''Abeltje'' is a children's novel by celebrated
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
author
Annie M. G. Schmidt
Anna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt (20 May 1911 – 21 May 1995) was a Dutch writer. She is called the mother of the Dutch theatrical song, and the queen of Dutch children's literature, praised for her "delicious Dutch idiom," and considered o ...
, originally published in 1953 by
De Arbeiderspers
De Arbeiderspers is a Dutch publishing company, started as a socialist enterprise. The name means 'The Workers' Press'.
History
The company was started in 1929 as a combination of the publishing firm N.V. Ontwikkeling and the Dutch Social Dem ...
. It was one of Annie M. G. Schmidt's first children's books, and such an instant success that it was already in its fourth edition when the sequel, ''
De A van Abeltje'', came out in 1955. Since 1988, the book has been published by Querido with illustrations by
Thé Tjong-Khing
Thé Tjong-Khing (; born August 4, 1933) is a children's book illustrator based in the Netherlands.
He was born in Purworedjo, Java to a large Chinese Indonesian family. As a child he was interested in the Tarzan comic strips of Edgar Rice Bur ...
.
''Abeltje'' has been adapted for radio and film. It has been translated from
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
into
Danish
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* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
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,
Finnish
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See also ...
,
French
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,
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,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Japanese
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,
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,
Spanish
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, and
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.
The story of ''Abeltje'' has some similarities with the plot of
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
's ''
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator'' is a children's literature, children's book by British author Roald Dahl. It is the sequel to ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', continuing the story of young List of Charlie and the Chocolate Facto ...
'' (1972), in which the main characters also fly around the world in an elevator.
Plot summary
Young Abeltje gets a job as a liftboy in a department store. His boss tells him that he may not press the elevator's top (green) button under any circumstances. One time, when Abeltje gets into trouble, he presses the button, and the elevator goes shooting out the building and flies off.
Trapped with him on the elevator are a travelling mothball salesman, Jozias Tump; a singing instructor, Miss Klaterhoen, and a young girl, Laura. They fly across the ocean and eventually arrive in New York City, where they land in Central Park. In New York, Abeltje is mistaken for another boy who has gone missing. They leave New York and fly to South America, where Tump is made president of a banana republic and the missing boy is freed. A coup against Tump breaks out and the foursome once again manage to escape with their lift.
Adaptations
Radio
''Abeltje'' was also broadcast in the Netherlands in the 1950s as a
radio play
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
. In 2002, ''Abeltje'' and the sequel ''De A van Abeltje'' were published together in 2002 under the title ''Abeltje en de A van Abeltje''. In 2008, a four-CD
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
of ''Abeltje'' was published, read by Schmidt's zoon Flip van Duyn.
Film
A film of the book, also called ''Abeltje'' (English title: ''
The Flying Liftboy
''The Flying Liftboy'' ( nl, Abeltje) is a 1998 in film, 1998 Netherlands, Dutch film directed by Ben Sombogaart. The film was based on the 1953 Dutch children's book ''Abeltje'' by Annie M. G. Schmidt. It won the Golden Calf (award), Golden Calf ...
''), was released in cinemas in late 1998. The film won the
Golden Calf
According to the Bible, the golden calf (עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב '' ‘ēgel hazzāhāv'') was an idol (a cult image) made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as ''ḥēṭə’ hā‘ēgel'' ...
for best film in 1999. It was adapted into a seven-part television series that was broadcast in the Netherlands in 2000. The film largely follows the story of the book, although it was modernised in places. For instance, Abeltje has a skateboard and an earring in the film. His neighbour Laura is his girlfriend in the film, and his mother works in a flower shop in the book but owns her own garage in the film. Also, Abeltje accidentally encounters his lookalike Johnny in the book, but in the film he goes sleuthing to find Johnny.
References
External links
''Abeltje'' on the Web site of Annie M.G. Schmidt(Dutch)
{{italic title
1953 novels
1953 fantasy novels
Books by Annie M. G. Schmidt
Dutch children's novels
Children's fantasy novels
1953 children's books