Children’s and youth literature

The winner of the prestigious De Boon literature prize for Children’s and Youth Literature 2025 is said by the jury to “offer a poignant impression of Berlin in the twilight of the Second World War, seen from the perspective of the defeated. This is a novel that does not shy away from brutality, yet resilience and an authentic voice take centre stage.”

Aline Sax’ verse novel arrestingly describes the horrors of war through the eyes of a German girl in short, measured, rhythmical sentences that slow the reader down and increase the impact. In filmic images, a reality unfolds that stresses the moral ambiguity of war. Haunting and impressive, this young adult verse novel is worth your time.

Imagine coming home from school one day to find your dad standing there with a car packed with belongings and the engine running. You climb in and, after days of driving, it turns out to be the start of a completely new life. Your life. A life you don’t want, but as a child in a foreign country, you don’t have much say. That’s what happens to ten-year-old Mirza. He loses his familiar surroundings and has to survive in a strange country where he doesn’t speak the language. 

At first, Mirza is angry with his dad and resists his new reality, seeing it as temporary and counting down the days until he can return home. Gradually, though, he moves on from his past and starts to build a future in his new homeland, forming new friendships.

Our earth is home to three times as many chickens as there are people, and yet we know very little about this animal. 'The Big Chicken Book', written by Evelien De Vlieger and illustrated by Jan Hamstra, changes that: the book is bursting with love for the bird, convincing even the most ardent chicken-haters.

Their brilliant success is evidenced by their spot on the shortlist for De Boon for Children’s and Youth Literature. From the jury report: “A delightful, enthusiastic, and generous non-fiction book in a lavish format, where both Evelien De Vlieger’s passionate prose and Jan Hamstra’s monumental illustrations convince the reader of the grandeur of a small and underestimated creature. From the anatomy and evolution of the chicken to its cultural and historical significance: this book tells you everything you didn’t know you wanted to know.”

Readers, too, have embraced this unique tribute to the chicken wholeheartedly: the book was awarded the Boon Prize 2025 Readers’ Prize for Children’s and Youth Literature.

Ten-year-old Luca is having a hard time. His best friend has moved away, and everyone at home keeps arguing. He’s convinced that his dads want to get divorced. His big brother, Lorenzo, has accepted that they’re not in love anymore, but Luca has a bright idea to bring them back together. He plans to run away.

'Runaway Days' is written by Pim Lammers (b. 1993), one of the most important and innovative voices in the Dutch-language children’s books landscape. Lammers won a White Raven award for 'De boer en de dierenarts', about the love between two men.

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. In this 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?

This beautifully structured story, told through four voices and nonlinear timelines, reads like a carefully composed symphony. It’s a Shakespearean tragedy deeply rooted in Flemish history yet universal and relevant. A full Norwegian translation is available.

After a short and snappy introduction to the ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ of our planet, Dumon Tak goes on to discuss the lives of 23 well-known and less well-known polar residents, with the skill of a seasoned polar biologist. What these creatures have in common is that they have to survive this extreme ‘deep-freeze’ cold. This makes them not merely unusual, but very special indeed: they all come equipped with their own ‘winter gadgets’, as Dumon Tak so fittingly describes the ingenious anti-freeze systems with which evolution has gifted them.

Dumon Tak provides a great deal of information, yet it’s never dull to read about the wonderful but harsh life that her winter animals lead. This comes as a result of her visual, poetic and light-hearted style of writing and the way she directly addresses the reader, with excellent support from Martijn van der Linden’s icy blue winter illustrations.

Penguin crosses the ocean to the house of his friend Bear. He wants to tell him a big secret, so big that it will change everything: he’s in love with Bear. Even the most hard-hearted of readers will be captivated by this love story for its humour and the playful, exceptional use of colour.

This award-winning picture book is a masterpiece of understated beauty. The tender and universal love story between two male characters captivates with its simplicity: the prose is honed to perfection with not a word too many, and the illustrations are deceptively simple with an extraordinary subtlety and charm. A modern classic to cherish forever.

In a classroom where snow leopard, barn owl, fox, goose, Gila monster, cassowary and earthworm sit cosily together, this gang of creatures behaves like a bouncy bunch of modern kids: they talk over each other, interrupt the animal who is presenting and are very focused on themselves. This leads to humorous presentations, with some animals clearly copying directly from Wikipedia, while the fox talks mainly about the goose’s meat, and the nervous hermit crab can barely manage to say a word. Meanwhile, the reader learns a lot, as Dumon Tak has ingeniously packed plenty of information into the animals’ squabbling and chatter.

A paper boat is launched in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It makes a long journey, meeting the strangest of beings, passing between towering mangroves and braving a devastating storm.

This wordless debut is a graphic masterpiece that has earned fans like Shaun Tan. The black-and-white world created by Peter Van den Ende sparks the imagination and invites endless exploration. In 2020, The New York Times named it one of the 25 best children’s books worldwide.

Snow White the goat happily knits away, making goat-wool socks, until, one day, animals begin to slide from her knitting needles. Cuddly little goat kids are all very nice, but when a wolf appears and gobbles down Mrs Sheep in one bite, Snow White quickly has to knit up an even more dangerous creature to take care of the wolf.

Annemarie van Haeringen has created a picture book full of exciting monsters, so that young readers can safely enjoy a good scare. The story contains playful allusions to fairy tales. This is a picture book about the power of the imagination, with the comforting message that whatever you make up, you can also undo.

Calm Leon takes Otto on a journey through the world of colour. This Encyclopaedia Otto-colorista is a feast for the eyes: after the restrained grey, black and white, the pages are a riot of colour and detail and there is always something new to discover. 

Tom Schamp’s universe offers endless visual delight. His vibrant and detailed illustrations are filled with ingenious wordplay, trivia, and cultural references. This quirky seek-and-find book will captivate readers of all ages.

Jadran is five years older than Josh, but his head and his heart are those of a child much younger. When they find an injured young crane, Jadran wants to teach it to fly. The two boys go on a journey that is brave, adventurous and hopeless all at the same time.

Jef Aerts’ poetic and heartfelt style is on full display in this heartwarming story that has charmed readers globally, especially in the US. Publisher Levine Querido hailed it as “a warm, love-filled story about fragility, strength, and brotherhood in all its complications”.

Valentina, the emperor’s spoilt daughter, collects birds. When she encounters a talking bird in her dreams, a use for the empty ‘golden cage’ is quickly found. Cneut’s prints exceed all the limits of the illustrative powers of expression: this is art with a capital A.

A true virtuoso, Carll Cneut is one of Flanders’ most internationally celebrated illustrators. His layered, painterly illustrations are works of art in their own right. With unmatched originality and depth, Cneut challenges and elevates his readers, offering them a literary and visual experience like no other.