Abeltje facts for kids
Abeltje is a super fun children's book. It was written by the famous Dutch author Annie M. G. Schmidt. The book first came out in 1953. It was one of Annie M. G. Schmidt's first books for kids. It became popular very quickly!
The story of Abeltje has been made into a radio play and a movie. It has also been translated into many languages. These include Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish.
The idea of flying around the world in an elevator might sound familiar. It's a bit like Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. That book also features characters flying in an elevator!
What Happens in Abeltje?
Young Abeltje gets a new job. He becomes a liftboy in a big department store. His boss gives him one very important rule. Abeltje must never, ever press the top green button in the elevator.
One day, Abeltje finds himself in a tricky situation. He accidentally presses that forbidden green button! Suddenly, the elevator shoots right out of the building. It flies off into the sky!
Abeltje is not alone on this wild ride. With him are three other people. There's Jozias Tump, who sells mothballs. Miss Klaterhoen, a singing teacher, is also on board. And a young girl named Laura is there too.
They fly far across the ocean. Eventually, they land in New York City. They crash-land right in Central Park! In New York, people think Abeltje is someone else. They mistake him for a boy who has gone missing.
The group soon leaves New York. They fly all the way to South America. There, Mr. Tump becomes the leader of a small country. This country is known for growing bananas. It's sometimes called a "banana republic." The missing boy is also found and set free.
But then, a group tries to take over the country. This is called a "coup." Abeltje and his friends manage to escape again. They fly away in their amazing elevator!
How Abeltje Was Adapted
The popular story of Abeltje has been brought to life in different ways.
Radio Play
In the 1950s, Abeltje was a radio play in the Netherlands. People could listen to the exciting story on the radio. Later, in 2002, the book and its sequel were published together. The combined book was called Abeltje en de A van Abeltje. In 2008, you could even listen to Abeltje as an audiobook. It was read by Annie M. G. Schmidt's son, Flip van Duyn.
The Movie Version
A movie based on the book came out in 1998. It was also called Abeltje. In English, its title is The Flying Liftboy. This film was very successful. It won a big award in 1999 called the Golden Calf for best film.
The movie was later turned into a seven-part TV show. It was shown in the Netherlands in 2000. The film mostly follows the book's story. But some parts were updated for modern times. For example, in the movie, Abeltje has a skateboard and an earring. His neighbor Laura is his girlfriend in the film. Also, Abeltje's mom owns a garage in the movie, but a flower shop in the book. In the book, Abeltje meets his lookalike by accident. But in the movie, he actively searches for him.
