…

Age 13+

trans­lated into
  • Cover 'The Book of Space Travel'
    Cover 'The Book of Space Travel'
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    The Book of Space Travel
    Van Der Veken’s line is so sharp that his world is beautifully streamlined.
    THE NEW YORKER ON ‘FABRICA GRAFICA’

    Jan Van Der Veken plunges with panache into the history and technological developments of space flight. With his fantastic retro-futurist drawings he proves himself an extraordinary illustrator with a style all his own. This nonfiction title for astronauts-to-be is once again an impressive achievement of graphic design.

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  • Cover 'The Hard Way'
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    The Hard Way
    Fiendishly beautiful. ****
    De Volkskrant on ‘Devil’s Herb’

    Mira adopts a rescue dog called Turbo, a hopeless case. She recognizes herself in the dog’s trauma and fears, and decides to look more deeply into Turbo’s old life: she sets out in search of the hunter who brought him up the hard way. A powerful novel in Marita de Sterck’s unmistakable style.

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  • Cover 'From Looking Came Seeing'
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    From Looking Came Seeing
    A collaboration between two gifted artists which resulted in a magnificent picture book.
    TZUM

    Right from the very first sentence, ‘From Looking Came Seeing’ submerges the reader in the sense of loss felt by a woman whose husband has gone from her life for ever. Godon, with characteristic brilliance, portrays the loneliness, emptiness or aimlessness that his departure brings with it. In a soft, carefully considered palette, she closes down and opens out the woman’s world.  Without doubt both a homage and an invitation to the human gaze.

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  • Cover 'Daughter of Doom'
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    Daughter of Doom
    A compelling historical adventure full of exciting, filmic scenes. Van Rijckeghem proves yet again that he’s one of the best writers in the genre.
    Trouw

    Denmark, 870 AD. Yrsa is a tough Viking girl with a club foot who won’t let herself be pushed around. She is tasked with looking after a Christian hostage, but the two girls and everything they believe in couldn’t be more different. ‘Daughter of Doom’ is a cinematic adventure novel in which two women hold their own at a time when this was anything but a given. A remarkable book about fate, faith and free will, in vivid language.

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  • Cover 'Morris'
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    Morris
    A literary masterpiece. ‘Morris’ is Moeyaert at his best.
    De Standaard

    Morris climbs a mountain to fetch his grandmother's dog safely home for the hundredth time when a snowstorm catches them by surprise. Moeyaert depicts Morris, with masterly precision, as a loner who carries sadness within him and at the same time – almost to his own surprise – doesn’t let anyone mess him about. Sebastiaan Van Doninck's illustrations bring warmth and colour into the snow-white cold of the story.

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    For as Long as People Have Existed
    Sassafras De Bruyn’s illustrations turn the book into a real gem.
    Pluizuit on ‘The Book of Life’

    People have always told each other stories – about gods, humans, minor quarrels or powerful magicians. In 'For as Long as People Have Existed' Sassafras De Bruyn has chosen thirty stories from all over the world, each of which has a metamorphosis at its heart. Her drawings, printed in tints of deep blue, create an extraordinary and surreal atmosphere that fits the book perfectly.

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  • Cover - The Rest of Our Lives
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    The Rest of Our Lives
    Splendid true-to-life characters. Beerten’s sentences are measured and expressive, her dialogues informal, sometimes suggestive.
    Het Parool

    After the First World War, little Fredo migrates with his father to Liverpool, where he lives an unassuming but pleasant life. When the Second World War breaks out, every Italian in Britain is suddenly suspect. Fredo goes into hiding in the countryside with a woman with whom he finds solace, but when the war ends he’s asked to leave. In despair he travels back to his native Italy. Els Beerten’s sharply delineated characters and the profound psychological insights that we detect between the lines add up to a magnificent epic about migration, parent-child relationships and homecoming.

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  • Cover 'The Whale Library'
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    The Whale Library
    A tale of exceptional beauty. Moving, tender, thoughtful and unique
    Ligne Claire

    A postman at sea befriends an enormous, ancient whale which carries an entire library inside her belly. When two extremely talented professionals join forces, the result is bound to be impressive. Zidrou’s poetic and playful fable about the importance of inspiring stories is lifted to an even higher level by Judith Vanistendael, whose gorgeous paintings depict the characters and their surroundings with great love and tenderness. 

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  • Cover 'Miracle'
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    Miracle
    One of her best books
    JaapLeest

    Ruben’s grandfather Emiel is eighty-five and becoming more and more forgetful. Clearing out is dead wife's things triggers quite a few half-memories in him. Marita de Sterck tells a story of memory and love, and the pain caused, and eased, by both. 

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  • Cover of Nothing
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    Nothing
    Playful as well as provocative and profound
    De Morgen

    A dog asks a cat to tell it something, anything at all. But the cat can’t think of a single thing. Then the dog flips things around and challenges the cat to think of nothing. It blows a fuse in the cat’s head: there’s always something. Something or nothing, that’s the question in this fun and philosophical picture book.

     

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  • Cover of 'The Girl's Heart'
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    The Girl's Heart
    You really do want to keep on looking at his illustrations
    MappaLibri

    A girl searches in vain for her father. When she spots him in the distance and walks over to him, he disappears, and then appears to be waiting for her again. But as soon as she gets closer: nothing, nobody. This mysterious book with powerful monotypes addresses a topical issue: children in search of their roots and family bonds. 

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  • Cover - Ships & Boats
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    Ships & Boats
    Van Der Veken's line is so sharp that his world is beautifully streamlined.
    THE NEW YORKER ON ‘FABRICA GRAFICA’

    In ‘Ships & Boats’ we dive into the wonderful world of ships and shipping. The book includes a quirky selection from the technical aspects of ships, and is peppered with extraordinary facts and anecdotes. The playful illustrations in 'ligne claire' style and the extensive technical drawings make this book a graphic masterpiece for every captain in the making.

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  • Cover 'Liar Liar'
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    Liar Liar
    Cast-iron dialogues. Charlie’s anger is authentic and breath-taking
    JaapLeest

    Charlies father has left, without any explanation or goodbyes. She is furious. Not so much with her father as with her mother, who must surely have driven him away. When she discovers her father’s real situation, Charlie turns her anger on him. Everyone’s lying, Charlie thinks, and she decides to do the same. Charlie is a keen observer with a black sense of humour, and ‘Liar Liar’ is a razor-sharp portrait of a girl who knows she is being overlooked.

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  • Cover - Espionage
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    Espionage
    A masterful first book ****
    Cutting Edge about 'Aldo' by Yannick Pelegrin

    This nonfiction book plunges us into the intriguing world of secret agents around the globe. From an overview of famous spies and fancy gadgets to tips to kickstart your own career as a spy. The imaginative and atmospheric illustrations complement the text and make 'Espionage' a gorgeous book for readers of all ages.

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  • Cover How Green does a Guitar Sound?
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    How Green does a Guitar Sound?
    Bergé manages to touch upon a surprising number of topics, and always in a playful manner.
    Het Parool

    The hundred short chapters tell you all there is to know about classical music – about musical genres, famous composers and exceptional pieces of music, some more famous than others. Each chapter consists of a history section and listening tips, all in support of the main aim: to encourage the reader to go and listen to all this beautiful music.

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  • Cover All Things Light
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    All Things Light
    Nelen has a very measured writing style, which is seemingly simple but very moving. A marvellous book
    MappaLibri

    Brothers Luca and Berio are inseparable. Their trapeze act is one of the highlights of the travelling circus they belong to. At the top of the tent trust between them is literally of vital importance. ‘All Things Light’ is a tender story set against a very dark backdrop, with Mussolini and his Blackshirts in power. The threat that has permeated every part of Italian life now also seeps into the circus on the fringes of society. A filmic and poetic book.

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  • Cover The Sea-of-Firefly
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    The Sea-of-Firefly
    Beautifully illustrated animal stories
    De Standaard

    The master of animal illustrations and the king of animal stories come together in this inimitable book. In seventeen stories we meet animals who would like to be different, until they realize how special they already are. Both visually and in its storytelling, this is a delightful book.

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  • Cover Planes
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    Planes
    The illustrations, with a retro-futuristic streak, give the book a stylish aura.
    Pluizer

    'Planes’ is a remarkable reference work for pilots-to-be. It answers all kinds of questions about flying, the components of a plane, the influence of the weather and the atmosphere and about communication in an ever more crowded airspace. The unique illustrations in the so-called atomic style contribute to the book’s industrial look. Van Der Veken produces clever, highly stylised illustrations that are not only technically correct but also atmospheric and poetic.

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  • Cover 'Ironhead'
    Triple prize winner
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    Triple prize winner
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    Ironhead
    His language roars, rumbles and crackles. Only a born storyteller can write like this.
    NRC Handelsblad

    In the figure of the wonderfully defiant Stans, Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem creates an unforgettable character, and subtly brings topical issues such as gender and identity into an extremely convincing historical setting. Ghent, Paris, Vienna and the battlefields near the Danube come to life in his sensuous language, so much so that the reader can smell the blood, taste the beer and feel the cannons in his belly.

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  • Cover The Towers of Beirut Paul Verrept
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    The Towers of Beirut
    Verrept needs just a few words to evoke the drama of far-reaching events.
    MappaLibri

    Fifteen-year-old Nabila has had enough of the monotonous life in her village. Egged on by the spirit in her head – her djinn – she travels to Beirut as a stowaway in her uncle’s taxi. Verrept sketches the hopelessness of life on the street in a city torn by both war and the widening gap between rich and poor. The greyish images with powerful charcoal lines and sombre colouring accentuate the dark threats to the city.

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  • Cover 'Everyone's Sorry Nowadays'
    ALMA winner!
    Cover 'Everyone's Sorry Nowadays'
    ALMA winner!
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    Everyone's Sorry Nowadays
    A master of suspense and of the subtle untangling of painful situations *****
    De Standaard

    Her mother thinks Bianca is a girl that requires special treatment. Her father thinks she is unmanageable. And Bianca herself? She doesn’t say a word. Until one hot afternoon in August, Billie King, her favourite actress, is sitting in the living room, sipping a cup of tea. With Billie King around, Bianca is brave enough to take a decision. Moeyaert creates an oppressive atmosphere, in which smouldering tensions can erupt any moment.

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  • Cover 'Everything Will Be Fine, Forever'
    Woutertje Pieterse Prize
    Cover 'Everything Will Be Fine, Forever'
    Woutertje Pieterse Prize
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    Everything Will Be Fine, Forever
    Vereecken captures the harsh reality in poetic sentences. An extraordinarily strong novel ****
    Cutting Edge

    Summer 1914. Through the eyes of eleven-year-old Alice we see the increasing alarm among the grownups: war is said to be imminent. Alice’s naivety makes way for a brutal confrontation with reality, but ‘Everything Will Be Fine, Forever’ is first and foremost a celebration of life and hope.

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  • Cover 'Devil's Herb'
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    Devil's Herb
    Fiendishly beautiful ****
    de Volkskrant

    Shepherd Yara has only known her grandmother, herbalist Tanne, for a few years. Slowly but surely Yara learns why Tanne’s parents, husband and even her own daughter have turned their backs on her. Meanwhile, Tanne is growing increasingly convinced that the devil is coming for her. A fascinating book that reveals the truth bit by bit and draws the reader into a world of magic.

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  • Cover 'How It Happened'
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    How It Happened
    An unusually atmospheric and touching book about jealousy, friendship and betrayal
    Trouw

    Eleven-year old Bent wants to break things and punch the new boy in the face. But behind all his anger lies fear and sadness. Jumping back and forth in time Herman van de Wijdeven peels away layer upon layer of the story, until we know what happened exactly on that fateful afternoon two days ago. Van de Wijdeven sketches a beautiful portrait of a friendship between boys that is being pushed off course.

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  • Cover - Laure Van den Broeck - Dancing in Deep Water
    Cover - Laure Van den Broeck - Dancing in Deep Water
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    Dancing in Deep Water
    An extremely successful experiment with astute metaphor
    Mappalibri

    According to William Golding, if ‘Lord of the Flies’ were written with girls as the leading characters, they would never lower themselves to barbarism. Van den Broeck demonstrates in this powerful homage to Golding’s classic that this isn’t necessarily true.

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  • Cover Wish You Were Here
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    Wish You Were Here
    An unbelievably beautiful book. A unique, authentic voice in Flemish literature.
    Mappalibri

    With a great sense of humour and a lightness of touch Evelien De Vlieger paints the portrait of a girl on the cusp of life, who thinks she wants to forget. ‘Wish You Were Here’ is about facing yourself, about letting go, and about daring to admit that you can’t. A bitter-sweet book full of lust for life.

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  • Cover 321 Super-smart Things You Have To Know Before You Turn 13
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    321 Seriously Smart Things You Need To Know
    A fantastically-designed book with surprising, funny facts and wonderful illustrations
    Kinderboekwinkel Kakelbont

    Did you know that a giraffe can lick the inside of its ears? That we have been brushing our teeth for thousands of years? That you can weigh your head by putting it in a bucket of water? Or that astronauts pee into a vacuum cleaner?

    ‘321 Super-smart Things You Have To Know’ is a fine pillow book for younger and older Einsteins.

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  • Cover Het wonderlijke insectenboek
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    The Amazing Book of Insects
    Playful and accessible
    Eindhovens Dagblad

    Discover why the glow-worm glows, how the bombardier beetle got its name and in what way a caterpillar can disguise itself. An exceptional ode to the ultimate boss on earth, who will mesmerize young and old.

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  • Cover Grimly Good
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    Grimly Good
    Deeply human and timeless
    Michael De Cock

    Following the adaptation and sanitisation of fairy stories by the Brothers Grimm, Disney and others, writers are increasingly restoring these tales to their original, complex and sometimes dark and creepy forms. Marita de Sterck is the unbeatable master.

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  • Cover Sometimes I'm an Explorer
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    Sometimes I’m an Explorer
    Beautiful. For children of all ages
    Culture Club

    In unconnected short texts, Ruth Mellaerts draws the reader into familiar situations, memories, thoughts and feelings. The interaction between words and illustrations lifts the book to a higher level and creates calm and beauty as well as words to ruminate on.

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  • Cover - I must
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    I Must
    In all respects a rarity. A gem
    NBD Biblion

    ‘I Must’ is a collection of powerful portraits and philosophical texts full of compassion, vulnerable and confrontational at the same time. It exposes a merciless and terrible human tangle of obligations and expectations. Godon and Tellegen inspire thoughts, give a name to feeling and trigger involvement.

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  • Cover The Very Tired Man
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    The Very Tired Man and the Woman who Passionately Loved Bonsai
    Pure beauty
    De Wereld Draait Door

    A woman reads a wanted ad in the newspaper one day: “man seeks woman to die for”. When she rings the number, she hears someone sigh. She’s never heard such a beautiful sigh before.
    In this picture book for adults, Kaatje Vermeire’s pictures and Peter Verhelst’s words each tell a story of their own. The reader combines the two, creating an artwork on every page.

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  • Cover De val van de goden
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    The Fall of the Gods
    Stunning imagery
    Cutting Edge

    Michael De Cock’s retellings of Greek myths leave room for the imagination and reconstruct these ancient stories in a contemporary and accessible way. A collection of beautifully illustrated and timeless adaptations of classical tales.

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  • Cover - Dirty Skin
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    Dirty Skin
    Rough-and-tumble versions you have never heard before
    De Morgen

    In ’Dirty Skin’ anthropologist Marita de Sterck has collected forty Flemish folktales, uncensored and as close as possible to the oral tradition. Sometimes farcical and often grotesque, they are jam-packed with violence, lust, jealousy and the black arts.

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  • Cover- The Boy, the Hornbill, the Elephant, the Tiger and the Girl
    Cover- The Boy, the Hornbill, the Elephant, the Tiger and the Girl
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    The Boy, the Hornbill, the Elephant, the Tiger and the Girl
    So beautiful that you often want to read passages twice.
    Friesch Dagblad

    A boy is taken to a secret valley by the men of his village, where he is to be initiated into everything a man needs to know. Fear, courage, loss and death are the themes that emerge from Peter Verhelst’s poetic words. Carll Cneut complements the story with pictures that show the beauty of nature and the insignificance of humans.

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  • Cover Babel
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    Babel
    An ambitious young adult novel about the things that divide us: money and religion
    Trouw

    Babel is an exciting, profound novel, in which Jan De Leeuw again shows that his great strength lies in creating complex, thoroughly credible characters. In this flawlessly constructed story the puzzle is slowly laid out and no one turns out to be what they seem. Apparently effortlessly De Leeuw embeds the human struggle of his characters in a web of religion and superstition, Biblical and jihadi themes.

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  • Cover Hertz
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    Hertz
    A layered book about a voyage of discovery
    Jaap Friso

    Norway, a sleepy fishing village at the beginning of the 20th century. Finn tries to contact his father, out at sea. Against the background of a village that is being forced into modernisation and the inhumanity that sometimes accompanies it, a story of sadness and indefinable longing unfolds, which also smoothly incorporates gripping scenes.

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  • Cover Heaven
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    Heaven
    A literary gem
    Cutting Edge

    In this gem of a story, Bart Moeyaert writes with surprising lightness about loneliness and dying. Gerda Dendooven’s robust green-and-black drawings capture the tenderness of death and the strangeness of this imminent demise.

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  • Cover Crossing the Line
    White Raven 2017
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    White Raven 2017
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    Crossing the Line
    Aline Sax shows how the damage inflicted by the wall carries on beyond its physical destruction.
    MappaLibri

    Three generations of Berliners, one wall. In ‘Crossing the Line’, Aline Sax has written an epic tale of life with the Berlin Wall. This tense sketch of a family’s struggle for survival presents daily life in Berlin in a fascinating and convincing light. The threat of the Stasi gradually permeates, and the feeling that no one can be trusted continues to reverberate throughout.

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  • Cover The Bench
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    The Bench
    Pure emotion
    De Standaard

    ‘The Bench’ is the moving story of a man overwhelmed by loneliness and anxiety. The poetic text and the atmospheric illustrations exude heartfelt melancholy and mournful solitude. Godon makes pain, desperation and yearning tangible.

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  • Cover - dusk
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    Dusk
    A vivid depiction of what war does to ‘ordinary people’
    Tzum

    Mona is sixteen in 1935 when she learns the tricks of the trade as a serveuse: she is expected to use her feminine charms to coax men out of their money and water down their drinks. In the chaos of wartime, she makes a stubborn decision that will turn her friends’ lives upside down. But can she mess with people’s lives the way she messes with their drinks?

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  • Cover I think
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    I Think
    A gem to treasure
    Boekenpauw jury

    ‘I Think’ takes a close look at thinking from different perspectives. Ingrid Godon does this through a mixture of sketches and stylised, timeless portraits of young and old people, using a soft red to highlight details, while author Toon Tellegen works with gently philosophical reflections.

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  • Cover Don't Go to Canada
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    Don't Go to Canada
    De Vlieger has explored and expanded her horizons with verve.
    Jürgen Peeters

    Klaar finds an old notebook in her grandfather’s handwriting and starts reading about his adventures in Canada, in 1929. She discovers that her grandfather was on the run for something and why he came back. 'Don’t Go to Canada' is an ingeniously-constructed coming-of-age novel.

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  • Cover One is Enough
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    One is Enough
    A proper young adult book has no age limits and can be enjoyed by everybody. 'One is Enough' is just such a book.
    De Standaard

    Juliette is growing up in a musical family, but life is no picnic; after the death of her father, her mother proves demanding to live with. The latent tragedy develops inexorably. Els Beerten uses deep psychological insight to bring the affairs of Juliette and her family to life.

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  • Cover The Goose and His Brother
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    The Goose and His Brother
    Nothing but superlatives. The master’s hand can once again be recognised.
    Cutting Edge

    While the other animals take life as it comes, the goose and his brother ask themselves questions that are sometimes bigger than themselves. Bart Moeyaert finds the perfect balance between gentle humour and taking their concerns seriously. This lends the stories a timeless and universal character, poetically worded by Moeyaert in his distinctive economical style.

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  • COver De engel Yannick
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    The Angel Yannick
    Cinematic and disconcerting
    Critic Jaap Friso

    When Yannick Agnel, an Olympic champion, wants to train him, Alex can hardly believe his luck. He gives it his all, and his parents, who don’t see his talent, increasingly become an obstacle to his ambitions. Do Van Ranst sketches another dysfunctional family, and does so with panache.

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  • Cover Someone's Sweetheart
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    Someone's Sweetheart
    Beautiful adaptation of Stravinsky’s 'The Soldier’s Tale'
    De Morgen

    ‘Someone’s Sweetheart’ is a fairytale in verse form, about a Russian soldier who is given two weeks annual leave from the battlefield in World War I. In the penetrating, moving text, Moeyaert continually plays with foreboding omens. The sinister atmosphere is enhanced by Korneel Detailleur’s impressive grey illustrations.

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  • Cover The Girl and the Soldier
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    The Girl and the Soldier
    A book to read again and again
    Friesch Dagblad

    A small village behind the front, during World War I. While soldiers struggle to fight, life behind the front goes on. At the inn, where soldiers come to catch their breath, lives a blind girl. One day, she finds someone sitting on her bench: a black soldier, with the ‘scent of roasted nuts’.

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  • Cover Still Bread to Eat
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    Still Bread to Eat
    An extremely strong book, a wartime childhood that can be taken as a reference
    Edward van de Vendel

    Flanders, 1914. The war is approaching audibly. Young Nelle volunteers as a nurse in a hospital, seeing this war as a chance to become more than just a baker’s daughter, a mother and wife. Her boyfriend Simon doesn’t want to go to war, but he is pushed by his father, who is fascinated by heroism and the art of warfare, and he ends up in the trenches with his best friend Kamiel.

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  • Cover Silk Man
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    Silk Man
    A book for sensitive readers, young or otherwise, who enjoy taking time for nuances
    Cobra

    Paris, just before the French Revolution. Camille and Louis’ father is a silk merchant, which entails regular journeys to China. Until one day he does not return. Kathleen Vereecken sketches a beautiful and subtle story about loss and how to cope with it against the background of a city where tensions are rising.

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  • Cover Birdie
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    Birdie
    Her rich vocabulary and thoughtful wording leave a lasting impression.
    Trouw

    ‘Birdie’ is a gripping story about growing up and loneliness. Written from the perspective of adults as well as teenagers, this crossover novel will appeal to both demographics. Van den Broeck creates incredibly believable characters with elaborate characterisation and fluid streams of thought.

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  • Cover Beast in bed
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    Beast in Bed
    Marita de Sterck gives fairy tales back their primal power.
    De Morgen

    In ‘Beast in Bed’, tales like Rapunzel and Snow White are restored to their former glory, giving them back their emotional and literary force and their fierce energy. A must-read for anyone who loves pure folk tales.

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  • Cover Fifteen Wild Summers
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    Fifteen Wild Summers
    Poetic, vivid and full of harmonious images
    Die Zeit

    Thomas is dead, but three people can still see him: his inconsolable mother, his beloved Orphee and his dying grandfather. De Leeuw writes highly sensitive, keen prose with poignant images, and is painfully honest in showing that damaged, lonely people can be unreasonable and unkind, and that love can be an immense burden.

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  • Cover Cellar Child
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    Cellar Child
    An epic story about life and identity that is hard to put down
    De Morgen

    Kaspar Hauser has intrigued historians, writers and artists for centuries. Kristien Dieltiens has constructed a masterful novel around his life. 'Cellar Child' begins with an impressive scene that grips the reader and refuses to let go until the breathtaking finale 480 pages later.

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  • Photo Marian De Smet
    Photo Marian De Smet
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    Road to Nowhere
    A gripping and authentic tale of love, friendship, grief and loss
    NBD Biblion

    Eppo is taking a trip. Hitchhiking to France he is picked up by Tabby, who has her own reasons for leaving home. Tabby talks nineteen to the dozen; Eppo is an introvert. Through his eyes we join them on their journey, which has more to do with what lies behind them than with where they are going.

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  • Cover - I wish
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    I Wish
    Unusually beautiful and profound
    De Leeswelp

    'I wish' presents the reader with 33 portraits that take you back to a bygone age. Toon Tellegen wrote accompanying fragments of thoughts, little reflections with a philosophical character. 'I wish’ is a unique and personal document on ‘la condition humaine’, which reveals great sensibility. 

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    Over Sea
    Passion, brotherhood and betrayal make this book roar like the sea.
    NRC Handelsblad

    Nelen depicts wonderful and believable characters with her strong sense of atmosphere and observation. In her poetic style, which leaves a lot unsaid, she evokes a dreamlike, misty atmosphere, filled with vague longing, masterfully succeeding in creating an exciting story set against a fascinating historical background.

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  • Cover The Milky Way
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    The Milky Way
    An intimate story, written with wonderful tautness
    De Morgen

    ‘The Milky Way’ is an intimate story about growing pains, absence and transience. It is also about the thin line between fiction and reality, and inventing stories as a barrier against things that are too big and too scary. About wanting to stay small, but having to grow up.

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  • Cover Paradise
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    Paradise
    A literary and richly layered picture book.
    Het belang van Limburg

    Adam believes it’s his job to keep everything in the Garden of Eden, where he lives with Eve, in good order – to curb nature, that is. Eve is beginning to sigh more and she’s taking less pleasure in life. Keen to do something about it, Adam yields to Eve’s fatigue and stops his maintenance work. From then on, everything is allowed to grow rampant.

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  • Cover Gallows Maid
    Cover Gallows Maid
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    Gallows Maid
    A real page-turner with innumerable surprising and thrilling twists
    De Standaard

    Nita Nomansdaughter is a late 16th century cutpurse. At the age of thirteen, she is sold to a travelling apothecary who swindles market-goers. Nita becomes proficient at her trade, until one day she is caught and sentenced to the gallows.

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  • Cover Frozen Rooms
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    Frozen Rooms
    Grief, caring, love, despair – the whole panorama impresses with its light tone.
    Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis jury

    As fifteen-year-old Jonas is eradicating all traces of his mother’s restless night, he discovers that she has committed suicide. He barely reacts at all, deciding to concentrate on the events of the day. With great verve, Jan De Leeuw succeeds in creating a sense of alienation, a concept that lies at the root of this cross-over novel. He pairs metafiction with seriousness and slapstick with sadness, all with flair.

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  • Cover I Think It Was Love
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    I Think It Was Love
    An extraordinary novel, told in words and sentences of the finest crystal
    De Standaard

    In the enlightened 18th century, Leon is abandoned and taken in by an uncaring foster mother. Méline, the daughter of the family, takes pity on the tough little boy and makes his hard life bearable. When she commits suicide, Leon knows there is only one thing he can do: live.

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  • Cover Papinette
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    Papinette
    A richly documented novel written in a sensual style
    De Standaard

    Papinette, a curious servant girl in sixteenth-century Antwerp, has no father but many mothers, because all the other servants boss her around. Kristien Dieltiens interweaves the moving, yet disturbing story of Papinette with the history of Antwerp and the rich artistic tradition that has developed in this Flemish city.

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  • Cover The Dog Eaters
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    The Dog Eaters
    A stunning young adult novel
    NRC Handelsblad

    'The Dog Eaters' describes the plight of ordinary citizens during WWI, as seen through the eyes of Victor, the epileptic 17-year-old son of a notary. With its mythical atmosphere and almost unbearable tension, this is an unforgettable novel for readers of all ages.

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  • Cover We All Want Heaven
    25,000 copies sold
    Cover We All Want Heaven
    25,000 copies sold
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    We All Want Heaven
    Majestic. A book like this is written once a decade at most.
    Dagblad van het Noorden

    1943. In rich and vivid language, Els Beerten maps out the hopes, dreams and desires of four friends, deftly capturing the blurring of the boundaries between good and evil, black and white. A moving and subtle portrayal of the darkest pages of our history. All of the characters follow their instincts and act in good faith. But what happens when the course you have chosen turns out to be the wrong one?

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  • Cover With a Sword in My Hand
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    With a Sword in My Hand
    Masterful
    Die Zeit

    The young aristocrat beautifully and convincingly portrayed in this book is Marguerite van Male, a girl of flesh and blood, a wayward, boyish, wild and eccentric child, constantly at odds with her authoritarian father. She cannot be forced to do anything and refuses to be corseted – literally and figuratively – by anyone.

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  • Cover red snow
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    Red Snow
    A powerfully written, enthralling epic
    De Leeswelp

    Hallgerd is born in the frozen North, a land of wolves and snow – and of kings who vie for power. One night, she loses everything she holds dear. After that night Hallgerd has only one thing on her mind: revenge. A brutal and gripping story of revenge, lust and love in the time of the Vikings.

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  • Cover - We two Boys
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    We Two Boys
    Masterful. Brilliantly evokes an important historical period
    De Leeswelp

    ‘We Two Boys’ begins in 1910 when the Flemish family De Belder is getting ready for their new future in the promised land, the United States of America. Eventually it is only the young Adrian, however, who makes it all the way to New York. Aline Sax sketches a lively and convincing portrait of New York City.

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  • Cover Dolores!
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    Dolores!
    Elpers’ narrative art is poetic and inventive.
    NRC Handelsblad

    Dolores grows up as a dwarf, in 15th century Biar in Spain. When she is five she realises she is different to other people. But she refuses to reconcile herself to limitations and glosses over her handicap with a generous dose of humour.

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  • Cover A Creepy Girl
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    A Creepy Girl
    A rich and beautifully detailed picture book
    Leeswelp

    Louise is nostalgic for the time when she was a real creepy girl. And she longs for Rotboy, with whom she used to do scary things. Now she’s all by herself and life is boring. Louise decides to go to the Shivver Woods, the best place for creepy adventures. There she bumps into Rotboy.

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  • Cover Reynard the Fox
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    Reynard the Fox
    A literary and iconographic masterpiece
    Knack

    In this reworking of a medieval story, the magnificent illustrations by Klaas Verplancke bring Reynard vividly to life. Each iconographic image is a genuine masterpiece, full of quirky details that the reader can explore for hours on end.

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  • Cover Kwaad bloed
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    Bad Blood
    A book about shock and shame, about the power of the imagination and about the longing for forbidden fruit
    De Morgen

    Marita de Sterck beautifully depicts the claustrophobic atmosphere of the strict boarding schools of yesteryear and the shame and secrecy surrounding menstruation and budding sexuality. Rhythmic sentences are bursting with sensual suggestion and thrilling secrets about the body, secrets that must not be spoken.

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  • Cover Lara & Rebecca
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    Lara & Rebecca
    Sensitive language and delicate treatment of emotions
    De Standaard

    A Creole plantation on the Mississippi, in Louisiana. Planter's daughter Lara and slave girl Rebecca grow up together and become bosom friends. Vereecken describes her characters with great subtlety and nuance. But the division between black and white, between slave and master, cruelly and irrevocably tears them apart. A profound and compelling novel.

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  • Cover Nightland
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    Nightland
    Jan De Leeuw's book is unusual and surprising in equal measure.
    Gouden Uil Young Reader's Prize jury

    Fantasy and reality are combined in a mesmerizing fashion. Tension is built up and maintained throughout the book with skill and expertise, the plot remains exciting from the first page to the last, and there are a number of clever surprises built into the narrative. ‘Nightland’ is an exhilarating and layered literary work, which does not reveal all its secrets in a single reading.

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  • Cover The Whole Nine Yards
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    The Whole Nine Yards
    A gripping and plausible book, which excites, moves and compels the reader to think
    De Morgen

    Joppe and his fellow nursing students organise a mass demonstration against the war in Iraq. In the meantime, he tries to win the heart of the intriguing but independent Alya, but his sick great grandfather Tist throws a spanner in the works. De Sterck combines the stories of Tist and Joppe in a particularly tight composition, which results in an emotional attempt at reconciliation between three equally stubborn generations.

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  • Cover This Is Everlasting
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    This Is Everlasting
    Every image has an unspoken meaning that lends tension to the story.
    De Groene Amsterdammer

    In a story imbued with the scent of cheap cigarettes and the sound of accordions and jukeboxes, André Sollie depicts a teenage boy’s overwhelming longing and the sadness of his surroundings. This is a sensitive and touching coming-of-age novel about a boy in search of love, affirmation and support.

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  • Cover My Father Says We Save Lives
    winner DJLP
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    My Father Says That We Save Lives
    Extraordinary and intriguing
    De Morgen

    The nameless fifteen-year-old protagonist lives with her parents 'at the end of the world': on a hairpin bend that ends on an unfinished bridge. Drivers are regularly caught unawares by the bend in the road, and crash into the front of the house, where they are nursed back to health.

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  • Cover Lopen voor je leven
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    Run for Your Life
    A rich, heart-warming and touching story
    De Leeswelp

    Noor is eighteen and is running a marathon. Within the tight framework of the marathon and its slowly passing miles, Els Beerten sends Noor back and forth through time. The more miles she runs, the deeper she descends into herself and the more space she creates for her past. A layered novel that remains with the reader for a long time.

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  • Cover In the Shadow of the Ark
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    In the Shadow of the Ark
    A world that sizzles with activity and teems with life
    De Standaard

    In 'In the Shadow of the Ark' Anne Provoost takes her inspiration from the Biblical account of the Flood. Re Jana and her family leave the rising water levels of the marshes for the desert where it is rumoured that the largest vessel of all time is being built. The writer enthrals with a chronicle of quickly changing events in what is nevertheless a calmly developing story, with vivid scenes that appeal strongly to the imagination.

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  • Cover Brothers
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    Brothers
    Moeyaert proves without doubt that even a happy childhood can be a goldmine for a writer.
    De Volkskrant

    Bart Moeyaert is the youngest of seven brothers. His early years in his native city of Bruges were particularly happy and furnished him with an abundance of material for this much-praised autobiographical collection. In the forty-nine stories, humour, warmth and a sense of solidarity are prominent, but between the lines lies a far richer spectrum of emotions.

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  • Cover It's Love We Don't Understand
    20,000 copies sold
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    20,000 copies sold
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    It's Love We Don't Understand
    I am well past fifteen years old, but I am glad that this book has come my way.
    Het Parool

    Through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old girl, we witness the life of a broken family over the course of three stories. In the first of the three we plunge straight into a fierce family quarrel. All survive intact. But the tone has been set. Bart Moeyaert deals with love in a sensitive and refreshing way, expertly unravelling its complexities while at the same time leaving its mystery intact.

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  • Cover The Rose and the Swine
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    The Rose and the Swine
    A masterpiece of the art of language
    De Standaard

    ‘The Rose and the Swine’ was inspired by ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and is a tribute to the primal force of the fairy tale. Provoost, a celebrated author for all ages, offers her readers works of the highest literary quality.

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  • Cover Bare Hands
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    Bare Hands
    There cannot be many writers as tough and sensitive as Bart Moeyaert.
    NRC Handelsblad

    A master of creating an oppressive atmosphere, Moeyaert succeeds in making his readers sense everything. There’s no air, there’s no escape, just an inevitable chain of events. In haunting and poetic prose, Bart Moeyaert displays his razor-sharp observation of the human psyche and the dangers of prejudice.

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  • Cover Falling
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    Falling
    'Falling' exhibits the traits of a classic tale of destiny.
    Woutertje Pieterse Prize jury

    Lucas is spending the summer with his mother in his grandfather’s house as he does every year. This year, however, everything is different: his grandfather died at Christmas and gradually tongues are beginning to wag about his war years. In a sober style and with atmospheric, detailed descriptions and convincing dialogue, Anne Provoost creates an extraordinarily oppressive feel to her novel.

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