I was delighted to receive a large box in the post today from fabulous New Zealand publishers Book Island, via Belgium. I swiftly unpacked it to find the beautifully produced Sir Mouse to the Rescue by Dirk Nielandt and Marjolein Pottie and Bernie and Flora by Annemie Berebrouckx, both of which I recently translated.
I’ve been following the adventures of Book Island and publisher Greet Pauwelijn online and looking yearningly at pictures of the book launches in New Zealand for these two titles and for Book Island’s third picture book, Sammy and the Skyscraper Sandwich written in English by Lorraine Francis and illustrated by Belgian Pieter Gaudesaboos.
This was truly an international operation – and the books were an absolute pleasure to work on! Here’s to Book Island and to working with people all over the world. I hope lots of children in New Zealand and elsewhere will get to enjoy the adventures of Bernie and Flora and Mouse and Dragon in English now, as well as in Dutch.
