Monday 8 October 2012

The story of Bout and Moertje


I really want to share this beautiful picture book with you, so I'm hoping my first attempt at embedding a YouTube Video works! It looks OK to me but please let me know if you can’t get it to play.

My lovely friend Nicole de Cock provided the illustrations, and the music is by Martin Nijdam. The video is based on the story of Bout and Moertje (Scram the donkey and Screwy the mouse). It tells the story of the friendship between them – a friendship which sometimes seems out of balance, Screwy being the caring type and Scram the good-for-nothing. It teaches us that the quality of a friendship cannot be weighed and that giving can be just as rewarding as taking.




Published by Gottmer Publishing House, Haarlem, The Netherlands. 



Nicole has written and illustrated many other beautiful picture books, including the girl and the elephant and at the other side.



 Have you read anything by Nicole de Cock or seen any of her illustrations?

27 comments:

  1. The Desert Rocks8 October 2012 at 17:03

    You have exceedingly talented friends!

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  2. So sweet! I loved watching it.

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  3. Hi Barbara - it worked perfectly for me and I loved it! They are very appealing - your friends are very talented. I think animals are quite tricky to give personality to but these two get it just right!

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  4. Very nice, Barbara! The illustrations and that wonderful piano piece worked together in such a classy way. Congrats to your friend, Nicole!

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  5. barbaraannefisher9 October 2012 at 15:35

    Hello Eve, I certainly do – and you are one of them!

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  6. barbaraannefisher9 October 2012 at 15:40

    Thank you Donna, I know Nicole and Martin will be pleased.

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  7. barbaraannefisher9 October 2012 at 15:42

    Hello Sharon, Nicole and Martin are both incredibly talented and so are you! It’s such a pleasure to be able to share lovely things like this.

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  8. barbaraannefisher9 October 2012 at 15:45

    Thank you Claudine, Nicole and Martin will be so happy to read your comment. I agree about the music and pictures working well together.

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  9. That was terrific.

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  10. Great job emedding the video! It worked and it was lovely. I thought the music was perfect and I so enjoyed the story. I hope to share it with my students! Thanks for sharing.

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  11. worked for me - beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing - i think we all have friendships where we are the caring one and others where we're the good for nothing, LOL!

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  12. And I just love your online book store. Would love to have all those old books!

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  13. Hi Barbara

    The video worked and I really enjoyed it, the music and illustrations worked perfectly.
    I honestly don't recall ever reading or seeing work by Nicole de Cock but her work is beautiful, very talented.

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  14. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 02:46

    Hi Roger, absolutely! Thanks for calling in.

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  15. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 02:46

    It’s actually very easy to do. I was just nervous about trying it.
    I'm sure Nicole and Martin will be delighted to know you are going to share it with your students. Thanks for your comment.

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  16. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 02:46

    Hi Joleene,
    Your comment made me smile because it's so true!
    It was my pleasure to share. Thanks for calling in.

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  17. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 02:46

    Thank you PK, that's a lovely thing to say!

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  18. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 02:46

    Hi Michelle, Nicole lives and works in Holland so perhaps her books haven't reached Australia - but it can only be a matter of time. She is a wonderful artist and a really lovely person.

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  19. Oh my! I love, love this! So darling.... just lovely!

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  20. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 02:50

    They most certainly are. Thanks for commenting.

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  21. barbaraannefisher11 October 2012 at 19:17

    Thanks Diane, I'm sure Nicole and Martin will be thrilled by your comment.

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  22. Hello,
    I want to thank you all for your lovely comments ! I am terribly greatful to Barbara for showing this to you. As you know, I am a children's book illustrator and my husband is a musician and now and then we make something together. I know Barbara for years now. We never met in person but we became close friends in letters, because of our love for books in the first place, but we share a lot of other things, like our care for wildlife, animals, the environment, and last but not least our love for our dogs. Both our dogs died in the same year and they left us heart-broken, although we feel they are still with us. I have Roetje now, my second border-collie.
    Thank you again. Bout en Moertje has been tranlated but not in English but I hope their friendship is evident without words.

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  23. The Youtube video works ok. :) And the story in the video itself is fantastic. I enjoyed the flow of the story and the illustrations! I'll share this on my Facebook page. Thanks for sharing, Barbara! :)

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  24. barbaraannefisher14 October 2012 at 12:11

    Thanks Nancy that is really lovely of you. I know Nicole and Martin will be thrilled.

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  25. barbaraannefisher14 October 2012 at 12:13

    Dear Nicole, I'm so glad you liked the post. Thank you for leaving a comment and for being such a wonderful friend.Barbara

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx