Books

Directory of Translators

Grants Awarded

Grants

Discover

About the Foundation

Catalogues

Contact

Discover our fiction titles

Fiction

The best non-fiction from the Netherlands

Non-fiction

Recently published Children's Books

Children's Books

Browse through our selections

A complete list of titles in our database

All Books

Books & Authors

Find an accredited literary translator in your language

Searchable bibliography of translations from the Dutch

Translation Database

How to get accredited as a literary translator

Sign Up as a Translator

Translators

All possibilities for financial support

An overview of recently awarded translation grants

Our current residencies for international writers and translators

Residencies

Mission statement and general info

Frequently Asked Questions

Meet the team

Departments and staff

Latest news

What's happening

Get in touch

Our activities and projects

Programs

Discover who we are and what we do

About Us

Göteborg 2027

His book about evolution, Het raadsel van alles wat leeft (published in English as The Mystery of Life) has been an international success. From 2015 to 2017, Schutten was the Dutch Children’s Book Ambassador, during which time he focused on the importance of non-fiction in promoting reading and literacy.

The Mystery of Nothing and Infinite Snot

A Forest of Wonders

The Girl in the Golden Dress

Just Smell What I’m Saying

More Jan Paul Schutten

Conspiracy

Author

Authors

Children's books

Asset

Assets

Jan Paul Schutten

Oberendorff has used pencil to create large, almost photographic pictures, with backgrounds that are made up of shades of grey and contrasts between light and dark. All kinds of animals turn out to be hiding among the leaves, combining the educational element with the playfulness of a look-and-find book. The illustrations are meticulous in their design and reveal a loving craftsmanship; the spores of a mushroom, the minute details of a frog’s body, the reflection of snowy trees in a pool – all depicted in a naturalistic way and with great precision.Each spread is accompanied by an entertaining text by Jan Paul Schutten about the cycle of nature, about parasites that are parasites of other parasites and about the deadly beauty of the forest. Those pages are followed in turn by spreads in which individual elements of the forest are highlighted in further detail, in words and pictures, this time in colour, which Oberendorff added digitally to the analogue pictures.

Quote

Quotes

Black and white is the new colour.

This way of working results in a photorealism that bears a resemblance to the work of the English illustrator Ben Rothery, although his habitat is the African savanna and Oberendorff has opted for the nature of the Low Countries. The colour illustrations create a cheerful rhythm in the book, but would the reader have missed them if they weren’t there? Used in the right way, black and white can be just as evocative as colour, as this book convincingly demonstrates.

A wonderful book.

Book

Wonder bos

Bright yellow letters glow out from a dark wood that is captured in a deep midnight blue. The mysterious cover of A Forest of Wonders beautifully matches the contents of this non-fiction book, which can be seen as a declaration of love to nature, and is supported by Medy Oberendorff’s hyper-realistic illustrations.

Privacy statement

post@letterenfonds.nl