A tail-wagging free spirit of a little dog? This was something the panel welcomed with open arms. In Yvonne Jagtenberg’s Hondje, de Enige Echte, we follow with mild surprise the experiences of the cheerful canine through the four seasons. The fresh lucidity of this children’s book, both in the layout and the synergy between text and image, at once added feathers to its cap. ‘Atmospheric illustrations, well-chosen lengths for the stories and a nice quarter-bound cloth binding.’
Other panel members were unable to conceal their ambivalence. The typographical decision to indent almost every other line did not meet with universal approval. On the other hand there was praise for the pleasant variety in the size of the drawings, and for the soft, light, nicely harmonizing colours, as in the cover. ‘A perfect classical book for children,’ in which many elements were attuned to each other without being exceptional. It is clearly aimed at a larger audience, and there’s nothing wrong in that. After all, ‘books like this are the lifeblood of the book world.’ Amen to that.