Meindert De Jong
Meindert De Jong
Meindert De Jong
Meindert De Jong stands as one of the most significant voices in American children’s literature, bringing a distinctly Dutch sensibility to stories that resonate across cultural boundaries. Born in Wierum, Netherlands, and later settling in the United States, De Jong developed a gift for crafting narratives that honor childhood’s genuine emotions—fear, wonder, loneliness, and small triumphs—without talking down to young readers. His prose carries a lyrical, almost poetic quality, and he had an uncommon ability to make the ordinary world feel quietly magical, whether writing about rural villages, schoolyard dynamics, or a child’s relationship with animals and nature.
De Jong’s recognition as a major literary figure was cemented when The Wheel on the School won the Newbery Medal in 1955, a testament to the book’s enduring power and the author’s mastery of the form. The novel, set in a small Dutch village where schoolchildren become determined to build a wagon wheel on their school roof to encourage storks to nest there, exemplifies De Jong’s trademark blend of simplicity and depth. It captures both the practical, concrete details of childhood adventure and something more profound about community, persistence, and wonder. This winning novel showcases why De Jong’s work has earned its place in the canon of children’s literature—he wrote books that children genuinely wanted to read while offering the kind of emotional intelligence and narrative craft that sustains adult rereading.
