Tono dan Tini

My jaw dropped when my dearest friend Ruru gave Tono dan Tini book to me. We have both been looking for this book for years! and when she finally found it she gave it to me. I had mixed feelings between excited and not deserving this book since it was her childhood memory but she insisted that i keep it.

My love for Jip and Janneke started when Ruru and i took a Dutch language course at Erasmus Huis Jakarta. We always arrived very early before the course started so we could visit the library. We both love books by the way. Anyway, while we browsed at the childrens book section she spotted a Jip en Janneke. She told me that book cover reminded her about a book she read when she was little called Tono dan Tini. She explained about it but i all i could remember was Tini series from Marcel Marlier. We both decided to borrow the Jip en Janneke book from the library and the rest is history.

Tono dan Tini with the rest of the family:-)

I dedicate this post for Ruru. Thank you, terimakasih, matur nuwun sanget for introducing me to these two cute characters Jip and Janneke and for giving me Tono dan Tini (it means A LOT!), i will take a good care of it.

Things found inside pre loved books

Its fascinating to see what people use as a bookmark, and these are some of the things i found inside the books. I think its better to put something in to mark the page rather than dog ear the page (that really annoys me!). So far i never found any banknotes though :p.

But it still really excites me when i buy a pre loved book and find something like this or an inscription inside.

Mick and Mandy (Take Care)

Seriously, i like to hunt and became obsessed with the duo Annie M. G. Schmidt and Fiep Westendorp´s works. Its not easy to find their books though! So far i have never had luck to find their works in the bookstore´s (unless you are in the Netherlands).

Mick and Mandy is the one of the three english versions of Jip en Janneke (Dutch). The other two are Jip and Janneke and Bob and Jilly. While Mick & Mandy and Jip & Janneke published with Fiep´s illustrations, Bob & Jilly using different illustration which i personally don't like! Why didn't they keep the original illustration?..

Take Care Mick and Mandy

I got this book from one of the online marketplace and got a very good deal (happy!!). It was published by Odhams Press Limited in 1961.

Top: Jip and Janneke
Bottom: Mick and Mandy

If you notice, the drawing between the two are slightly different in size. I think the old drawing of Jip en Janneke (Mick and Mandy) is taller. I read on Fiep Westendorp biography, that from the year 1977 - 1984 she made all of Jip and Janneke stories with a new drawing.

I like the new drawings much better. I think they are cuter :-*

Secondhand book lover

My love for reading started early on at an age when i had a subscription for a kids weekly magazine Bobo. The subscription did not last long but still my mum bought me the magazine once in a while. I remember when i was in the fourth grade, my mum gave me a book for my birthday present. It was Lima Sekawan: Memperjuangkan harta Finniston (eng: The Famous Five: Five on Finniston Farm) by Enid Blyton and i really enjoyed reading it. I realized books were not cheap and being a good daughter i never asked for them, instead i rented or borrowed from friends. I loved to read books by Enid Blyton, Astrid Lindgren, Edith Unnerstad and Erich Kästner. They are my favorite childrens book authors.


When i got a job and had my own money, I would hunt those books that i had read but could never afford, it is sort of become my hobby :D. Reese Witherspoon once said "I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything". I agree with her, the only difference is probably i get crazier in a secondhand bookstore :-).  For me, secondhand bookstore is more exciting since you don´t know what you might find, it´s like treasure hunting :D. I can spend hours and hours there.

Few months ago i found Edith Unnerstad book called The Urchin. It turned out it is the english version of Si Bandel (Indonesian Version), one of my favorite books :-).


Hubby said to me one day, "don´t you think its easier just to order books from ebay or amazon?". I got his point but you wont get the same excitement when you get it from bookstore. I like to be surrounded by piles of books, scanning them and finding the books that i have been looking for :-).

Tow Truck Pluck

Tow Truck Pluck (Dutch: Pluk van de Petteflet) is another book which was written by Annie M. G. Schmidt. Just like Jip and Janneke, this book was illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. I really admire Fiep Westerndorp´s works. In fact, the only reason i bought this book was because of the illustrations. So I do literally (sometimes) judge book by its cover :D.

Aren´t they cute? :-)

Jip and Janneke

Jip and Janneke (Dutch: Jip en Janneke) is probably the most famous children´s series book in the Netherlands. The series is written by Annie M. G. Schmidt and tells about friendship between Jip (little boy) and Janneke (little girl) who live next to each other. What i love the most about this book is the drawings which were made by Dutch illustrator Fiep Westendorp. The character of Jip and Janneke were drawn as black silhouette. 

This book has been translated into many different languages, including Indonesian language (called Tono dan Tini). I have a copy in English but sadly i do not have a copy in Indonesian as they do not print it anymore.

Anyway, on the way home after celebrating Christmas and New year in England, we stopped at Angel´s home in the Netherlands for refreshments. To my surprise she gave me the Jip and Janneke book in Dutch as a christmas present!! I was extremely HAPPY ^_^. I cant thank her enough, she really made my day. Thanks very much Angel & hubby.

Left: Dutch version
Right: English version

Postmark Paris: A Little Album of Memories

I have just finished reading a children book recently. Postmark Paris: A Little Album of Memories, written by Leslie Jonath. This book tells stories about the author´s experiences when she moved to Paris at the age of 10 and how she started to collect stamps. The most interesting thing about this book is that half of the book contains pictures of beautiful stamps. The author used the matching stamps to illustrate her stories.


The book not only tells about stamps but also tells about her adventures during her stay in a new country for one year, places she visited, how she adjusted the language, school and making friends. It such a wonderful book and i hope that i can find the same stamps that are shown in the book :-). 

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Last month we went to hubby´s home town in England for few days.  We went there to visit hubby´s family and of course to go shopping. Everything in England seems much much more cheaper than Norway. 


One of my favorite shop in England is TK Maxx. TK Maxx is a shop where you can get nice stuff with a cheap price. When i was there last time i found a box set of 2 cooking books from Julia Child "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" for only £15 !!! you wont get cheaper than that for sure! :D so without thinking twice i grabbed that box!! . The books were on the clearance shelf and it was reduced 3 times. The Books were on the very back shelf, and it seems like someone was trying to hide them :-).. too bad i found them hehe.

I knew about Julia Child from a movie called Julie & Julia that James (hubby´s first son) told me about and i have already seen it 3 times. 


The way Julia Child describes these books is different with any other cookbooks i know. She explains every single detail as if she is telling a best friend. For example, the type of equipment to use, techniques for chopping, slicing and dicing and not least what compliments each and every meal. These books are simple yet so complete. Don´t think twice to buy them! :-).