Noni Lichtveld facts for kids

Noni Lichtveld was a talented artist from the Netherlands and Suriname. She was known for many things: designing amazing sets for plays, writing exciting books, and drawing beautiful pictures for stories. She especially loved sharing the old tales of Anansi the spider.

About Noni Lichtveld

Early Life and Education

Noni Lichtveld was born on May 29, 1929, in a town called Abcoude in the Netherlands. Her full name was Maria Johanna Francisca Renée Lichtveld. Her father, Lou Lichtveld, was a famous writer from Suriname. Her mother, Leni Mengelberg, was also a writer.

When Noni was a little girl, her family lived near Barcelona, Spain, from 1932 to 1936. They moved back to the Netherlands when the Spanish Civil War started. Later, in 1940, her mother married architect Benjamin Merkelbach.

Noni loved art and studied drawing at the Rietveld Academy in the Netherlands. She also went to a special school in Paris, France, to learn how to design sets for plays. This job is called a scenic designer.

Working in Theater and Art

After her studies, Noni created sets for many Dutch theater companies. She worked with famous theater directors like Erwin Piscator and Sonia Gaskell.

Besides designing sets, Noni also made large wall paintings and illustrations for books. She drew pictures for both children's books and grown-up books in Suriname and the Netherlands. For example, you can see a wall mosaic she made in Huize Frankendael in Amsterdam, which was her stepfather's official home.

Life in Suriname

From 1958 to 1964, Noni lived in Suriname with her husband, Ton Verwey. He was an actor and director. While there, Noni and Wilfred Teixeira became the first teachers for new courses in dramatic art. These courses later led to the creation of the School of Dramatic Art in Suriname in 1965.

Becoming an Author and Illustrator

Noni Lichtveld started writing her own books in 1984. Her first children's book was called Anansi. De spin weeft zich een web om de wereld (which means "Anansi. The spider weaves a web around the world"). This book was a collection of short stories about Anansi the spider. For this book, she won a Dutch award called the Vlag en Wimpel.

In 1987, Noni received the E. du Perron Prize along with Gerda Havertong. They won this award for helping to keep the Anansi stories alive and sharing them with more people. Noni used the prize money to travel to Ghana in 1988. She went there to find more Anansi stories.

Noni Lichtveld passed away on August 16, 2017, in Laren, Netherlands.

Books by Noni Lichtveld

• Anansi. De spin weeft zich een web om de wereld (1984)
• Anansi en die andere beesten (1985)
• Verhalen van Surinaamse schrijvers (1989)
• Mijn pijl bleef in de kankantri (1993)
• Anansi tussen god en duivel (1997)

Books Noni Lichtveld Illustrated

• Mies Bouhuys, De dromendoos (1955)
• Mies Bouhuys, De wijzen uit het Oosten: de tocht van de wijze mannen naar de stal van Bethlehem (1967)
• Mies Bouhuys, Een sprietje groen: het verhaal van de profeet Jesaja (1967)
• Mies Bouhuys, De gebroken kruik: het verhaal van de profeet Jeremia (1968)
• Mies Bouhuys, De lange reis: het verhaal van de uittocht uit Egypte (1968)
• M.Th. Hijlaard, Zij en ik (1978)
• Edgar Cairo, Ik ga dood om jullie hoofd (1980)
• Dolf Verroen and Nannie Kuiper, Ons Surinaamse ik (1984)
• Johan Ferrier, Het grote Anansi boek (1986)
• Thea Doelwijt, Volksverhalen uit kleurrijk Nederland (1990)
• Diana Lebacs, De verhalenboom: verhalen uit alle windstreken voor kinderen van 5 tot 99 jaar (1997)