Tom the Tamer
Tjibbe Veldkamp & Philip Hopman
Trim size: : 24,7 x 30,6 cm | 32 pages
Creative problem-solving at its finest
Tom’s father is so afraid of animals – even snails and butterflies scare him – that won’t come out of the house.
Tom decides to take drastic measures.
First, he trains a polar bear and sneaks it into the house.
Then he smuggles in a tiger, a squid, a tortoise, a snake, two peacocks, three hippos and a small flock of flamingos.
His father doesn’t seem to notice, but what will happen when he does?
Rights sold to:
China
Denmark
English Worldwide
France
South Korea
Taiwan
Tom the Tamer
Picture books
Quotes from the press
‘… it can be hugely satisfying, reassuring even, to see Mom shriek at the sight of a mouse or Dad throw a tantrum over a traffic jam. ‘Tom the Tamer’ … expands this notion into an inventive, absurdist fantasy about a fearless young boy and his trepidatious dad … Hopman’s exuberant pen-and-ink drawings, cheerfully enhanced by washes of warm watercolor paints, bring plenty of humorous motion and detail. …. Happiness is an ‘I told you so’ story when the tables are turned.’
– New York Times Book Review
‘… the episodes recall gentler moments from Roald Dahl or Russell Hoban. Similarly, Hopman’s illustrations are first cousin to Quentin Blake’s, full of fanciful color and a jumble of imagined detail.’
– Publishers Weekly
About the author
TJIBBE VELDKAMP is the author of picture books, stories for young children and YA novels. Lemniscaat published his picture books 22 Orphans, Tom the Tamer, Bert, Get off the Crane! and But First I Caught a Monster.
www.tjibbeveldkamp.nl
www.tjibbeveldkamp.nl
About the illustrator
Philip Hopman (1961) graduated from the Rietveld Academy of Art in Amsterdam. Since 1988 he illustrated over 120 children’s books for Dutch and foreign publishers. His pictures are crammed with hilarious details; his dashing style shows great professional skill. Watercolour and pen-and-ink illustrations capitalize on the text in comic detail.
