How did it go?
Gijs van der Hammen and his partner Hanneke Siemensma came all the way from Holland to speak to 500 very attentive children and their teachers at Warwick Arts Centre. We loved how Gijs read their very special book Little Wise Wolf wearing red wellington boots just like the main character in the book, and the sound effects that complimented the story enhanced the atmosphere. Hanneke showed us how she makes her amazing artwork using charcoal and homemade stencils. It was a very inspiring morning! Every child who attended the performance received their own hardback copy of Little Wise Wolf to take home and keep.
Gijs van de Hammen and Hanneke Siemensma
Hanneke and Gijs visited two local schools and worked with children on their illustration and creative writing skills.
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- Venue:
- Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL
- Date:
- Thursday 7th November
- Time:
- 10:30 am
- Duration:
- Approx. 1 hour
- Age range:
- Years 2 and 3
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Gijs van der Hammen
Gijs van der Hammen was born in The Netherlands in 1974. He studied Dutch literature at the University of Amsterdam. Now Gijs writes both stories and poems for children and he also develops websites. Little Wise Wolf, published by Book Island, is his first book published in the UK. It’s a wonderful story about how a little wolf, engrossed in learning, slowly comes to realise that the world outside his books is just as important as the world in his books.
Praise for Little Wise Wolf
An original book, brilliant for those who enjoy stories about a journey - Little Wise Wolf undertakes a journey both physically and morally and needs a little help from his friends for both parts. We loved the unfolding of the plot, the muted colours of the illustrations that span each double-page spread and the intriguing journey maps in the endpapers.
Hanneke Siemensma
Hanneke Siemensma studied Dutch literature in Amsterdam and then Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. She is now addicted to the smell and feel of paint, brushes, charcoal and paper, and has a weakness for patterns and old photos.
Praise for Little Wise Wolf
There are some wonderful spreads created by Hanneke Siemensma that depict the time and distances travelled. Little Wolf’s journey really feels epic and there are some impressive techniques used by the illustrator to set this scene. Liquid light shines out from the pages that are covered in a rich purple black. You can almost taste the ink on the pages. This work for me conjures up the spirit of Brian Wildsmith with its radiant and meticulous compositions including touches of primary colours.
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