Wil Huygen facts for kids

Wil (Willibrord Joseph) Huygen was a Dutch writer. He was born on June 23, 1922, and passed away on January 14, 2009. Wil Huygen is most famous for his wonderful picture books about gnomes. These books were brought to life with amazing drawings by Rien Poortvliet.

Wil Huygen was born in Amersfoort, a city in the Netherlands. He was one of ten children in his family. Before he became a well-known writer, he worked as a doctor. He was married and had five children.

The World of Gnomes

Wil Huygen's first and most famous book was Gnomes. It was first published in 1977. In Dutch, its original name was Leven en werken van de Kabouter, which means "Life and Work of the Gnomes". This book became incredibly popular! It even stayed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for more than a year.

In a later book, called De oproep der Kabouters (The Gnomes' Call), Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet actually appear in the story themselves. The gnomes contact them because of the first Gnomes book they wrote together. This shows how much the authors loved their gnome characters.

Wil Huygen's Books

Wil Huygen wrote several books, many of them about gnomes. Here is a list of some of his published works:

• Gnomes (1977)
• The Pop-Up Book of Gnomes (1979)
• The Gnome Book of Christmas Crafts (1980)
• Gnome Games (1980, designed by Larry Evans)
• Secrets of the Gnomes (1981)
• Gnomes and Their Families (1983)
• Gnomes with Animals (1983)
• The Book of the Sandman and the Alphabet of Sleep (1989)
• Gnome Life (1999)

See Also

In Spanish: Wil Huygen para niños