3 BOOKS by Tonke Dragt

Title: Verhalen Van De Tweelingbroers (Stories Of The Twinbrothers)
Author: Tonke Dragt
Genre: Children's Adventure
Publisher: Leopold,1961
Pages: Hardcover, 346
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10
Summary: Twinbrothers Jiacomo and Laurenzo look exactly alike, but have different ambitions. Laurenzo loves to create beautiful jewelry and studies to be a silversmith. Jiacomo doesn't want to settle down, but is eager to explore the world and considers a career as a thief to pay for his travels. As expected their likeness gets both of them in trouble.

Review
For these twelve seperate stories about the two brothers, Tonke Dragt was inspired by motives that have been used in legends and fairytales for ages. The apparent predictability of these kinds of stories is what she is aiming for. The result is an enjoyable collection of adventures, with the occasional original twist. Lessons learned are obvious, but never patronising, neither to the characters nor to the reader. It's very convenient that the source of the original tales is mentioned at the beginning of each chapter, because these stories make you long to read more fairytales.


Title: De Brief Voor De Koning (The Letter For The King)
Author: Tonke Dragt
Genre: Children's Adventure
Publisher: Leopold,1962
Pages: Hardcover, 444
Language: Dutch
Rating: 9/10
Summary: On the night before he is to become a knight, fifteen year old Tiuri breaks his vows when a mysterious figure asks for his help. He takes on the challenge to pass on a letter to one of the most famous knights in the kingdom of Dagonaut. But things do not go as expected and Tiuri has to deliver the message to the king of neighbouring country Unauwen himself. While tensions between the two nations are rising, he is faced with a dangerous journey.

Review
Generations before and after me have been mesmerized by this original story. The book won 'the Award of Awards' for best Dutch children's book written between 1955 and 2004. It's one of those stories that keeps a special place in your heart for the rest of your life. Tonke Dragt has the ability to create wonderful worlds that come across like a genuine piece of history. Even though the names of people and places sound like nothing we know, it feels very familiar. That doesn't mean we can anticipate what's going to happen; the characters have a mind of their own and Tiuri's journey is never predictable, alsothanks to the people he meets on the way.
This is one of those children's books that is not limited to any age, because it keeps you on your toes and you have to deal with life and death situations just like in the real world. I love the adult and matter of fact tone of the book. Even though Tiuri may be considered too young for his unexpected assignement, he is treated with respect and that is exactly how I felt while reading. I recommend this book with a passion, just like the million or so people before me.


Title: Geheimen Van Het Wilde Woud (Secrets Of The Wild Forrest)
Author: Tonke Dragt
Genre: Children's Adventure
Publisher: Leopold,1965
Pages: Hardcover, 465
Language: Dutch
Rating: 8/10
Summary: The stand alone follow-up of De Brief Voor De Koning (The Letter For The King) with the continuing adventures of young knight Tiuri. There is a threat of war between the kingdom of Eviellan and neighbouring countries Dagonaut and Unauwen. Tiuri and his fellow knights are on a quest to find the mysterious Red Knight who seems to be the instigator of the upcoming battle.

Review
The Secrets Of The Wild Forrest is a worthy sequel to Tonke Dragt's most famous book The Letter For The King. This time Tiuri is not only dealing with war, but he also falls in love. Of course he doesn't allow himself to be distracted by women and bravely soldiers on. But when the dust settles he has some important decisions to make.
Being the socially awkward person I am, I prefered the lack of these emotional issues in the first book. However, I love the women he encounters; unlike what you may expect in a book based on the middle ages, they are very strong individuals. So even though I'm not a fan of the weakness and doubts that come with crushes, I enjoyed the development of all the relationships, also because those romantic explorations are only a tiny part of the story and don't really interfere with the main part of the book. The most important story is all about big exciting battles and with the lovey-dovey stuff kept to a minimum, that is my kind of book.