''Zonneland'' is a Belgian Dutch-language youth magazine published by Averbode since 1920. A French version called ''Petits Belges'' also started in the same year. It changed its name to ''Tremplin'' in 1960.

History and profile

''Zonneland'' was first published in 1920, and by 1922 had 100,000 subscribers. It was a catholic magazine, directed and published by the

Averbode Abbey Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey situated in Averbode, in the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem (Flemish Brabant), in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium. It was founded about 1134, suppressed in 1797, and reestablished ...

. It shared some elements with ''Petits Belges'', but the French language version had less purely catholic contents and more stories and general information. Between 1929 and 1934, ''Petits Belges'' was replaced by a magazine for girls (''Stella'') and one for boys (''Cadet''). In 1930, the first of the long-running series of ''

Vlaamse Filmpjes Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture ...

'' (complete stories of 32 pages, published every week or every two weeks) was inserted as a supplement to ''Zonneland''. By 1935, ''Zonneland'' had dropped to 60,000 subscribers, while ''Petits Belges'' only was printed in 28,000 copies. In 1936, Father Daniel De Kesel became the new editor-in-chief, and started writing articles using the pen name "Nonkel Fons". He remained in charge until 1984. The magazines had to suspend publication between September 1943 and November 1944 due to the censoring and paper shortage during the war. In 1966, ''Zonneland'' had nearly 120,000 subscribers, and by 1976 this had increased to 135,000. ''Zonneland'' was initially aimed at all children aged 7 to 12, but later got more specifically targeted towards 10- and 11-years old children. For younger children Averbode started publishing ''Dopido'' (2-3 years, from 1990) ''Doremi'' (1-5 years, from 1965 on), ''Zonnekind'' (6-7 years, from 1958 on), and ''Zonnestraal'' (8-9 years, from 1966 on), while children between 12 and 15 got ''Top magazine'' (1973, replaced by ''iD'' in 1995 ), and the 16- and 17-years old were reached through ''Yell'' (1981). Well-known authors who published in ''Zonneland'' include

Edward Poppe Edward Poppe (18 December 1890 – 10 June 1924) was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest who advocated for the frequent reception of the sacraments and established a children's league dedicated to the Eucharist; he was a strong critic of Marxism and ...

, John Flanders,

Ernest Claes Andreas Ernestus Josephus Claes (24 October 1885 in Zichem – 2 September 1968 in Elsene) was a Belgian author. He is best known for his regional novels, including ''De Witte'' ("Whitey"), which was the source material for the first Flemish mov ...

, and Leopold Vermeiren. Comics authors include Jan Waterschoot, Jeff Broeckx, Jean-Pol,

Renaat Demoen Renaat Demoen (11 June 1914 – 22 May 1986) was a Belgian illustrator and comics creator. He is most associated with the children's magazines of De Goede Pers, among them Zonneland. Biography Renaat Demoen worked for a number of publishers, inc ...

, Gray Croucher,

Berck Berck (), sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer (, literally ''Berck on Sea''), is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. It lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve. Geography Situa ...

, Buth, and

François Craenhals François Craenhals (15 November 1926 – 2 August 2004) was a Belgian comics artist best known for the comic series ''Chevalier Ardent'' and ''Les 4 As''. Biography François Craenhals was born in Evere in 1926.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Françoi ...

. ''Petits Belges'' published some of the first works by

Jijé Joseph Gillain (), better known by his pen name Jijé (; 13 January 1914 – 19 June 1980), was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) a ...

Notes

1920 establishments in Belgium Children's magazines published in Belgium Comics magazines published in Belgium Weekly magazines published in Belgium Magazines published in Flanders Magazines established in 1920 Catholic magazines {{italic title