In my last blog I promised to tell more about Annie M.G. Schmidt and her writings for the children that outgrew Jip and Janneke. She wrote a lot of books in her life, but let me pick out three of the most famous ones that everyone interested in Dutch culture should know.

Abeltje

The first time Abeltje was published was in 1953 and it was one of her first children books. The story is about a kid who works as a bellboy at the elevators in a warehouse. He is not allowed to press the green button, but the temptation wins and he does it anyway. Together with the other people in the elevator Abeltje flies out of the rooftop and adventures await.

This book was a great success and since 1998 it has been translated and published in Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden. It was also translated into Hebrew. In 1995 the sequel, “De A van Abeltje” was published.

And of course a movie couldn’t be left out. In 1998 “Abeltje” entertained the audience of the cinemas. In 2000 the movie was edited for television, and with some modern adjustments was aired in seven parts by the public network AVRO.

Pluk van de Petteflet

This book appeared in 1971 and had the same illustrator as Jip and Janneke: Fiep van Westerdorp. The story is about a kid called Pluk, whom owns a small red tow truck and gets into adventures with Aagje and De Stampertjes.

Pluk van de Petteflet turned into a radio play in 1992, a musical in 2003-2004 (and won the ANWB Public Price) and of course into a movie in 2004 with famous Dutch actors to play the parts.

But Pluk was not done. He appeared again in 2004 in a brand new story with a brand new adventure, called “Pluk redt de dieren” (Pluk saves the animals). And everyone who wanted to be this brave boy got lucky in 2009, when Pluk van de Petteflet was released as a videogame for the Nintendo DS.

Minoes

Now this is my favorite! Annie M.G. Schmidt wrote this book in 1970 and it received a Zilveren Griffel (the Golden Griffel is the award for the best children’s literature) in 1971.

The story is about a cat called Minoes, who turns into a young lady. Although her appearance changed completely, she is still a cat on the inside. This means that purring and scratching are still a part of her daily routine. When she meets the almost sacked journalist Tibbe, she helps him get news for his newspaper. But things never go flawlessly, so some problems get in their way too.

Of course the book was made into a movie in 2001 and also became a great success.

I guess most of you are adults, so in my next blog I will tell you what Annie M.G. Schmidt did for you. Stay tuned!

If you found this blog interesting, check out my other blogs on Annie M. G. Schmidt:

Who is Annie M.G. Schmidt

Annie M. G. Schmidt – Jip en Janneke

Feel free to tell us all about your favorite Annie M.G. Schmidt book in the comments section below!  What was the first one of these books you read?