Jaco Jacobs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jaco Jacobs
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South African children's book author Jaco Jacobs
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| Born | February 22, 1980 Carnarvon, South Africa
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| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation | Children's book author |
| Known for | Writing more than 260 books for children. |
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Notable work
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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, born in 1980, is a super popular South African author. He writes amazing books for kids and young adults in Afrikaans. He has written over 260 books!
Contents
About Jaco Jacobs
Jaco Jacobs was born in a town called Carnarvon, Northern Cape in South Africa. He loved writing from a very young age. Even when he was still in high school, he started selling his short stories to magazines.
His Many Books
Jaco Jacobs has written more than 260 books! These books include everything from fun picture books for younger kids to exciting novels for teenagers. Sometimes, he even used different names, like Lize Roux or Tania Brink, for some of his stories.
In 2007, one of his books for young adults, Suurlemoen! (which means Lemon!), was chosen for a special award. It became an International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Book. This means it was recognized as a great book for young people around the world.
Awards and Recognition
Jaco Jacobs has won many important awards for his books. These awards show how much people love his stories and how good he is at writing.
- He won the Alba Bouwer Prize three times:
- In 2007 for Wurms met tamatiesous en ander lawwe rympies (Worms in Tomato Sauce and Other Silly Poems).
- In 2019 for Moenie hierdie boek eet nie (Don't eat this book).
- In 2022 for Die boekwinkel tussen die wolke (The bookshop in the clouds).
- He 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!).
- The Scheepers Prize for Youth Literature was given to him in 2019 for Dinge wat ek nie van skape geweet het nie (Things which I didn't know about sheep).
Books on the Big Screen
Some of Jaco Jacobs's books have even been turned into movies!
- His book Suurlemoen! became a film in 2014. It was shown in cinemas across South Africa.
- In 2017, another one of his novels was made into a movie called Nul is nie niks nie. This book is known internationally as A Good Night for Shooting Zombies.
- His young adult novel, 'n Goeie dag vir boomklim (which means A Good Day for Climbing Trees), also gained international attention. It was chosen as a winner in a competition by the British Book Trust. This led to the book being published in English by Oneworld Publications in 2017.
- A Good Day for Climbing Trees was even considered for the Carnegie Medal, which is a very important award for children's books. 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.
One of his translations, Willemien en die Geel Kat (the Afrikaans version of Chris Riddell's Ottoline and the Yellow Cat), won two awards. It received the Elsabe Steenberg Prize and the SATI Prize for children's book translation.
