Harriët van Reek facts for kids

Harriët van Reek is a talented Dutch writer and illustrator. She is well-known for creating wonderful books for children. Harriët was born on November 21, 1957.

About Harriët van Reek

Harriët van Reek was born in 1957. Her father, Jan van Reek, was also a comic author. Harriët briefly studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Later, she studied in Amsterdam. There, she trained to become a teacher. She learned to teach drawing and other hands-on skills.

Her First Books and Awards

In 1986, Harriët published her first book. It was called De Avonturen van Lena Lena. A year later, she won the prestigious Gouden Griffel award for this book. This award is given to the best Dutch children's book. She also received the Vlag en Wimpel award. This second award was for her amazing illustrations in the same book.

Working with Geerten Ten Bosch

Since 1987, Harriët has worked with Geerten Ten Bosch. They have created many projects together. These include books and fun puppetry shows. Their collaboration started with a children's magazine. It was called St. Kitts van de Bovenwindse. The magazine only lasted one year. However, it marked the start of their teamwork.

Harriët and Geerten formed an artist collective called Banketje. They made various works of art together. Some of their art pieces were bought by museums. These include the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Nordic Watercolour Museum.

More Awards and Inspiring Books

In 1990, Harriët received another Vlag en Wimpel award. This was for her book Het bergje spek. She also won the Zilveren Penseel award. This award is for illustrations. She won it for Bokje in 2001. She won it again for Letterdromen met Do in 2007.

In 2013, she published Edith en Egon Schiele. This book was inspired by the life of Austrian painter Egon Schiele. In 2016, she won the Gouden Penseel award. This top award was for her book Lettersoep. Harriët wrote Lettersoep to encourage children. She wanted them to write by hand more often. This was important because many children now use text messaging and digital communication.

Harriët van Reek's Awards

Harriët van Reek has won several important awards for her books and illustrations:

• 1987: Gouden Griffel for De Avonturen van Lena Lena
• 1987: Vlag en Wimpel for De Avonturen van Lena Lena
• 1990: Vlag en Wimpel for Het bergje spek
• 2002: Zilveren Penseel for Bokje
• 2008: Zilveren Penseel for Letterdromen met Do
• 2016: Gouden Penseel for Lettersoep

Books by Harriët van Reek

Here are some of the books written and illustrated by Harriët van Reek:

• De Avonturen van Lena Lena (1986)
• Het bergje spek (1989)
• Henkelman, ons Henkelmannetje (1996)
• Bokje (2001)
• Letterdromen met Do (2007)
• Edith en Egon Schiele (2013)
• Lettersoep (2015)