The Song of Seven
Author/illustrations: Tonke Dragt
Original language: Dutch
Translated into English: Laura Watkinson
Published: October 2017
Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books
ISBN: 9781782691426
Price: € 12.95 (paperback)
Age: 11 years old and up
The best-known and most beloved book by Dutch children's book writer Tonke Dragt (1930-2024) is De Brief voor de Koning (The Letter for the King), as every child who loves reading knows. The book also received De Griffel der Griffels in 2004, the most important book prize in the Netherlands!
Moreover, children who don't like reading all that much (do they exist?) know the story through the film adaptation of the book. De Zevensprong is also a book by Tonke Dragt and that story was a television series in 1982. Many Dutch children looked forward to the new episode of the series with excitement every week.
It's so nice that Tonke Dragt's books are still beloved books by parents and their children. Probably because her stories are so original and full of unexpected surprises, funny and exciting. In this book she also made the illustrations herself and that's really outstanding!
3+ bright shining stars for De Zevensprong, from the listeners and their out-loud readers!