Van Arendsoog en Joop ter Heul. Oude kinderboeken over bakvissen, Hollandsche jongens, cowboys, kabouters en detectives [Of 'Arendsoog' and 'Joop ter Heul'. Old children's books about teenage girls, real Dutch boys, cowboys, gnomes and detectives] (review)

This volume features a selection of more than 450 books from the collection of The Old Children's Book Foundation, published between 1900 and 1970. They are grouped into 65 two-page chapters, each including an introduction, quotations from representative books as well as selected illustrations. Four important authors, who have left their mark on Dutch and Frisian children's literature (Leonard Roggeveen, WG van der Hulst, Chr Van Abkoude, and Nienke van Hichtum), and two illustrators (Rie Cramer and Hans Borrebach) are showcased in separate chapters. Eight classics still enjoyed today by both children and adults alike are presented with information about the author and illustrator, the storyline and the history of their various editions. The remaining sections are devoted to different genres such as historical children's books and fairy tales or to themes like the Wild West or Holland and the fight against the sea.

Appropriate examples of well-known children's books are given for every genre or theme, complete with interesting background information. The book is beautifully and generously designed and invites readers to delight in colour reproductions of covers and characters from children's books of the last century. This volume is an excellent and useful mine of information for researchers but also a wonderful source for all those who enjoy reminiscing and want to learn more about the books they read when they were young.