A child’s life can be secure and lovely, but it also can be gruesome. The picture books on view illustrate these aspects. You’ll come across charming scenes of children playing in and around the house, but there are also images of and texts about children who receive terrible punishments for their behaviour - so-called smeerpoetsen (slovenly little children) tales.

Celebration!
Sinterklaas (St Nick) is the original Santa Claus and, for Dutch children, his birthday is without a doubt one of the most important days of the year. Here you’ll meet the ‘Good Saint’ in various surprising ways and depictions. Other yearly celebrations are featured here too. View picture books in the category Celebration! >>

Still at home with mother
Countless picture books tell of children’s adventures in and around the family home. They play, are sometimes sweet and sometimes a bit naughty; unpleasant things may happen, but there is always a happy ending. The division of roles is still clear: mother is at home, father goes to work, divorce doesn’t enter the picture at all. The age of Annie M.G. Schmidt and her poem Ik ben lekker stout (‘I am naughty, so there!’) is still far away.  View picture books in the category: Still at home with mother >>

Rascals and rogues
In the past, boys (and not girls!) invariably were the ones who played tricks. In this category you will be introduced to some of the followers of Max and Moritz; the way they are described and drawn here indicates quite a bit of sympathy for these naughty little boys.  View picture books in the category: Rascals and rogues >>

Slovenly Peter and his followers
As in the preceding category, these picture books, too, are about undesirable behaviour. The difference is that these naughty children are severely punished. Most often this occurs in such an exaggerated way that it becomes hilarious. And that was precisely Dr Heinrich Hoffmann’s intention. In 1844, he presented his son with a handmade picture book, as he found the books available in shops at the time boring and lacking in humour. His Struwwelpeter circulated all around the world and had many imitators; these did not necessarily always aim for the absurd exaggeration of the original but, rather, were intended as frightening lessons for the apparently depraved youth. Some educators see the books in this category as examples of ‘black pedagogy’. Read and look, laugh or shudder.  View picture books in the category: Slovenly Peter and his followers >>

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