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.

A razor-sharp portrait of twelve-year old Bianca – a girl who, according to her mother, should come with an instruction manual. At home, life revolves around Bianca’s younger brother, who has a heart condition. And she isn’t welcome at her father’s anymore, now that he has started living together with his much younger girlfriend. Bianca keeps her mouth shut, but she cannot silence her thoughts.

On board a ship, a little boat is folded and carefully launched. Then the ship sails away, and the little boat is left all alone. The little boat sails across the ocean, past reefs and polar regions and between ice floes. It navigates through schools of fish, swaying water plants and terrifying sea monsters. It marvels at the wonderful fairy-tale world above and below the waves, survives storms and saves itself from perilous situations.

This is a story about the sea. About mysterious creatures and fierce pirates. About the Admiral’s Black House, where they say a monster lives. About Lucie, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, who climbs the sixty-one steps every evening to light the flame. About a stormy night when everything goes wrong. But above all about being able to do more than you could ever have imagined.

An enchanting picture book about a brave young fox, who relives the first

about when he was just the size of an apple. About the first time he went outside with his sisters and brothers. He dreams about the time he met the big deer, and about the human boy. And he dreams about what happened when he ran after the purple butterflies…

Miss Minnie is a cat. Or rather, she was a cat. Although she doesn’t know why, she is now a human, and she’s not at all happy to be one. She still loves to prowl over the rooftops at night and gossip with the other cats in the neighbourhood. She is mesmerized by goldfish in the aquarium and she still prefers to clean herself with spit.

Fifty years ago, Querido started its own list of children’s books, and the first book published is still the most successful title on the list: Pluk van de Petteflet (published in English as Tow-Truck Pluck). The sparkling text by Annie M.G. Schmidt and the fabulous illustrations by Fiep Westendorp form an irresistible whole. The main character is a hero that every child can identify with. Pluk fights against environmental damage and the disappearance of green spaces. Together with his animal friends, he succeeds in preventing the destruction of a park.