Guus Kuijer
Polleke
How to be happy in a world full of conflicts both large and small.
In all his books, Guus Kuijer shows complete solidarity with children’s hearts and souls. He understands better than anyone else that children just want to be happy. But in a world of conflicts both large and small, that’s not always easy, as Polleke, one of the best-known characters in Dutch children’s literature, knows only too well.
In this collection (2009), we follow Polleke’s everyday adventures over the course of five books, with her COMPLICATED DAD (CD), her mum, who’s doing it with her teacher, and her Moroccan boyfriend, Mimoun. In this complex multicultural society, the rebellious, witty Polleke, who wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as a poet, manages to stand firm. She has the support and understanding of her grandparents, and also finds comfort in the expressiveness of language. Her candid poems might be short, but they help Polleke to fathom her own feelings.
