Max Velthuijs' exceptional children's book, Frog and the birdsong, is now available in five local languages

One autumn day Frog discovers a blackbird lying motionless in the grass. Worried, he askes his friends what can be the matter. Very gently and simply the animals begin to understand the meaning of death and the beauty of life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Max Velthuijs (1923–2005) was a Dutch painter, illustrator and writer, one of the most famous children’s illustrators in the Netherlands. In 2004 he received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his “lasting contribution to children’s literature”. Velthuijs is known best for the Frog picture books (Dutch Wikipedia lists 21 titles). The first was Frog in Love, published by Andersen Press in 1989, which gained global recognition.

In his acceptance speech Velthuijs observed: “Drawing a frog is not so difficult. But how do you draw a frog in love? Or a frightened frog? And when I hear from parents and children how much they love Frog and his friends, I am overcome with joy and a feeling of accomplishment. And when you ask me how I did it, I have to answer that question with a simple ‘I do not know’.”

Jury president Jeffrey Garrett credited him with fables of human nobility, rather than Aesop’s “foolishness, vanity, and meanness”.

“The stories of Frog and his diverse group of friends are miniature morality plays for our age, demonstrating in framed vignettes, as if on a stage, that life can be hard but is in the end good, that there will be comfort: do not give up, do not lose faith, for you are stronger than you think, and you are not alone.”

This title is also available in:
Afrikaans (Padda en die voëlsang)
Xhosa (Isele nengoma yentaka)
Zulu (Uxoxo nengoma yenyoni)
Sesotho (Senqanoane le Nonyana e Binang)

Book details

• Frog and the birdsong by Max Velthuijs
  EAN: 9781783441464
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