Bibi Dumon Tak
Bibi Dumon Tak (b. 1964) is the first non-fiction writer for children to have won the Theo Thijssen Prize for her oeuvre.
With her literary imagination, she has expanded the genre in all directions, coming up with ideas such as ‘non-fiction poetry’ (Laat een boodschap achter in het zand). In nearly all of her books, the focus is on animals.
More Bibi Dumon Tak
Today I’m Going to Talk About the Anaconda
Bibi Dumon Tak can do magic with words. Whether it’s facts, portraits or poetry, her language sparkles and shines. She uses that language mainly to write about the animal kingdom, tirelessly tweaking different genres to highlight animals’ unique characters.
Latino King
In her book 'Rotjongens' (Bad Boys, 2007), Bibi Dumon Tak presented portraits of boys in young offenders’ institutions. This is how she came to know Castel, a Dutch boy who, when he was eighteen, was caught at the airport in the Dominican Republic with one and a half kilos of cocaine in his trousers. He was given a sentence of eight years and locked up in one of the world’s most notorious prisons, but was able to make a spectacular escape. Dumon Tak wrote a story based on Castel’s experiences, as her contribution to Querido’s successful ‘Slash’ series, in which well-known children’s writers present young people’s true life stories in the form of novels.
A Tiger in Your Bed
The Tijgerlezen series is made up of exciting and funny stories for beginning readers. Bibi Dumon Tak has added this electrifying nonfiction title to the list. In short, rhythmic sentences, she introduces the tiger to the reader.
The Cows’ Paradise
They’re lucky cows, the 46 creatures at De Leemweg, a retirement home for cattle. Generous animal lovers bought their freedom, saving them from a certain death in the slaughterhouse.