Geerten Ten Bosch facts for kids

Geerten Maria Ten Bosch, born on April 21, 1959, is a talented Dutch graphic designer and illustrator. She is well-known for her creative work, especially in children's books.

Early Life and Education

Geerten Ten Bosch was born in Dordrecht, a city in the Netherlands, in 1959. She grew up in a family with five children.

From 1980 to 1984, she studied graphic design at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Even though she didn't finish her studies, she learned a lot from teachers like Alfons van Heusden.

Becoming an Illustrator

In 1985, Geerten Ten Bosch started a children's magazine called St. Kitts van de Bovenwindse with Clara Linders. The magazine was named after the island of Saint Kitts. It received early funding from Ilona Fennema and later from the Nederlands Comité voor Kinderzegels. The magazine only lasted for a year, but it was the start of many creative partnerships for Geerten. She began working closely with Clara Linders, Harriët van Reek, and Anne Vegter.

Award-Winning Books

In 1989, Geerten illustrated the children's book De dame en de neushoorn. This book was written by Anne Vegter. Their work on this book was so good that they both won the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs in 1990. The main characters from this book first appeared in the St. Kitts van de Bovenwindse magazine.

Geerten also received the Vlag en Wimpel award for her illustrations in Verse bekken!, another book written by Anne Vegter. She continued to illustrate Vegter's books, including Harries hoofdingang (1999) and Sprookjes van de planeet aarde (2006). For Sprookjes van de planeet aarde, she worked with her sister, Judith Ten Bosch. Both sisters showed their illustrations from this book at the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava in 2007.

Collaborations with Authors

Between 1994 and 1996, Geerten Ten Bosch illustrated stories by Toon Tellegen. These stories were published every other week in the newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Later, in 1998, these stories were collected and published in a book called De verjaardag van alle anderen. In 1996, she won the Gouden Penseel award for her illustrations in De verjaardag van de eekhoorn (1995), which was also written by Toon Tellegen.

In 1995, she illustrated Het huis van Marie, a book written by Clara Linders. More recently, in 2018, Geerten Ten Bosch and Harriët van Reek presented their picture book Ei! Ei! De wonderlijke reis van twee eieren en een poppenkast. They created this book especially for Easter 2018.

Art Projects

Geerten Ten Bosch also works as an artist. She formed an artist collective called Banketje with Harriët van Reek. Together, they have created many different art pieces. Some of their artworks have been bought by famous places like the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Nordic Watercolour Museum.

In 2001, she worked with artist Moritz Ebinger to create an artwork for the library in Maassluis.

Awards and Recognition

Geerten Ten Bosch has received several important awards for her illustrations:

• Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (1990) for De dame en de neushoorn, written by Anne Vegter.
• Vlag en Wimpel (1991) for Verse bekken!, written by Anne Vegter.
• Gouden Penseel (1996) for De verjaardag van de eekhoorn, written by Toon Tellegen.