2. Write simply but not too simply
“When I submitted my first draft chapter, the publisher told me: ‘Don’t write too simply.’ That message was clear to me. Children can handle more than we think.
A good example is how I begin the chapter on plane crashes: Plane crashes thankfully happen very rarely. But when they do, things go terribly wrong. There’s little I can say to make this cheerful—but it’s a story that must be told.
I also intentionally included some poetry—four writers in total—because I’m a literary historian at heart. Of course, I chose accessible fragments, since poetry can be difficult. For example, poet Willem Wilmink wrote a moving poem about the fireworks disaster in Enschede called 'Enschede huilt'. I included these four lines:
Een buurt die wel veel zorgen had,
Maar die ook vol verhalen zat,
Vol humor en gezelligheid,
Die buurt zijn we voor eeuwig kwijt.
By letting children read such passages, they learn that poetry and even songs have been written about disasters. There’s also an enormous amount of charity poetry about the potato blight (1845–1848), all with one goal: to ensure no one would forget what happened.”
3. Use color even with heavy topics
“I wasn’t used to writing for children. But working on this book forced me to look at my research material through new eyes. Because the subject is so grim, the way you approach a children’s book becomes even more important.
It’s a colorful book, even though disasters are unpleasant events. That’s thanks to illustrator Margot Westermann. Take the chapter on the mosquito plague: Margot didn’t draw an ordinary mosquito, but a tiger mosquito, playfully depicted as a tiny tiger with wings. Her cheerful drawing style makes you want to read about even the toughest topics.
History really comes alive through her colorful illustrations! Leafing through the book, you’ll see a guitar (referring to Nick and Simon and the Volendam café fire in 2000), a flying chandelier (referring to the Lisbon earthquake of 1755), and a cone of fries with mayonnaise (referring to the potato blight of 1845–1848).
One chapter is deliberately without color: the one about plane crashes. Since millions of people fly every day, when something goes wrong, it always involves many victims.”
