Jaco Jacobs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jaco Jacobs
|
|
|---|---|
South African children's book author Jaco Jacobs
|
|
| Born | February 22, 1980 Carnarvon, South Africa
|
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation | Children's book author |
| Known for | Writing more than 260 books for children. |
|
Notable work
|
A Good Day for Climbing Trees, A Good Night for Shooting Zombies, Suurlemoen!, Moenie hierdie boek eet nie |
| Spouse(s) | Elize Jacobs (married 2010-present) |
| Children | 2 |
Jaco Jacobs is a super popular South African author. He writes amazing books for kids and teens in Afrikaans. He was born in a town called Carnarvon in South Africa in 1980.
Jaco started writing stories when he was quite young. Even when he was in high school, he sold his first short stories to magazines! He has written over 260 books for children. These books include everything from fun picture books to exciting novels for young adults. Sometimes, he even uses different names, like Lize Roux or Tania Brink, for some of his books.
Contents
Award-Winning Books
Jaco Jacobs has won many cool awards for his books. In 2007, his young adult novel Suurlemoen! (which means Lemon!) was chosen as an International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Book. This is a big deal in the world of children's literature!
Top Prizes for Jaco's Work
He has won the Alba Bouwer Prize two times.
- He won in 2007 for his book Wurms met tamatiesous en ander lawwe rympies (Worms in Tomato Sauce and Other Silly Poems).
- He won again in 2019 for Moenie hierdie boek eet nie (Don't eat this book).
Jaco also won the C.P. Hoogenhout Award in 2006–2007 for Wurms met tamatiesous en ander lawwe rympies. In 2018, he received the Tienie Holloway Medal for his book Grom! (Growl!). Another big win was the Scheepers Prize for Youth Literature in 2019 for Dinge wat ek nie van skape geweet het nie (Taking Selfies With a Sheep).
Jaco's Books on the Big Screen
Some of Jaco Jacobs's books have even been turned into movies!
- The movie based on Suurlemoen! came out in South African cinemas in 2014.
- In 2017, his novel Oor 'n motorfiets, 'n zombiefliek en lang getalle wat deur elf gedeel kan word was made into a film called Nul is nie niks nie. This book is known internationally as A Good Night for Shooting Zombies.
Books Loved Around the World
Jaco's young adult novel 'n Goeie dag vir boomklim (A Good Day for Climbing Trees) won a special award called the In Other Words competition. This competition is sponsored by the British Book Trust. After winning, the book's English rights were sold to Oneworld Publications in 2017, meaning it could be published in English all over the world! A Good Day for Climbing Trees was even considered for the famous Carnegie Medal. It has also been published in Dutch and Italian.
More Than Just Books
Besides writing children's books, Jaco Jacobs also writes articles and columns for magazines. He is also a talented translator. He has translated more than 300 books from English and Dutch into Afrikaans. His translation of Chris Riddell's Ottoline and the Yellow Cat (which he called Willemien en die Geel Kat) won two awards: the Elsabe Steenberg Prize and the SATI Prize for translating children's books.
