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3/1/07

Books I wish would be translated -- Dikkie Dik

For 25 years, Dikkie Dik (the orange cat under the hat) has been a feature of Sesame Street in Holland, and Jan Boeke, his creator, has published many lovely books about him. My three year old loves the handful of Dikkie Dik books that we are fortunate enough to have, and demands/asks sweetly and politely to have them read to him often. Trouble is, they're in Dutch, which we don't know. Dutch is a tricksy language--it looks so friendly to English readers, but them, bam, communication breaks down. And three year olds being what they often are, there are tense moments when the "translation" deviates from what he remembers from last time. But these are such charming, funny books that they are worth reading even in linguistically massacred form. Would that they were translated, but the Sesame Street tie-in apparently means that there are insurmountable copyright issues. In the meantime, if anyone wants Dikkie Dik "kleurplaten", visit this website: http://www.pszdikkiedik.nl/kleurplaten/kleurplaten.htm

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