Tonke Dragt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tonke Dragt
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Tonke Dragt (1963)
|
|
| Born | Antonia Johanna Dragt 12 November 1930 Batavia, Dutch East Indies (Present day Jakarta, Indonesia) |
| Died | 12 July 2024 (aged 93) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Art, The Hague |
| Period | 1961–2021 |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | "De zevensprong", "De brief voor de koning" ("The Letter for the King") |
| Notable awards | Various |
| Signature | |
 |
|
Antonia "Tonke" Johanna Dragt (born November 12, 1930, died July 12, 2024) was a famous Dutch writer and artist. She wrote and drew pictures for many children's books. Her book, The Letter for the King, was even named the best Dutch youth book from the last half of the 1900s!
Contents
Tonke Dragt's Life Story
Growing Up in Indonesia
Tonke Dragt was born in 1930 in a place called Batavia. This city is now known as Jakarta in Indonesia. She was the oldest daughter in her family. Her father worked as an insurance agent.
Tonke's family was very creative. Her dad and one of her sisters also loved to write. They even had their own special library at home! Tonke got ideas for her early books, like The Letter for the King, from her summer trips. She visited places like Puncak and Situgunung.
During World War II, Tonke, her mom, and her two sisters were held in a Japanese camp. Life in the camp was very hard. There wasn't enough food or other important things. Tonke loved reading, but there were no books. So, when she was 13, she and her friend Tineke decided to write their own story. They called it The Hunt for the Rope-Coloured. Tonke also drew pictures for it. They wrote on old paper and even toilet rolls because they didn't have notebooks.
After the war, Tonke's family moved to the Netherlands. They first lived in Dordrecht in 1949, then moved to The Hague. Tonke never went back to Indonesia.
Life in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Tonke finished high school. Then, she went to the Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague. She dreamed of being a full-time artist. However, her parents wanted her to choose a job that would help her earn money. So, she decided to become an art teacher.
Tonke often wrote her books at night. During the day, she taught drawing in primary schools. Her classes were very big, sometimes with 40 or 50 children. She found that telling stories helped her students calm down. This experience gave her an idea for her book De zevensprong.
In 1956, her first stories were printed in magazines and newspapers. Five years later, her first book came out and people really liked it. She became very famous in 1962 with her second book, De brief voor de koning (The Letter for the King). This book won an award for being the best Dutch children's book of the year.
Tonke wrote many books in the 1960s. Later, she wrote fewer new books. But she often released collections of her older short stories. Besides writing her own books, Tonke also drew pictures for other authors' books. These included works by Paul Biegel and E. Nesbit.
Over the years, Tonke Dragt's books were translated into many languages. These included German, Spanish, and Indonesian. It wasn't until 2013 that her first book was translated into English.
Tonke Dragt's Writing Style
Many of Tonke Dragt's books are set in fantasy or science fiction worlds. But these worlds are often connected to our real world. The Letter for the King takes place in a made-up medieval world. Torenhoog en mijlenbreed is a science fiction story. It happens on Venus and Earth in the near future.
Tonke Dragt often used ideas from legends and fables. Her stories usually focus on one or a few main characters, often teenage boys. These characters go on a special journey. This journey helps them discover more about themselves. Tonke said she used male characters because it made more sense in her historical settings, like the Middle Ages. In those times, girls often had smaller roles. She also thought traditional "girl books" were "slow" and preferred reading books for boys.
Tonke Dragt's writing style was special in Dutch children's books. Before the 1960s, most Dutch children's books were about everyday life. But Tonke Dragt, along with Thea Beckman, started writing longer books. These books had characters in historical fantasy and science fiction settings.
Tonke Dragt admired British children's books because they had a strong fantasy tradition. She felt that Dutch literature often expected stories to be very realistic. Her first books and their pictures were inspired by her childhood in Batavia and by the Middle Ages. She used settings that seemed exciting to Dutch readers. For example, The Letter for the King has knights in chain mail armor.
Success of The Letter for the King
The book The Letter for the King has sold over 1 million copies! It has been translated many times. In the Netherlands, it had its 61st printing in 2021.
In 2007, the book became a musical play. This was the second play based on Tonke Dragt's work.
In 2015, a follow-up book, The Secrets of the Wild Wood, was translated into English.
A movie based on the book came out in 2008. In 2020, Netflix released a TV series that was loosely based on the book.
Awards and Recognition
Tonke Dragt won many important awards for her books:
- 1963: Kinderboek van het Jaar (Children's book of the Year) for De brief voor de koning.
- 1971: Nienke van Hichtum-prijs for Torenhoog en mijlenbreed.
- 1976: Staatsprijs voor kinder- en jeugdliteratuur (the highest award for a youth author in the Dutch language area).
- 1995: Buxtehude Bull, an award from the city of Buxtehude, for the German translation of De torens van Februari.
- 2004: Griffel der Griffels for De brief voor de koning. This award was for the best Dutch children's book of the past fifty years!
- 2005: Victorine Hefting Award, for women in The Hague who helped women's cultural growth.
Death
Tonke Dragt passed away on July 12, 2024, at the age of 93.
See also
