Spring selection 2024: 7 books for children and young adults

Spring has finally arrived, so we're very excited to present some fresh titles from Flanders. As we’ve just returned from Bologna Children’s Book Fair, we’d love to share our new book selection for children and young adults. Discover our 7 recommendations.

As a child, Tomiko dreams of other lives and the other people around her. She wants to be far away from the red door that follows her everywhere. When she gets bigger, she decides to flee, further and further from the person she was as a little girl. But even though Tomiko travels to the other side of the world, she can’t leave her past behind. In this debut, Kevin Sezgin creates an intriguing world reminiscent of the work of Shaun Tan.

On a cold winter’s day, Mika and Pip, a couple without children, make a snow child. The child of ice comes to life, laughs and runs, and is given the name Winter. When Winter secretly goes outside to play hide-and-seek in the spring sun, no one can find him... 'Where is Winter?' is a comforting story that makes us feel what the arrival of a child means, how painful parting can be, and how hope brings life.

Vera is the only one of the flock to survive a fox’s raid, because she’s sitting on eggs. Next to the barn she finds a frightened fox cub that has lost its hunting mother. She knows she really ought to chase the cub away, but her motherly heart is too big. She hides him under her wings and names him Spark. In the tradition of old fables and fairy tales, ‘Robber’s Cub’ is a timeless story about tolerance and about caring for others, even for an enemy’s child.

The chicken is more intelligent, more important and more beautiful than we tend to think. It’s high time to become more familiar with this exceptional creature that’s found everywhere but about which we know little. 'The Big Chicken Book' is bursting with love for the bird, convincing even the most ardent chicken-haters.

In ‘A Book Full of Houses’, Pieter Van Eenoge is able to give free rein to his love of architecture. In his clear painting style, which gives the impression of being almost geometric, he brings famous houses and architectural forms to life. This is a colourful and intriguing work that treats both iconic architectural achievements and bizarre curiosities with equal amounts of love.

After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Lena is utterly at a loss. She becomes convinced a sea monster is to blame, but nobody believes her. Along with her new friend Vincent, she sets off in search of proof. ‘Sea Sparkle’ is both a thrilling adventure story and a spot-on portrait of a young girl who is struggling to deal with overwhelming grief. A strong and multi-layered debut.

Fourteen-year-old Jakob is head-over-heels in love with Julia, his older brother Esse's girlfriend. Jakob finds out that Esse is risking a great deal in his efforts to make his dream a reality. To impress Julia, Jakob tries to save his brother, but things don’t turn out the way he hoped. Herman van de Wijdeven shows himself at his best, with extraordinarily well-drawn personalities, tension that winds to a fever pitch, sensual language and a lot that can be read between the lines.