‘The combination of rigour in the selection and generosity in the design has made Querido’s children’s list the most famous in the Netherlands.’ de Volkskrant
Fifty years ago, Querido started its own list of children’s books, and the first book published is still the most successful title on the list: Pluk van de Petteflet (published in English as Tow-Truck Pluck). The sparkling text by Annie M.G. Schmidt and the fabulous illustrations by Fiep Westendorp form an irresistible whole. The main character is a hero that every child can identify with. Pluk fights against environmental damage and the disappearance of green spaces. Together with his animal friends, he succeeds in preventing the destruction of a park.
‘The story remains timeless and modern.’ – De Volkskrant ‘Miracle of concise writing, singing dialogue and witty storytelling’ – The Times ‘A delight ... Schmidt’s books never grow stale’ – De Morgen ‘A great choice... for parents and teachers seeking imaginative, illustrated chapter books for reading aloud’ – Booklist
• a classic story that has remained fresh and contemporary • a collaboration between two champions: a masterful storyteller and a masterful illustrator at their very best • Annie M.G. Schmidt won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1988 • more than 1 million copies sold • published in 22 languages • full English translation available
4 years
up Picture book
A spectacular look-and-find book about friendship and moving house
Otis is moving house tomorrow. Everything has to be packed into boxes: all his clothes, cuddly animals and toy cars. There’s a box for his best friend, Sam the chameleon, too. A box with a thousand holes, for fresh air. But Sam has disappeared. Is he hiding? Otis looks everywhere for the chameleon, but there’s no sign of him among all the boxes and belongings. What now? Otis can’t move house without his best friend, can he?
4 years and up Picture book
I Miss Milo
After the death of his tortoise Milo, a little boy is inconsolable. He can feel his loss all over – in his heart, in his head, in his tummy.
His mum tells him he can choose another pet. ‘Get a horse!’ his sister says. ‘Or a dog!’ someone else suggests. ‘Or a lion!’ says his best friend. But he doesn’t want any new pets at all! Because he and Milo belong together. Forever. How can another animal ever replace Milo?
• Maaike Koolen’s debut at Querido
• about friendship and moving house
• a riot of colours and shapes
transl ation
• a touching story with a hopeful ending
• with heart-warming, sensitive illustrations
4 years and up Picture book
• an atmospheric picture book that makes you long for the sun, the sea and the beach
• an ideal gift book, created by the illustrator of Teckel Tom
There are some days that you remember for the rest of your life. The first sight of the sea after you’ve climbed over the dune. The warm sand under your bare feet. Running through the surf. Searching for shells and crabs. Noëlle Smit depicts the perfect day at the beach in this irresistible book full of details. Every page is a celebration of the North Sea coast. Roll on summertime!
‘A book you can look at a thousand times without losing interest.’
– jaapleest.nl
‘Each of the pictures is a work of art, packed with beautiful colours, shapes, patterns and details.’ – NBD Biblion
French rights under option
4 years and up Picture book
Marit Törnqvist
Tortoise and I
• an impressive new picture book by Marit Törnqvist
• about a lifelong connection and friendship
• with an endearing tortoise in the lead role
• an appealing story for readers of all ages
It was the night before my fifth birthday. I was sitting on Grandpa’s lap. ‘Which story do you want to hear?’ he asked. ‘The one about Tortoise,’ I said. ‘Again?’
I always wanted to hear the same story.
The story is about Grandpa himself, when he was a little boy. About how he makes friends with a tortoise that his own grandpa brought for him from a far-off land. He’s so happy to have the tortoise, because now he has a friend
who will always be there for him! But Tortoise keeps growing and growing and gradually becomes a burden. There’s only one solution: Tortoise has to go. But can the two of them live without each other?
A wonderful picture book that invites the reader to think about friendship. But also about longing, love and being true to yourself.
‘Every illustration is a little work of art that you want to hang on the wall.’
– jaapleest.nl
‘In both story and pictures, Törnqvist convincingly creates a philosophical search for individuality, love and happiness.’ – tzum.info
English translation available
French rights under option
Luciënne van der Leije, rights manager, l.van.der.leije@singeluitgeverijen.nl Weteringschans 259, 1017 XJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.querido.nl
All ages Picture book
• festive illustrations by Carll Cneut
• a giftbook for young and old
• option: use Cneut’s illustrations to create your own collection
A book packed with party animals!
A festive collection in which Carll Cneut adds an extra cheerful sparkle to his masterful art. He has drawn animals who are celebrating, having birthdays, making one another happy or simply enjoying a new day. Anyone who looks at these pictures will soon start glowing with happiness too!
In the original edition, the illustrations are combined with poems, but you can also put together your own collection
6 years and up Picture book
Annie M.G. Schmidt & Annemarie van Haeringen
Black Bessie
by adding new or existing poems to accompany Cneut’s illustrations.
‘A phenomenal parade of painted animals.’ – De Morgen
‘Delightful animal pictures by Carll Cneut … A wonderful giftbook for all ages.’ – Het Laatste Nieuws
Published October 2021
Italian rights under option
• a beautiful picture book for readers of all ages • illustrated by Gouden Penseel winner
Annemarie van Haeringen
• for anyone who could do with cheering up
A cheerful classic about a depressed chicken
Black Bessie isn’t black like so many other chickens… No, Black Bessie is a black chicken with black speckles. She’s very proud of her colouring, but sadly her sisters in the chicken coop don’t notice how special she is. In fact, they laugh at her, and the rooster crows and heckles: ‘You’re just a black hen –without any speckles.’
That makes Black Bessie very sad. She stops eating, she stops drinking, and
she stops laying eggs. Black Bessie is depressed! And what’s the only way out of her depression? To prove that she actually is very special indeed…
Published November 2021
Hardback
6+
Early readers
• by two-time Zilveren Griffel winner
Joukje Akveld
• familiar, exciting and hilarious
• for beginning readers
Anything can happen in a book!
Cees is looking forward to reading a book in the garden, together with her cats. The sun is shining, and the porch swing is waiting – Cees is all set! But then the woman next door starts talking to her dog. And her neighbour Matthijs is having a DIY day – with drills and grinders and that sort of thing. And the people across the street are having a barbecue on their balconies.
Earplugs, headphones… nothing stops
the noise. What now? And what’s that crane with the wrecking ball doing outside the house?
A wonderfully absurd story that’s inspired by real life. With an underlying
Published April 2022
Hardback | 14 x 20 cm | 48 pages
message: when reality’s getting you down, anything is possible – in your imagination!
• by successfull author Janneke Schotveld
• a funny adventure story for readers with a little experience
• also suitable for reading aloud
• with lots of colour illustrations
• a sequel to the successful first book about Badcat
A funny adventure story about the tough alley cat with the heart of gold
Badcat doesn’t have an owner. He would rather be happy and free. Luckily, he has good friends, like Mohammed the seagull. But on Badcat’s birthday, his best friend is nowhere to be found. And where are beautiful Mimi and homeless Sadet? Then, to make matters worse, it starts pouring down!
Poor, poor Badcat. Dripping wet, he walks through the town.
But what he doesn’t know is that his
friends are looking for him, too! Why isn’t the birthday boy in his Castle? How is the party supposed to start without him?
‘A funny book about the eventful life of a street cat. A top title from the Tijgerlezen series.’ – Trouw
‘A warm, exciting and resonant story.’ – hebban.nl
Published January 2022
Hardback | 14 x 20 cm | 64 pages
Luciënne van der Leije, rights manager, l.van.der.leije@singeluitgeverijen.nl Weteringschans 259, 1017 XJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
9 years and up Children’s book
A happy and exciting story full of colourful characters
Aisha seems like an ordinary girl, but she’s actually very special indeed. Because she can talk to all the animals. Powerful djinns have granted her this gift, so that she can restore peace between humans and animals. All the cackling, barking and buzzing that she constantly hears gives her headaches sometimes, but she also makes friends for life: with Rocco Claw the cat and with Ali Sparrow. When a host of
10 years and up Children’s book
Little Fons’s Big Life
• the first children’s book by Fikry El Azzouzi, who won the Ultima Prize last year for his entire oeuvre
• a strong girl in the lead role
• about growing up in a world where we don’t always understand one another
rebellious and dangerous djinns wants to harm Aisha, her brave guardian djinn, Milouda, springs into action.
Published March 2022
Hardback | 13.5 x 21.5 cm | 128 pag.
English sample available
• a funny, exciting and ingenious story about triumph and defeat
• the standalone sequel to Flin of de verloren liefde van een eenhoorn and Prinses Nola en haar waardeloze prins
• Henry Loyd and Laurens Rawie are pseudonyms of Daan Remmerts de Vries
A thrilling tale of triumph and defeat
Even as a little boy, Fons knows for sure that he will perform great deeds. At the castle where he grows up, he learns how to swordfight and how to ride horses, and he studies the life of his great role model: Sir Franz of WinderigBattenburg.
When Fons turns sixteen and heads out into the big wide world, people laugh at him at first. But when he manages to overpower a trio of highwaymen, his glorious triumph begins. Until he meets Tara the witch…
In the end, Fons has to ask himself the question: do heroic deeds make a life truly great? Or is there something else, something he’s always overlooked?
Published January 2022
Hardback | 13.5 x 21.5 cm | 328 pag.
By the 2021 winner of the Theo Thijssen Prize for his oeuvre
‘A compelling adventure full of interesting and quirky ideas.’
– NRC Handelsblad
10 years and up Children’s book
Mirjam Oldenhave
• a beautiful portrait of a girl who’s had enough of having to fit in • by the author of the successful ‘Mees Kees’ series
• with illustrations by Rick de Haas
Weird friends – but so what?
Luca thinks other kids are weird – and other kids think Luca is weird. That means school isn’t much fun for her. But during the lockdown, she feels fantastic – and her studies are suddenly going a lot better too. So Luca makes a decision. From now on, she’s going to stay at home. As a punishment, she has to go to a truancy class during the autumn school holidays. This involves picking up litter in the park together with a sporty guy, a Barbie doll and an arrogant bighead. They don’t talk
11 years and up Non fiction
Joke van Leeuwen
Beginners
to each other – and they certainly don’t want to talk to a weirdo. Luckily, Dylan comes along. Within no time, he transforms the bunch of skivers into a happy Scooter Crew – and even the homeless people in the park join in.
English sample available
And then the week is over and Luca has to return to school. But she doesn’t want to go – never again!
Published April 2022
Hardback | 12.5 x 20 cm | 96 pages
• hopeful, inspiring non-fiction about 24 unforgettable people • fascinatingly told for readers from about 11 to about 110 years old • with colour illustrations
From Frida Kahlo to Anton de Kom, and from Sojourner Truth to Janusz Korczak, this book is about the early years of twenty-four remarkable figures from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They are from all over the world and all of them became famous, maybe as a film star, as a footballer or as a champion of freedom and equality.
They often experienced dramatic events in their younger years: from war and slavery to being imprisoned
in their own homes. But there are lots of more familiar points of reference, too: poverty, wealth, divorced parents, doubt, love, rebellion, sickness, loss, strength and courage.
By describing their youth, Joke van Leeuwen paints a picture of the countries and the times they grew up
in, demonstrating how these special individuals became who they were.
English sample available German rights under option
Published February 2022
Hardback | 15 x 19 cm | 248 pages
Luciënne van der Leije, rights manager, l.van.der.leije@singeluitgeverijen.nl Weteringschans 259, 1017 XJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.querido.nl
15 years and up Young adult
As a young boy, Fredo Santoro emigrates from Italy to England after the First World War. He grows up in a warm Italian community of hairdressers and ice-cream sellers, until the Second World War breaks out and. Italians in England are suddenly viewed with suspicion. Fredo hides and escapes deportation, but his father does not. Fredo feels lost after his father’s death and wanders from the English countryside to the impoverished south
15 years and up Young adult
Flying
Almost 20,000 copies sold
• the long-awaited new book by the author of Allemaal willen we de hemel
• timeless theme of migration and coming home • about the unique connection between parents and children
of Italy. There he hesitantly finds true love and looks after a boy whose parents leave to work in the mines in Belgium. A story about growing up and all that it entails: missing someone, searching, finding a home.
Published March 2022
Paperback | 13.5 x 21.5 cm | 256 pag.
‘A magnificent book with no age limits.’ – De Standaard
‘Monumental coming-of-age novel’ – Jury report, Nienke van Hichtum Prize 2009
‘A classic drama of love and loyalty, which Shakespeare would not have been ashamed of.’ – de Volkskrant
English sample available
• a gripping debut • with a great pace and sharp dialogue • about the temptations of the street – and of love • a book that boys will enjoy, too
Going for a joyride in your parents’ car and wrecking it. Getting a job that doesn’t pay. Making promises to a local criminal, ones that you can’t keep. Umut does all of the above. In the first two weeks of the summer holidays, he manages to get himself into big trouble. He can’t see any way out. And then he goes and falls in love for the first time –with the mysterious Linda, who hasn’t spoken a word in months but who seems to understand exactly what’s going on
inside Umut. And it’s because of her that Umut comes up with a spectacular idea to solve all his problems at once…
‘Paulien Weikamp has written an awesome love story. Rugged and subtle at the same time.’ – Enne Koens
Published February 2022
Paperback | 13.5 x 21.5 cm | 280 pag.
English sample available
Peter van den Ende’s debut The wanderer is longlisted for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal 2022. A British panel of children’s librarians select outstanding books in terms of illustration for children and young people. It’s a very prestigious award with former winners like Jon Klassen and Shaun Tan.
In November 2021 Van den Ende won the Catalan Premis Junceda 2021, the award for the best illustrated book, ‘because of the graphical and narrative qualities’. He was nominated for the Belgian award Prix Sorcières 2021 and for the American Golden Kite Award 2021. In 2020 The wanderer won the American Dilys Evans Founder’s Award which recognizes promising upcoming talent.
Nominated for the Boon Youth Award German rights sold to Carlsen Verlag
30.000 copies sold Published in German and English French rights sold
Contact details for Flanders Literature: Flanders Literature, Generaal van Merlenstraat 30, 2600 Antwerp, Belgium Lien Devos, lien@flandersliterature.be and Elise Vanoosthuyse, elise@flandersliterature.be
Contact details for the Dutch Foundation for Literature: Dutch Foundation for Literature, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 89,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
a.vogt@letterenfonds.nl,
