How I Hid My Sister and Lost Her
‘I’m Kos and I’ve lost my baby sister. I really will explain what that’s all about soon, but first I’m going to tell you how much fun it was to start with.’ Yes, these opening sentences from Mohana van den Kroonenberg’s second children’s book, about a day in the life of a child who goes out on his own, pack quite a punch. Building up so much tension in so few words is no easy feat.
Original title
Ik heb mijn zusje kwijtgemaakt
Author
Mohana van den Kroonenberg
Year of publication
2023
Age category
8+
Publisher
De Vier Windstreken
Page count
150
[object Object]
Van den Kroonenberg does an outstanding job of capturing Kos’s uncontrolled stream of consciousness.
Het Parool
The illustrations by Nadia Meezen have the same understated charm as the story.
Jaapleest.nl
Mohana van den Kroonenberg
Mohana van den Kroonenberg (1967) made her debut as a children’s writer in 2022. Dodo was an instant hit with readers and the media, with Het Parool writing: “Van den Kroonenberg has made an almighty debut in children’s literature.” Dodo was followed by more children’s books and story collections. Her book Peer, aimed at young readers, is about a boy who meets a gnome. (With illustrations by Karst-Janneke Rogaar). De prins op het zwarte paard is the second book featuring the gnome Peer and the boy Kai.
Van den Kroonenberg is also a sculptor and translator, and works at a children’s bookshop.