One day, my then 5-year-old daughter brought home one of her school friends' 'Mijn Vriendenboekje' to fill in. I was delighted to learn that kids still pass around friendship books just like when I used to with my friends some thirty-odd years ago. But oh boy, the questions they ask each other have definitely changed. For instance: Jouw favoriete YouTube channel (your favourite YouTube Channel). Some of the questions remain unchanged since my time like your nickname, birthday, phone number and address. But perhaps a major personal data breach hazard nowadays.
When one child starts the trend, the others follow. And soon, there was an influx of friendship books coming our way. Followed by that inevitable question from my daughter, "Why can't I also have a friendship book?"
For a while, I looked around in shops for a suitable friendship book. There are ones with popular characters like Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Nijntje/Miffy, K3... And they are all nice, inexpensive and something that kids will like. But I felt that the questions you need to fill in are a bit one-dimensional. My daughter definitely does not have a favourite YouTuber.
So I decided to make one myself. MY BOOK OF FRIENDSHIP is English-Dutch bilingual friendship book for kids. I wanted to make it bilingual because my daughter has a group of friends who speak Dutch and another group who speak English. I also wanted to include Japanese but the pages became too busy so that's something I might work on in the future. The book is also great for kids who are learning English/Dutch.
The design theme of My Book of Friendship [Mijn Vriendenboekje] is cultural diversity and it features 7 different page designs inspired by 7 different regions of the world: North-America, South-America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica and Oceania. I gave plenty of space for kids to write down their replies, something that I find useful with kids who just started learning to write.
This English-Dutch bilingual friendship book for kids is also designed to embrace multiculturalism. Your child and their friends each get to fill in a pair of pages with fun facts about themselves, what language(s) they use at home, their favourite travel destinations and much more! There is also space to add pictures and drawings. An excellent way to promote cultural awareness, early literacy and remember childhood friendships!
At the very back of the book, there is a Birthday Calendar where kids can write down and remember their family and friends' birthdays. My daughter who is now 6 is obsessed with people's birthdays so she gave me the idea to include this in the friendship book.
I had fun making My Book of Friendship [Mijn Vriendenboekje]. The illustrations in the book are all made by me using the cut & paste paper technique. The technique is time consuming but I like how it adds depths and texture. I am happy with how the book turned out and the hardcover print is now available for purchase at different Amazon stores (nl/us/uk/de/fr/es/it/pl/se]. The price depends on the currency of the chosen marketplace but in the Netherlands, it costs 20 euros including VAT and shipping within the NL. Is that on the pricey side compared to what is available in the retail shops? Yes. At Hema, you'll be able to grab one for 6 euros. But it won't be bilingual and wasn't designed with the intention to encourage kids to embrace cultural diversity. What's more, you'll be helping out a local artist in need of a confidence boost!
*For other Amazon market place, simply go to the Amazon store in the region and type in the unique ASIN number for the book: B0CQHNZMNW
In a nutshell:
Language | English and Dutch |
Number of Pages | 75 (features 7 different page designs + birthday calendar) |
Age | Age 4+ |
Format | Hardcover |
Size | 15.24 x 0.94 x 22.86 cm |
