Boreas and the Fifteen Friends

So exciting! Just a few more days and Boreas en de vijftien vrienden / Boreas and the Fifteen Friends will see the light in the Netherlands. Right in time for the Dutch National Children’s Book Week, which is actually a ten-day long children’s book fest. This year’s theme? FRIENDSHIP! That’s exactly what Boreas en de vijftien vrienden is about.

Boreas en de vijftien vrienden is the final book in the Boreas series, which is lauded by readers, teachers and librarians alike. In this book, Boreas travels from Hawaii to Tahiti with his new friend Kirsten, who teaches him Polynesian navigation. Along the way they try to find a solution for the plastic soup that infests the oceans. After Tahiti and a sad goodbye to Kirsten, Boreas and his family sail on to New Zealand, Australia and Bali and then it finally feels like they are heading back to the Netherlands again. Although… Pirates? Real pirates?!

Boreas en de vijftien vrienden already made it to the long list of the Jonge Jury, the annual Young Jury Award. You bet I’m crossing my fingers that Boreas en de vijftien vrienden will make it to the short list!

Curious about Boreas? Here is an English reading sample! From Boreas and the Seven Seas.

About Boreas and the Seven Seas: It doesn’t matter if you like sailing or traveling, if you are a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. No one will regret choosing this book. – Nelly Hofman, boekenbijlage.nl

Crossing my fingers too that, like in the second book of the series, Boreas en de duizend eilanden / Boreas and the Thousand Islands, when Boreas crosses the Atlantic, that the books will make it across the ocean too. Publishers are currently reviewing the partial translation of the first book.

About Boreas and the Seven Seas: What’s great about this book is the adventurous voice. The lapping of the waves, the tinkling sound of boats in a port at night, the panic at sea when a storm lashes the boat. You’re there and you can feel the wind tugging your hair – Annemarie Terhell for Kidsweek (4 stars)

Writing the Boreas books was like a dream come true. Not only did I get a chance to travel the world, but I was also delighted that I got to incorporate the adventures of my parents, who sailed around the world for twelve years. My mother kept log books, just like Boreas does, and I inherited her writings after she passed away. When I read through the books, I can feel her and my father’s spirits in between the lines.

About Boreas and the Thousand Islands: Just like in the first book, the author knows how to bring the journey around the world realistically: not just the romantic dream is narrated, but also the loneliness, the dangers and the unpredictability:

“It is wonderful to be free, but at the same time it’s not, because sometimes I really like it if I know in advance what’s going to happen, like the past two months on La Gomera (…) I like knowing that I will go to school the next day and see my friends, that I can play soccer after school or can go to the beach to swim.” (page 20)

Despite that, this is first and foremost a book for daydreaming. A wonderful series that will spark every reader’s love for traveling! – Leesbevordering in de klas (Reading Promotion in the Class Room)

With this book the series is finished, but don’t despair. I am already working on a new book! This one is set in Berkeley, where I live now.

About Boreas and the Four Winds: Boreas enjoys every minute of the journey and can’t even imagine that it will ever end. That is very fortunate! Because this journey is as addictive for the reader as for him! – Leesbevordering in de klas (Reading Promotion in the Class Room)