that have captivated audiences in our home markets. By acquiring rights to our books, you join us in our mission to spread these compelling narratives across the globe. Let’s collaborate to bring exceptional stories to new readers and create a lasting impact together.
Should you be looking for a specific topic, title or type of publication: don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
www.pelckmansuitgevers.be/foreign-rights
Stijn Baeckens - stijn.baeckens@pelckmans.be
Sarah Claeys - sarah@booketlistagency.com
BOOKS FOR TODDLERS & PICTURE BOOKS
CHAMELEON DOES (NOT) LIKE COLORS A (just before) dinnertime story
Lynn Pinsart in collaboration with Vicky De Beule & Henk van der Gugten
Chameleon is different from the rest.
As you can see, he is all white! That’s because he doesn’t like colors. Can you guess what’s in his tummy?
Chameleon only wants to eat white things. Popcorn, macaroni, whipped cream and mashed potatoes. But green veggies or red fruit? He doesn’t want those. No, no, NO!
Take this adorable picture book about positive nutrition with you to the dinner table, because thanks to this colorful story, your picky eater will learn to discover new food. Bite by bite and flap by flap.
A delightful story by Lynn Pinsart, based on a recipe by children’s dietician Vicky De Beule, with juicy illustrations by Henk van der Gugten.
A colorful flap book which teaches children to try new food. Second print run in three months time!
Lynn Pinsart is an author and creative copywriter. As a brandnew mom she made her debut with Koala is blocked, Octopus in love and Giraffe wants a sound too, and has since written several children’s books. Bedtime for grown-ups was nominated for the Children’s Reading Jury in Flanders.
Also by Lynn Pinsart:
Vicky De Beule is a dietician and is specialized in difficult eating behavior with young children. In 2018, she launched the educational game The taste-tower to playfully teach children how to enjoy fruit and vegetables.
Henk van der Gugten works as an illustrator all over the world and also teaches arts & crafts at a school in Leiden.
KOALA IS BLOCKED BEDTIME FOR GROWN-UPS
GIRAFFE WANTS A SOUND TOO OCTOPUS IN LOVE
BE: € 17,00
MAY 2024
HARDCOVER
260 X 260 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 32
MALI AND THE BUTTERFLIES
Marc de Bel & Stephanie Dehennin
It’s Mum’s birthday.
Dad has baked a big cake.
But what cute little animals suddenly come fluttering in?
Mali wants to take a closer look.
Or even grab one.
So she tries, sometimes literally tumbling from one adventure into another.
Luckily, she has good guardian angels... er, - butterflies.
Flanders’ favorite children’s author Marc de Bel and children’s and science illustrator Stephanie Dehennin join forces in a new adventure for the very young that celebrates the splendor of nature.
AND THEY LIVED
Elisabeth Lucie Baeten & Flore Deman
Once upon a time, there was a book full of wonderful stories about princesses who finally get to decide their lives for themselves. None of them desperate, silent or looking for a prince, the princesses do pretty much whatever they want in this fairy tale book.
Ariel does not want to dance ballet, but prefers water polo.
Sleeping Beauty is far too tired for an unsolicited kiss.
Did you know that Rapunzel sometimes hates her long hair quite a bit?
And Belle’s Beast might be angry for a good reason.
This book shows girls, boys and everyone who reads it that the princesses themselves have always been the heroes of the fairy tale. They star in their story, which is sometimes big and sometimes small. Not as they were, but as they could be.
AND THEY STILL LIVED
Elisabeth Lucie Baeten & Flore Deman
Did you know that Cinderella is much more than just sweet and nice?
And that Aladdin is afraid to be completely himself? Pinocchio is different from his friends, from head to toe.
And Snow White has thousands of fans, but she still feels lonely.
In this book, the stories are wonderful and real. Never does anyone say “and they lived happily ever after”.
Princes and princesses are ordinary people, each of them wishing for something very important: to be allowed to say what that think, to be honest and free. And you get to be there, on the front row.
More than 20,000 copies sold!
A groundbreaking book filled with fairy tales for a new generation of children and their parents.
MY TEAM
Senne Misplon & Julie Vangeel
Lio moved to the big city last summer. Today is the first day at their new school. With a nervous heart and a trembling tail, Lio sets off to find new friends on the football pitch. But when Lio asks to play with them, the children are confused. They are playing boys against girls, but which team does Lio belong to?
In My Team, norms about boys and girls are questioned in an original way. This book is the ideal conversation starter to talk about ideas and prejudices about gender on a child’s level.
Senne Misplon raises awareness about gender and sexual diversity from his expertise and lived experience as a transman. His mission is to make gender a story of all of us. He makes his debut as a children’s book author with My Team
Julie Vangeel studied Illustrative Design at SintLucas Antwerp. She brings to life the most diverse things with her remarkable style; from birth cards to advertising campaigns.
What do you do early in the morning when you wake up? Is an adventure awaiting you too? A routine you need to follow to get yourself ready? Before your day can really start, and you finally meet your friends again?
This imaginative and colorful picture book offers you an insight into the many steps that curly-haired children have to go through every morning. And again tomorrow takes you on an exciting adventure packed with challenging obstacles and surprises. A story full of recognition and an educational introduction to a different world. A wild journey through brushes, combs, creams and hair oil. And again tomorrow.
SNOW EVERY DAY
Fleur Pierets, Noëmi Willemen & Rachida Aoulad
Amira loves snow and sports. Every day she happily zooms on her board over ridges and mountains.
During her first snowboard competition she notices as she slides down the slopes something very strange.
Fans are cheering, but not for her. Not even for her friends. That’s odd, isn’t it?
Her friends are real snowboard heroes. She rarely saw such a big difference.
It’s not fair, but look: according to some, girls and boys are not the same at all. Amir and her friends therefore come up with a plan, because everyone knows that things cannot continue like this.
BE: € 19,50
AUGUST 2024
HARDCOVER
195 X 343 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 48
AUGUST
Jacques & Lise
August sacrificed himself to live a new life as a hermit serving the forest. High in a watchtower amid an immense sea of trees, he keeps a close eye on everything; problems he reports immediately. The weeks, months, seasons and years pass by without too much worry. Until one day, the trees begin to disappear at an alarming rate.
A unique adventure from an unprecedented perspective high above the trees, poetic and layered, full of meaning.
Jacques & Lise , the duo Jacques Maes and Lise Braekers, are both graphic designers. The nostalgic finds they dig up at flea markets and the many citytrips they make, often form the basis for their designs. They have won many awards with their illustration work and their books have been translated worldwide.
By the same duo:
Recent awards and special mentions for the work of Jacques & Lise:
• Participation Biennale of Bratislava 2023 with Pia
• Third prize at the 2022 Reading Jury for Henry
• Shortlisted Lokomotywa Award 2022 for the Polish translation of Viktor
• Participation in the Bratislava Biennale 2021 with Henry
• Shortlisted Paul Hurtmans Biennal 2021 for the French translation of Viktor
• Shortlisted by the Reading Jury 2020 with Viktor
OSKAR
RIGHTS SOLD: ARABIC
VIKTOR RIGHTS SOLD: JAPANESE, ITALIAN, POLISH, ENGLISH, KOREAN AND FRENCH
PIA
RIGHTS SOLD: ITALIAN, FRENCH AND KOREAN
HENRY
RIGHTS SOLD: KOREAN AND ITALIAN
DRAGON QUEST
PIGEON
RIGHTS SOLD: KOREAN AND SPANISH
LIKE SNOW IN THE SUN
BE: € 17,00
OCTOBER 2024 HARDCOVER
250 X 250 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 32
SHHHT! THIS IS NOT A BOOK
Kim Crabeels & Stephanie Dehennin
One dull day, Storia loses her cuddly Beasie in the library. She looks for him amongst metres-high shelves full of dusty books. And no one helps her. Because... Shh, this is the library! It’s quiet here! And stupid, Storia thinks. Until she gets help from the librarian. As Wordkeeper, he opens book after book, gate after gate to magical worlds. Soon Storia discovers that they are anything but dusty and stupid!
Can Storia find her Beasie? And will he still want to return to the ordinary world with her?
A fairytale story about the magic of books and the library near you.
A fairytale story about the magic of books and the library near you.
Kim Crabeels , storyteller at heart, and Stephanie Dehennin , children’s and science illustrator, join forces for an atmospheric read-aloud story about a magical place: the library.
By the same author (and a different illustrator):
THE BIG UNDERPANTS THEFT
WOOD
THE LONELIEST WHALE IN THE WORLD
BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
190
ONCE UPON A TIME THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Kamiel De Bruyne & Yarne Daeren
Once, there may have been a man who ate an airplane. And a cat who became a mailman. And a knight who invented French fries. Or maybe... not at all.
Once upon a time there might have been is a book with twenty stories that may have really happened at one time, but maybe not at all. It’s a game that keeps you guessing: is the story true or completely made up? Turn the page and discover the truth!
A book packed with stories to fall over backwards and facts to blow your friends away with. A hilarious book for anyone who loves adventure and mysteries or whales who desperately need to pee.
More than 15,000 copies sold in less than two years!
190
ONCE
UPON A TIME THERE
MIGHT
HAVE BEEN 2
Kamiel De Bruyne & Yarne Daeren
Once, there may have been a man who got stinking rich with his farts. And a pharmacist who invented the praline. And a canary with ten thousand friends. Or maybe... not at all.
Once upon a time there might have been 2 is the second book with twenty stories that may have really happened once, but may not have happened at all. It’s a game that keeps you guessing: is the story true or completely made up? Turn the page and discover the truth!
A book packed with stories to fall over backwards and facts to blow your friends away with. A hilarious book for anyone who loves adventure and mysteries or Vikings who turn out to be slightly clumsy.
THE LONELIEST WHALE IN THE WORLD
Kim Crabeleels & Sebastiaan Van Doninck
Lilja lives in a lighthouse at the top of the world. She is the keeper of the northern lights. Her daddy is often away. He measures and weighs the water, counts the fish, animals and plants, and looks for wonders at sea. After each voyage, he gives Lilja a shell. Her collection grows bigger and bigger. One day, daddy tells her about a whale that always swims on his own. Other whales cannot hear his song and so they don’t see him as one of them.
When Lilja stays home alone again, it is quiet in the lighthouse. Until suddenly a song sounds from one of the shells. Is it the whale and is he singing to Lilja?
This classic is an ode to happiness and the power of imagination.
Kim Crabeels writes texts for picture books, bedtime stories, trivia and audio books for children aged four to fourteen. But adults love her upbeat style with a sensitive twist as well. With her stories, Kim warms the hearts of young and old. She also works as a cultural programmer for young audiences in Leuven: a fascinating cross-pollination of jobs in which fantasy and children always play the leading roles.
Sebastiaan Van Doninck grew up in a foster home, on his parents’ farm. He worked on numerous illustrated picture books that have been translated in more than 26 countries. He has won the Boon Audience Award twice, among other awards. In recent years, he has been using autonomous practice more as a breeding ground for paintings, drawings, graphics and ceramics.
Frisko
BE: € 17,00
OCTOBER 2024
HARDCOVER
145 X 210 MM PAGE EXTENT: 96
First volume of the series!
THE HOOFBEAT STABLES: FOR THE FIRST TIME
Amber Brabant
It is presentation day in Loes’ class. When one of her classmates asks who has ever ridden a horse or a pony, Loes admits she is afraid of horses. At that moment, she wants to dissapear. She feels the blood rise to her cheeks.
When, for the umpteenth time, her best friend Marli asks Loes to come along to the horse-riding school, she spontaneously decides to say yes. Maybe then Loes will understand why her friend is always so enthusiastic about those stupid animals.
Marli takes all the time she needs to show Loes the riding school and slowly Loes starts to get used to the horses. Will Loes start to like it after all? A book about friendship, differences and overcoming fears.
A SMALL WORLD HISTORY IN 100 BIG DATES
Barbara De Munnynck & Isabelle Geeraerts
Why did Cleopatra hide in a carpet and did Alexander the Great sit in a tent crying? How did Marco Polo end up in prison and Joan of Arc at the stake? How does the Great Wall of China differ from the one in Berlin?
Roll up your sleeves, pick a year from this book and get ready to be surprised. You might know what happened in 1492 or 1789, but who made the most difficult decision of their life in 1633? Travel from the hanging gardens of Babylon to the temples of Angkor Wat and from the dark ages of the Crusades to the Age of Enlightenment. Along the way, you’ll meet well-known people such as Julius Caesar or Napoleon, and meet fascinating ones like Ana Nzinga and Manuele Sáenz. The adventure begins with Lucy learning to walk on two legs and ends when Greta Thunberg takes the floor at the climate summit.
A small world history in 100 big dates is more than just a historical fact book. Barbara De Munnynck tells real stories – with a tantalizing beginning and a clear punchline. Isabelle Geeraerts connects the stories in a pleasant way, and the full-page, popping illustrations make it complete.
This history of the world is not a dull list of important dates. It’s a treasure chest filled with wonderful tales.
BE: € 19,50
SEPTEMBER 2024
HARDCOVER
140 X 210 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 384
By the same illustrator (and a different author);
WILLE: THE REVENGE ON MISS HALITOSIS
Van Gas & Melvin
Wille’s father has melted. Not by a dive into a volcano - bombshell! - but by the hellish breath of Miss Halitosis, a smelly piece of scum for whom the whole country shudders and trembles. Wille is left behind, orphaned and sad, but with a head full of books and crackling ideas. He ends up in a stony foster home with a knife-wielding foster mother plus three jerks of foster brothers, who crush him with vicious pranks. No wonder Wille goes on the run.
This is how he meets Imogen, a girl who drives around in a double-decker bus full of books and has the bizarre (but quite handy) gift of calling down bad luck on irritating characters. Professor Bones, who provokes genius ideas by first acting olympically silly, also joins Team Wille. Together, the courageous trio can take on the world. Together, they set out to find Miss Halitosis. That mutt has no idea what awaits her.
BILLIE AND HIS GENES RIGHTS SOLD: GERMAN AND RUSSIAN
YOUNG ADULT
THE SEASON TRIALS
Yasmine Van Den Meersch & Jonas De Backer
Rebels are raiding the land. Mother Nature has started to Wither. The Season Trials have begun.
Ayla was never meant to partake in the Trials, but after the death of her sister, she is now heir of the Summer Kingdom. She will have to battle the three other heirs to see who will become the next Ruler of the Realm, while still dealing with her own demons.
Valdemar, Prince of Winter, has a heart of ice. His sole purpose is to become the new Mother Nature, for which he’s been training his entire life. But Ayla’s fire might make him thaw.
With a rebellion on the rise, traitors both outside and inside the palace, Ayla realises none of this will be easy. Yet the best things rarely are...
several projects about books, but this is definitely the
Yasmine Van Den Meersch and Jonas De Backer are two friends with a passion for reading. They got to know each other through Booktok and now regularly meet up to buy (way to many) books. Together they already worked on
craziest one. The Season Trials is their debut.
LILY: STEEL
Tom De Cock
Lily Rieder-Dubois is sixteen and president of a broken country. One year after the attack on the Wall, all eyes are on her. The path, omens and timing of the Storm are clear: at the height of the climate shift, life on Earth will become impossible for everything that breathes for at least three years. No one sees a way out, but it is impossible for Lily to resign herself to that.
As smog and ash cast a dark veil around the planet, Lily realizes that a solution must be sought outside the New Union. With the motley crew of her staunchest allies and worst enemies, she faces the ultimate diplomatic mission. She must and will find answers and unite the world. A world full of Walls, behind which the most insane things are brewing…
This is the third volume in the LILY saga. In the Netherlands LILY received the prestigious award Best Book for Young People 2022.
Tom De Cock is constantly puzzled by and interested in literally everything. He can be heard every weeknight on the radio and daily puts his soul into podcasts, television and books. He lives with his husband, daughter, and foster son in Leuven. LILY is his award-winning young-adult debut for anyone who is young or feels that way.
Team Mortis is a highly successful YA series about four undercover spies whose identities have been erased. With fifteen titles in the series to date and over 60,000 books sold, this series continues to be loved by many readers from 13 years and up. Every book can be read separately.
Each book features an international setting; from Mexico to China to the US, on each continent the author has another chilling murder take place.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE SERIAL KILLER 3: LOCKDOWNPARTY
Bjorn Van den Eynde
2020. The country goes into lockdown because of a pandemic. Schools and businesses close. Everyone is forced to stay indoors. But that is beyond Maya. She decides, with four friends, to take a forbidden road trip to the south of France, where an illegal rave party is taking place in three days’ time. Not in plain sight, as the police forces go out of their way to immediately arrest any disobedient citizen.
While crossing the Belgian-French border, things go completely wrong. An elderly man who seems to want to help them at first threatens to call the police. An uproar ensues and not much later the man’s body is recovered. He was gruesomely murdered with 27 stabs. The work of a monster.
Maya and her friends’ road trip now becomes an escape, as all traces of the murder point in their direction. Distrust between the five teenagers grows at lightning speed, especially when they find small, bloody messages in and around their car and at the places they stay at. The realisation gradually dawns: what if the monster is one of them?
BE: € 17,00
NOVEMBER 2024
PAPERBACK
140 X 215 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 228
Bjorn Van den Eynde is a young-adult author, television screenwriter and director. After studying Audiovisual Arts at the RITCS (Brussels), he worked as a director for production company Eyeworks. Since then he devoted himself entirely to the creation of fiction, as an author for (young) adults and as a director and scriptwriter. His young-adult series Team Mortis has already sold more than 60,000 copies.
In the same series:
THE GUARDIAN ANGEL FANFICTION
EDUCATIONAL BOOKS
WHAT REALLY WORKS FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE HIGHLY ANXIOUS
Wendy de Pree & Inge Voets
This is a practical guide in which you discover what anxiety can do to children and to you, the ten things these children need the most, and how you can support and guide them in these needs. The book offers concrete tools and simple strategies, so that as a (grand)parent, teacher, therapist, or counsellor, you can find out what really helps the child to be more (self-)confident in life.
The child’s relationship with the adult is the main focus, because children learn primarily by imitation and experience. By investing in the connection, tranquility and your own relationship with fear, the child will feel free to face its own fears. It can then move forward towards a meaningful life, with its fear under control.
What Really Works aims to support parents, teachers, therapists, … in addressing socio-emotional issues and challenges with children. Each guide: – starts from a clear description of the issue or challenge (e.g. ADHD, AUTISM, being highly gifted or very anxious), – identifies the 10 most important needs of a child with this challenge, – shows you how to recognize these needs in behavior, – and offers concrete tools and strategies for dealing with these challenges.
BE: € 27,50
DECEMBER 2023
PAPERBACK
170 X 240 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 220
RIGHTS SOLD: DANISH
WHAT Re A llY WoRK s FoR cHildReN WHo ARe HigHlY giFT ed
WHAT Re A llY WoRK s FoR cHildReN W iTH A dHd
WHAT Re A llY WoRK s FoR cHildReN W iTH AUT isM
WHAT Re A llY WoRK s FoR cHildReN WHo ARe HigHlY seNsiT i V e
In the same series:
BE: € 16,50
MARCH 2024
RING-BOUND PAPERBACK
153 X 230 MM
PAGE EXTENT: 144
A lifeline for all children dealing with the loss of a loved one.
SURVIVAL GUIDE:
What if you’ve lost someone?
Lies Scaut & Michèle Vanparys
Has someone you loved passed away? Is there a lot of sadness around you? Do you sometimes feel sad or even really angry? Then this book might be able to help you!
This activity book explains in a playful way what grief is, how to recognize it and which tips and tricks can assist you in the process. It can be used very widely and provides the necessary language and tools to talk about loss. As a result, children will learn to feel okay again, cope with everyday challenges and come to terms with the immense grief of losing a loved one.
The survival guides are activity books that support children dealing with difficult emotional problems or challenges. These guides explain the issue in a clear way and offer tips and tricks to use at school and at home. With these activity books children get more insight in their own strengths, and they learn to understand their difficulties and how to deal with them.
In the same series:
WHAT iF soMe THiNg TRAUMAT iZiNg HAPPeNs To YoU?
WHAT iF YoU HAV e A loT oF s TRess?
WHAT iF YoU ARe HigHlY seNsiT i V e ?
WHAT iF YoU ARe giFT ed ?
WHAT iF YoU ARe bUllied ?
WHAT iF YoU HAV e A gAMiNg PRobleM?
WHAT iF YoU HAV e Fe AR oF FA ilURe ?
WHAT iF YoU HAV e A dHd ?
WHAT iF YoU HAV e dYsle X i A?
WHAT iF YoU HAV e AUT isM?
BACKLIST
BOOKS FOR TODDLERS & PICTURE BOOKS
MOLE’S BIRTHDAY MORE TITLES AVAILABLE SWEET DREAMS
HOW BIG IS A DINOSAUR TURD? IS ANT HERE? WHAT DID CRAB EAT?
CAN MOUNTAINS SHRINK? DOES OLD CHEESE COME FROM OLD COWS? IS IT OKAY TO PET SHARKS?
CAN BIRDS SNEEZE?
I CAN’T DO THAT, I CAN DO THAT DINOSAURS AND HOW TO HIDE THEM
HELLO SUNSHINE
BOOKS FOR TODDLERS & PICTURE BOOKS
STAND GUARD! THE STRAIGHT STORY OF SLUG THE BIG UNDERPANTS THEFT RIGHTS SOLD: DANISH & ITALIAN
EVERYTHING IS CHANGING RIGHTS SOLD: GERMAN WOOD MOON
FRIEND RIGHTS SOLD: KOREAN
ALWAYS CLOSE TO YOU HAVE FAITH RIGHTS SOLD: KOREAN IN LOVE
SORRY
THANK YOU
BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
ZARAFA
YOUNG ADULT
YOU DO NOT BRING MY PEACE
RED IT’S DIFFERENT WITH YOU
THE SEVEN KEYS 1: THE PATH OF THE ROBBERKING
THE SEVEN KEYS 2: BEYOND THE FALL
SEA SPARKLE
MIRROR WORLD: THE MINISTRY OF STRANGE VISITORS
BRO’S
POLARIS
NOTES
Contact us Pelckmans Publishers www.pelckmansuitgevers.be/foreign-rights
Foreign Rights Stijn Baeckens stijn.baeckens@pelckmans.be
