Pluk van de Petteflet facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Annie M.G. Schmidt |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Fiep Westendorp |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Language | Dutch |
| Publisher | Querido |
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Publication date
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1971 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 167 |
| ISBN | 978-90-214-8098-5 |
| OCLC | 65557528 |
Tow-Truck Pluck is a very popular children's book from the Netherlands. It was written by the famous Dutch author Annie M.G. Schmidt. The book first came out in 1971 and is still printed today! It's one of the most loved Dutch books for kids. It's also the second most popular book by Schmidt, right after Jip and Janneke.
Tow-Truck Pluck has been made into other fun things too! A radio drama (a play you listen to) was created in 2002. Then, a movie came out in 2004. This movie was so popular that it was one of the top 10 Dutch movies between 1996 and 2005. It even won a special "platinum status" award in 2005! The pictures in the book, including the cover, were drawn by Fiep Westendorp. She was Schmidt's regular artist. Pluck even got his own stamp in 1999!
Pluck's Amazing Adventures
The book Tow-Truck Pluck is special because it mixes real life with magic. Pluck drives a small tow truck and needs a place to live. But his world is also full of amazing, magical creatures! You'll meet talking cockroaches, pigeons, and seagulls. There are also super long horses and even a werewolf who drives a ferry boat! This mix of real and magical is why Pluck is often compared to The BFG by Roald Dahl.
Pluck is a young boy with red hair. He lives all by himself in a tiny room. His room is on the very top floor of a tall apartment building called the Petteflet. Pluck doesn't have parents, but he does have his trusty little tow truck. He quickly makes new friends in the building. One of his best friends is Zaza, a friendly cockroach. He also becomes friends with Mr. Penn, who owns a bookstore.
Pluck also helps a girl named Aggie. Aggie lives downstairs, and her mom is super obsessed with cleaning. She tries to get Pluck kicked out, especially when she sees Zaza the cockroach! But Pluck, with the help of some seagulls, stops her plan. Pluck also exchanges notes and candy with Aggie, using a friendly pigeon named Dolly.
Later, Pluck goes on a beach vacation with the Stamper family. This family has a single dad and six messy boys. The biggest adventure in the book is when Pluck helps save a park. The park is going to be torn down to build new buildings. Pluck has to travel far away to get help from a mysterious hermit. The hermit gives him magic berries. These berries make the construction workers and all the adults (even the mayor!) forget about their work. Instead, they just want to play!
As a final adventure, Pluck helps save a very strange bird. This bird is called a "krullevaar." It hatched from a mysterious egg that Pluck and Aggie found during their beach vacation.
Around the World: Pluck's Translations
Tow-Truck Pluck is loved by children in many countries. It has been translated into lots of different languages! For example, it was translated into German as Pluck mit dem Kranwagen. German book critics really liked it!
The book has also been translated into Norwegian, Polish, and Spanish. The original Dutch publisher, Querido, even published an English version in 2011. This English version was translated by David Colmer and is called Tow-Truck Pluck.
Because the book is so famous, it's sometimes used in studies about language. The official Annie M.G. Schmidt website says that Pluk has also been translated into Bulgarian, Danish, Estonian, Afrikaans (where it's called Wannie van die woonstel), West Frisian, and Serbo-Croatian.
See also
In Spanish: Pluk van de Petteflet para niños
