Margaretha Anna (Bibi) Dumon Tak (born 21 December 1964) is a Dutch writer of children's literature. After completing her degree in Dutch Literature, in 2001 Bibi Dumon Tak began her career as a children's non-fiction author with ''Het koeienboek'' (The Cow Book, 2001).

Career

Dumon Tak made her debut in 2002 with the book ''Het koeienboek''. She won the Zilveren Griffel award for this book. She went on to win the Zilveren Griffel award several more times in the years that followed: in 2004 for ''Camera loopt... Actie!'', in 2007 for ''Bibi’s bijzondere beestenboek'' and in 2010 for ''Fiet wil rennen''. Her book ''Camera loopt... Actie!'' takes a look behind the scenes of the 2003 film '' Polleke'' which itself is based on children's books written by

Guus Kuijer Guus Kuijer (; born 1 August 1942) is a Dutch author. He wrote books for children and adults, and is best known for the ''Madelief'' series of children's books. For his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest ...

. In 2006, she wrote the book ''Laika tussen de sterren'' which was the Kinderboekenweekgeschenk on the occasion of the annual

Boekenweek In the Netherlands, the Boekenweek (; English: Book Week) is an annual "week" of ten days dedicated to Dutch literature. It has been held in March annually since 1932. Each Boekenweek has a theme. The beginning of the Boekenweek is marked by the ' ...

, based on the life of

Laika Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 space ...

, the first animal in space. In 2012, she won the

Gouden Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Boekenweek, Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Collectieve Prop ...

award for her book ''Winterdieren''. Several of Dumon Tak's books have been translated into English by

Laura Watkinson Laura Watkinson is a British literary translator. She studied languages at St Anne's College, Oxford, and has obtained some postgraduate qualifications since. She has taught at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and University of Milan. Watki ...

. Watkinson's publisher won the

Mildred L. Batchelder Award The Mildred L. Batchelder Award, or Batchelder Award, is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the publisher of the year's "most outstanding" children's book translated into English and published in the U.S. The M ...

in 2012 for the book ''Soldier Bear'' and 2015 for the book ''Mikis and the Donkey''. In 2018, she won the

Theo Thijssen-prijs The Theo Thijssen-prijsSometimes spelled ''Theo Thijssenprijs''. (Dutch for Theo Thijssen Prize) is a Dutch literary award awarded once every three years to a Dutch author of children's literature or young adult fiction. The award is not given f ...

for her entire oeuvre. In 2019, her book ''Laat een boodschap achter in het zand'' (illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen) was on the shortlist for the ''Jan Wolkers Prijs''. Dumon Tak's books have been illustrated by various illustrators including Fleur van der Weel, Fiel van der Veen and Fiep Westendorp. Her books have been published by Querido.

Personal life

Dumon Tak is married to Jan Paul Schutten who is also an award-winning writer of Dutch children's literature.

Awards

* 2002: Zilveren Griffel, ''Het koeienboek'' * 2004: Zilveren Griffel, ''Camera loopt... Actie!'' * 2007: Zilveren Griffel, ''Bibi’s bijzondere beestenboek'' * 2010: Zilveren Griffel, ''Fiet wil rennen'' * 2012:

, ''Winterdieren'' * 2017: Zilveren Griffel, ''Siens hemel'' * 2018:

, entire oeuvre * 2018:

Vlag en Wimpel In the Netherlands, the award is an honourable mention awarded by either the jury of the Gouden Griffel and Zilveren Griffel awards (for Dutch-language children's literature) or the jury of the Gouden Penseel and Zilveren Penseel awards (for ...

, ''Het heel grote vogelboek'' * 2019: Zilveren Griffel, ''Laat een boodschap achter in het zand''

References

External links

Bibi Dumon Tak

Nederlands Letterenfonds The Nederlands Letterenfonds ("Dutch Foundation for Literature") is a Dutch organization that promotes Dutch literature at home and abroad. The Letterenfonds represents Dutch authors at such events as the Frankfurt Book Fair, and awards a number o ...

Bibi Dumon Tak
(in Dutch),

Digital Library for Dutch Literature The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren or DBNL) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, second ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumon Tak, Bibi 1964 births Living people Dutch children's writers 20th-century Dutch women writers 21st-century Dutch women writers Dutch women children's writers Gouden Griffel winners