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Swing
- GenresChildrens
92 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Paul Biegel
119 books37 followersPaul Biegel was born in Bussum in 1925. His father, Hermann Biegel, was of German descent, and owned a building materials shop. With his wife Madeleine Povel-Guillot he had nine children, six girls and three boys, of which Paul was the youngest. He wasn't a prolific reader as a child, preferring to play outside. His favourite books where the fairy tales of the brothers Grimm and the works of Jules Verne. He studied in Bussum (primary school) and Amsterdam, graduating in 1945.
His first story, De ontevreden kabouter ("The unhappy gnome"), written when he was 14 years old, was printed in the newspaper De Tijd. He wanted to become a pianist, but decided that he didn't have enough talent. He went to the United States for a year after World War II, where he worked for The Knickerbocker Weekly. After his return, he worked as an editor for Dutch magazines like the Avrobode. He commenced Law Studies, but stopped these in 1953. He wrote several newspaper comics, the most important of which was Minter and Hinter, which appeared in Het Vrije Volk for ten stories and 579 episodes. In 1959, he started working in the comic studio of Marten Toonder as a comics writer for the Kappie series.
He only published his first book, De gouden gitaar, in 1962. He became one of the most important Dutch writers for children in 1965, when he received the Gouden Griffel for Het sleutelkruid. He has written over 50 books, mostly published by Holland, and many of his books have been translated in English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Welsh, South African, Japanese, Turkish, Greek, and Spanish. His own favourites were De tuinen van Dorr and De soldatenmaker. Other authors he appreciated included J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and Hans Christian Andersen.
Paul Biegel lived in Amsterdam. He married Marijke Sträter in 1960, with whom he had a daughter, Leonie, in 1963, and in 1964 a son, Arthur, who committed suicide when he was 28. His marriage ultimately failed, and only at a later age did he publicly admit to being homosexual. He died in 2006. In 2007, publishers Holland (publisher) and Lemniscaat started reissuing twenty of his best works in the Biegelbibliotheek.
His first story, De ontevreden kabouter ("The unhappy gnome"), written when he was 14 years old, was printed in the newspaper De Tijd. He wanted to become a pianist, but decided that he didn't have enough talent. He went to the United States for a year after World War II, where he worked for The Knickerbocker Weekly. After his return, he worked as an editor for Dutch magazines like the Avrobode. He commenced Law Studies, but stopped these in 1953. He wrote several newspaper comics, the most important of which was Minter and Hinter, which appeared in Het Vrije Volk for ten stories and 579 episodes. In 1959, he started working in the comic studio of Marten Toonder as a comics writer for the Kappie series.
He only published his first book, De gouden gitaar, in 1962. He became one of the most important Dutch writers for children in 1965, when he received the Gouden Griffel for Het sleutelkruid. He has written over 50 books, mostly published by Holland, and many of his books have been translated in English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Welsh, South African, Japanese, Turkish, Greek, and Spanish. His own favourites were De tuinen van Dorr and De soldatenmaker. Other authors he appreciated included J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and Hans Christian Andersen.
Paul Biegel lived in Amsterdam. He married Marijke Sträter in 1960, with whom he had a daughter, Leonie, in 1963, and in 1964 a son, Arthur, who committed suicide when he was 28. His marriage ultimately failed, and only at a later age did he publicly admit to being homosexual. He died in 2006. In 2007, publishers Holland (publisher) and Lemniscaat started reissuing twenty of his best works in the Biegelbibliotheek.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 13, 2016
Het verhaal over de tover van een trompet en een kleine jongen en van de intuïtie en slimheid van een klein meisje, in de betoverende taal van Paul Biegel.
December 2, 2018
Interessant verhaal, niet heel bijzonder. Makkelijk te lezen. Eigenlijk heb ik er niet zo veel over te zeggen.
March 22, 2017
Find the original review on my
blog
The first thing I noticed about this book were the absolutely gorgeous drawings in it. The ones in the book are in black and white, but a separate booklet has been added with the same pictures in color!
The story itself wasn’t the best; the adventures of the boy and his friend are funny and cute to read. However, they aren’t interwoven very well. It all felt like separate stories to me. The characters seemed different almost every time. They only had one thing in common from story to story; the boy wanted to play his trumpet and his friend wanted to try and get him to go home.
What I do like however, is that the story is set in Africa and that by default (and it’s mentioned in the book as well) black is the norm; black people are everywhere. The further they go down the Nile however, the more other people they encounter. Another aspect I enjoyed about the book is that it’s about music; in particular about making music. I’ve not read a lot of stories that focused on that.
The first thing I noticed about this book were the absolutely gorgeous drawings in it. The ones in the book are in black and white, but a separate booklet has been added with the same pictures in color!
The story itself wasn’t the best; the adventures of the boy and his friend are funny and cute to read. However, they aren’t interwoven very well. It all felt like separate stories to me. The characters seemed different almost every time. They only had one thing in common from story to story; the boy wanted to play his trumpet and his friend wanted to try and get him to go home.
What I do like however, is that the story is set in Africa and that by default (and it’s mentioned in the book as well) black is the norm; black people are everywhere. The further they go down the Nile however, the more other people they encounter. Another aspect I enjoyed about the book is that it’s about music; in particular about making music. I’ve not read a lot of stories that focused on that.
September 2, 2021
Paul Biegel is een meesterverteller en weet zelfs met weinig woorden een wereld neer te zetten waar je jezelf als lezer in kunt verliezen. Zijn taalgebruik is kleurrijk en geeft Swing een magisch gevoel. Het voelt als een wereld waar de lezer nog niet direct bekend mee was, maar waar deze zich wel direct thuis en welkom voelt, omdat Biegel die wereld zo duidelijk neer weet te zetten. De illustraties van Thé Tjong-King zijn zeker niet minder magisch en geven je nog meer mogelijkheid om in de wereld te stappen. Als minpunt moet ik toch benoemen dat ik niet alle passages en keuzes even probleemloos vind, zeker gezien het boek geschreven is door een witte man. Bovendien is de beperking in woordenaantal ook een valkuil geweest, omdat ik denk dat dit verhaal veel meer tot zijn recht had kunnen komen en er niet door allerlei gebeurtenissen heen gevlogen had hoeven worden als Biegel en Tjong-King meer ruimte hadden gehad.
November 17, 2021
2004
Interesting attempt to write children's book [age 8-10?] about an EThiopian village boy who almost magically can play wonderful trumpet and ends up being taken to America for a while and then ends up back in his home village.
Curious whether kids can get into this story. Maybe.
Interesting attempt to write children's book [age 8-10?] about an EThiopian village boy who almost magically can play wonderful trumpet and ends up being taken to America for a while and then ends up back in his home village.
Curious whether kids can get into this story. Maybe.
October 4, 2020
Wat een ontzettend leuk boek. Lang geleden dat ik iets van Paul Biegel heb gelezen, dit was echt een leuke.
October 31, 2025
Het is bijna altijd een bepaald type man die het lef heeft om dit soort boeken te schrijven. Zijn perspectief, taalgebruik en creativiteit verdienen minder dan 1 ster.
March 2, 2015
Heerlijk kinderboek. Spelen met taalbarrière.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews