kinderenwereldtje

Anybody who has been in the Netherlands has perhaps seen these pictures of two little boy and girl. Jip en Janneke are famous as the characters of Annie G. Schmidt and their adventure-stories have been translated into many languages (I even found in google the Tono-Tini version of this :-)). Nevertheless, the original Dutch version has been proven timeless and captured the hearts of people from different ages (e.g. me :-)), thanks to the great illustration made by Fiep Westendorp. These two women together have enriched the imagination of millions of Dutch children from several generations.









To me, it is Fiep's illustration which is most fascinating (perhaps because I'm not 8 years old anymore :-)). Just take a look at Jip en Janneke. How can someone draw silhouettes and put expression there, make us (and children) understand what is happening, and at the same time amuse us? And look at other illustrations; Flodertje, Pim en Pom (not by Annie, but it was also illustrated by Fiep), Dikkertje Dap, etc.; they are all witty and entertaining.

Perhaps it is also the 3-letters-name of the characters (Jip, Pim en Pom, etc.) which make all together sound amusing also, especially when you listen the musical-version here.

Dikkertje Dap
Dikkertje Dap (the name of the child :-))
Zat op de trap
Sitting at the stairs
s-Morgens vroeg om kwart over zeven
Early in the morning at 7:15
Om de giraffe een klontje te geven
To give the giraffe a sugar block

'Dag giraffe'
Hello giraffe
Zei Dikkertje Dap
Said Dikkertje Dap
'Weet je wat ik heb gekregen?
Do you know what I got?
Rode laarsjes voor in de regen'
Red boots for in the rain
'Het is niet waar!'
It's not true!!
Zei de giraffe
Said the giraffe
'Dikkertje Dikkertje Dikkertje Dikkertje ik sta paf!'
Dikkertje... I am baffled!

'O giraffe'
O giraffe
Zei Dikkertje Dap
Said Dikkertje Dap
'Ik moet je nog veel meer vertellen,
I have to tell you more
Ik kan al drie letters spellen: A-B-C!
I can all the three letters spell: A-B-C
Is dat niet knap?
Isn't that smart?
Ik kan ook al bijna rekenen
I am also almost able to count
En ik kan mooie poppetjes tekenen'
And I can draw beautiful puppets

nice story, isnt't it? :-)

I wish children in Indonesia could be lucky enough to also have such imaginary characters who are close to their world, who represent their daily lives and who are like their neighbouring friends. Not a supranatural one (although there's nothing wrong with this, I'm not against Gatutkaca :-)). Just as the way children are, and allowed to be curious and to make mistakes. Perhaps it is not needed to always burden children stories with "moral values", i.e. what is expected from them as pre-adults ("Tono bermain bola, Tini ke pasar bersama ibu, Budi dihukum karena nakal" ... why don't they ask why Budi doesn't want to go to school? Perhaps the teacher is too boring ;-) And what if Tini - a girl - prefers to play football instead of helping mommy?). Perhaps by letting children to develop naturally just as they wish to be, we can then have adults who are less judgemental to other people who have different values than them ;-) Like what it is said in Totto-Chan: every child is basically good.

PS: for bebek - maybe children illustration is your vocation? *wink... ditunggu lho, karya-karyanya ;-)

***

"A carpenter never gets an award for a beautiful table. But when someone does something worthwhile in the arts, there's always such a song and dance." (Fiep Westendorp)

Great site about both of them: http://www.annie-mg.com/