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Sjoerd Kuyper [ Netherlands ]
Sjoerd Kuyper was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1952. In 1974, he abandoned his philosophy studies to become an author. He has since written more than fifty books, primarily for young readers. His books have been translated into more than ten languages and adapted for TV and film. Kuyper has also written screenplays and scripts for stage plays and musicals. In 1993, the film version of his book »Het Zakmes« (1981; tr. The penknife) won an Emmy. In 1999, his »De rode zwaan« (1996; tr. The red swan) was adapted for the screen. In it, a boy named Jakob sets out to find his grandfather’s favorite toy, a red wooden swan, and enters a world in which the stories of his grandfather, who is ill, become reality. In the guise of a fairytale, the book deals with subjects such as growing up, saying goodbye, friendship and death in a sometimes sad but never sentimental way. In »Robins zomer« (1990; tr. Robin’s summer), Kuyper describes the experiences of three-year-old Robin, thus introducing a character who has since been the protagonist of several books; for example, »Robin en Suze« (1993; tr. Robin and Susie) explores the sense of anticipation before the arrival of a new family member, a feeling Robin shares with his parents, but also with the knights Validon and Bommerkraut. In »Robin en God« (1996; tr. Robin and God), Robin finds answers to his questions about God’s existence in conversations with his grandfather, but also in his joy at the Christmas snow and as the director of an impromptu family nativity play. According to the »Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung«, Kuyper’s gentle yet inspiring winter story manages to evoke the language of a small child while »at the same time remaining remarkably poetic«. In 2015, »Robin und Schnuff« (tr. Robin and Schnuff) was published in Germany in the form of a newly illustrated reprint of the Robin books »Robin en Suze«, »Robin en God« and »Robin is verliefd« (tr. Robin in love). The »NRC Handelsblad« newspaper declared Kuyper’s Robin stories among the best ever written for children. The »Süddeutsche Zeitung« celebrated Kuyper for tackling the difficulties of being a teenager with a large dose of humor, rather than with the customary dead seriousness, in his 2014 novel »Hotel De Grote L«, which takes up many of the current themes involved in young people’s literature and serves them up as fast-paced tragicomedies. In 2017, director Ineke Houtman adapted that story into a family film. Most recently, Kuyper published »Lang leve Robin!« (2016; tr. Long live Robin!) in Dutch.
Kuyper also writes poems for grown-ups, such as his most recent work »Mooi leven« (2016; tr. Beautiful life) which was illustrated by his wife, Margje Kuyper. Among the most prestigious awards Kuyper has received for his work are the Gouden Griffel (2006) and the TheoThijssenprijs (2012). He lives in Bergen, the Netherlands.
Bibliography
Erst wirst du verrückt und dann ein Schmetterling
Gabriel
Stuttgart, 2015
[Ü: Eva Schweikart]
Robin und Schnuff
Geschichten zum Vorlesen
[Ill: Marije Tolman]
Gabriel
Stuttgart, 2015
[Ü: Eva Schweikart]
Lang leve Robin!
[Ill: Marije Tolman]
Lemniscaat
Rotterdam, 2016
Erst wirst du verrückt und dann ein Schmetterling
Gabriel
Stuttgart, 2015
[Ü: Eva Schweikart]
Robin und Schnuff
Geschichten zum Vorlesen
[Ill: Marije Tolman]
Gabriel
Stuttgart, 2015
[Ü: Eva Schweikart]
Lang leve Robin!
[Ill: Marije Tolman]
Lemniscaat
Rotterdam, 2016