She had six brothers. Five of them drowned at sea, her stepmother says, but Eliza doesn’t believe a word of it. She wants to look for them, even if that means she’ll have to go all the way to the White Cliffs. She sets off with the one brother she has left: Cricket. A scaredy-cat, a cry-baby, nothing more than a burden, in fact.

Everything goes wrong, but Eliza and Cricket go on searching. Through the storm. Against the wind. Against what everyone else says and thinks.

One day, Al Capone Fish was in Oyster’s shop. When Oyster wasn’t paying attention for a moment, he snatched a euro from the counter. Quickly, Al Capone Fish swam outside...

This is the beginning of a euro’s journey, which passes from fin to fin in a little village at the bottom of the ocean. The criminal fish who live there try to make some profit from it, and the euro is sold on for higher and higher prices. But eventually the coin ends up with the cheerful, good-natured Goldfish, the only one who doesn’t seem to care too much about money.

Luca’s dads are arguing more and more often. So often that Luca becomes afraid that they’re going to get divorced. He can see only one solution: running away. Then his dads will probably forget that they want to break up. But his best friend has just moved away, and he doesn’t dare to go on his own. So, Luca has to find a new best friend.

Rosa is a salmon who one day is braver than she ever was. She swims away from home. Against the current, as salmon do. An unpredictable journey begins, which is sometimes exciting and sad, and then again beautiful and hopeful.

The octopus has eight arms, and he uses each of them for something different. One arm is for eating with, another is for writing with or for scratching with. But there’s one arm that just kind of dangles there. The octopus doesn’t really know what to do with it. Until one day the whale comes to visit, and the octopus has a great idea. He’s going to give his eighth arm to the whale!

When Romeo makes friends with the new girl next door (and her amazing chicken, Cluck), he finds the courage to make his dad’s final wish come true. His dad is seriously ill and wants to see the desert one last time. That’s not an easy wish, because his dad is too sick to fly to America. So, the desert will have to come to him. Fortunately, with the help of Tobi and her chicken, almost anything is possible!

‘My hero is undoubtedly Pinocchio. One day I want to portray him myself. The idea has been taking shape in my mind for years. My task will be to reinvent my childhood hero graphically. I’ll make it happen before I turn 65. I’m deadly serious.’ Carll Cneut once said this in an article about storybook heroes, and he has made good his word (well ahead of time).

Imme Dros adapted the classic story as she does so well: with few words, in a language that is poetic yet entirely clear. Together with Carll Cneut, she brilliantly brings Geppetto’s wooden puppet to life. Children of all ages will identify with this Pinocchio.

Vera the hen escapes a raid by the foxes because she is brooding under a berry bush. At the barn, she finds a trembling little fox who was left behind after the hunt. Vera doesn’t think twice about taking the fox cub under her wing. Her eggs hatch, the cub grows up and larks about happily with the chicks. But the other chickens don’t feel at all safe with a young fox on the farm. When they decide to send the little fox away, Vera doesn’t want to abandon him. And so, they embark on a ‘big journey’ together.

Jip has a school assignment for the May holiday: draw a self-portrait. It should be simple for someone who can draw so well. Yet Jip keeps putting it off and making excuses. Their thoughts keep drifting to the new boy in class. Finally, someone who doesn’t think Jip is a weird nerd and doesn’t speculate on whether they likes boys or girls. Is Jip in love with him?

In Banks, Ludwig Volbeda portrays a young person grappling with questions about gender, friendship and life. And who ultimately has the courage to look in the mirror and draw a razor-sharp self-portrait.

Ravi is desperate. Concerts were already forbidden on the island, but now musical instruments have been banned as well! But how is Ravi going to live without his guitar? His mum and dad don’t understand his panic, but there’s something weird going on with them anyway. Ravi discovers that they sleep with their eyes wide open and with blue light shining from their ears. Zina from his class at school has also noticed strange things about her dad. At a secret place in the woods, they meet Blinker and Mink, who tell them the shocking truth. Their parents aren’t human beings. They’re robots

Thirteen-year-old Elena is on the run. No one else wants to have her, so she has to stay with her aunt’s new family for a month. When she’s there, she meets 14-year-old Atlas, who’s preparing for the end of the world. They both have good reasons for ignoring the outside world. But how long can you go on running for?

Yes! Finally, all the adventures of the Netherlands’ favourite preschoolers can be read in English. From their first meeting at the hole in the hedge between the two neighbouring houses, to missing each other when one of them goes away for a while. For generations, these stories have been loved for their familiarity, humour, fresh language and iconic illustrations

Breath is a ‘possible child’. At the moment his parents meet, a spark jumps between them, and he comes to life in the form of a spirit. Most possible children will never be born, but there’s something special about Breath. When it looks as if his possible parents are going to lose contact after their first meeting, Breath receives an advance on life. He is given a short amount of time to bring his parents back together and to safeguard his own life. With disarming naivety, he sets off to do just that. Because he knows one thing for certain: he wants to live

Yvonne Jagtenberg pays tribute to her favourite artists. And she does so in an original way: by taking a look inside their homes. What were their lives like? Who did they live there with? What did they love? And which works of art did they make there? Come and look inside the houses of Morandi, Van Gogh and many more great artists.

Kaat lives on a fishing boat, along with six sailors who are tough but really nice. She’s very happy there, even though she does have one big wish: she wants to learn how to swim. The men think that’s a silly idea. Because water is for fish. But Kaat doesn’t give up that easily.

Monday is the worst day of the week. And that’s certainly true this Monday. Raaf is ten and Benni the bully is making his life difficult. And his mum’s not around either. Raaf’s dad is no good to him, so he decides not to go straight home that day. As he wanders through the town, he meets all kinds of people who aren’t at home, for all sorts of reasons. They want to help Raaf to find his way home. Meanwhile, it’s getting later and later, and Raaf seems to be further away from home than ever.

When it’s quiet and cold outside, Grandpa Hedgehog tells his grandson about the Age of Speed, when the world was full of hustle and bustle. No one had time to stand still. Everything had to be higher, faster, farther, bigger, more beautiful, more, more, more! Egalus was the only one who did not join in. He preferred to stand still and keep the forest clean. But one day, he could no longer carry all the litter by himself… When the exhausted Egalus falls asleep at home, the other animals realise that this can’t go on any longer. And when he wakes up, the world is a very different place!

When Roya and her parents and brothers finally get a house in the Netherlands, she thinks that a pet should also join the family. So, they get a cute white dwarf rabbit, and she names him Mishka. The whole family falls in love with him. Roya starts telling Mishka about when they had to flee their country. But she realises that she doesn’t remember anything like the whole story herself. And then, one day, Mishka suddenly disappears.

The story is about Grandpa himself, when he was a little boy. About how he makes friends with a tortoise that his own grandpa brought for him from a far-off land. He’s so happy to have the tortoise, because now he has a friendwho will always be there for him! But Tortoise keeps growing and growing and gradually becomes a burden. There’s only one solution: Tortoise has to go. But can the two of them live without each other? A wonderful picture book that invites the reader to think about friendship. But also about longing, love and being true to yourself.

There’s a good reason why Morris’s grandma’s dog is called Houdini: the creature is an escape artist. Morris has to go up the mountain near his grandma’s house to look for the dog. But just as he sets off on the journey home, carrying Houdini in his arms, snow starts tumbling from the sky. Up on the mountain, the north wind cuts through him. Then, to make matters worse, Houdini does what she likes to do best – she runs away again. At first, Morris has no idea what to do. But then someone else emerges from the white expanse — a boy with a big mouth and, at his side, a giant ram.