Review 1:-- Review 2:-- Telegraaf:

Review Ella Vogelaar.

Short summary from the letter of the Ministry of Housing, Districts and Integration, Ella Vogelaar (19th October 2007)

“On the 12th of June I received your book ‘My Storye’. I had promised you then to give my feedback and I would herewith like to do so,(...)because I value your intentions with ‘MY STORY’. What especially appealed to me is the fact that you describe how a relationship between an indigenous and immigrant child can develop and how they discover that existing sterotypes disseminate when they get to know each other."

“I could not put the book down and thought it was a captivating story with a clear message."

‘MY SIDE’, is in my view an exciting book  which has the power to open the readers’ eyes for the fact that people are often very different from what one thinks based on prevalent opinion."

Ella Vogelaar’s oldest granddaughter (13 years of age).
.For her dealing with immigrant children is a daily occurence. Her best friends are Moroccan and Turkish, and have everyday these two friends do problems. She proposes to you that, whenever you want to write about this topic again, to for instance introduce a main character who doubts her religion. Because she does see that in her environment.(...)"

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Review 2:-- Review 1:-- Telegraaf:

Review drs. Leni Hof-Hoogland

Asser Courant (mei 2007)

London resident Willem van der Sluis gives original view on integration

ASSEN -
Willem van der Sluis (33) who, three years ago, exchanged his country of birth for England, is now a teacher in Dutch schools, has written an intriguing book about a very topical subject: integration. What is remarkable about the content is that it is concerned with “reversed” integration, an interesting theme.

‘My Story – everybody has a secret’ – is the title of the book and aimed at children from 10 years onwards, but I found it worth reading also as an adult. Willem Kant writes down his experiences in a diary, from when he is 10 till 15 years old.  He is not lucky with his family: his mother is addicted to drugs and his father drinks. And he doesn’t get on with his sister although that improves later.

Initially Willem and his dad really dislike Muslims but that changes radically when Willem falls in love with a Muslim girl in his class, Meryem.  His father also revokes his opinion, especially when his unpopular mother-in-law interacts with Meryem’s grandfather.

Willem is both naive and clever. Naive as far as sex is concerned, but clever when he has to achieve good grades: he gets the answers of the Cito-test (a kind of 11-plus) from an illegal internet site.  And he has got a very vivid imagination which is evident from his diary, in the form of often absurdistic day-dreams and pipe-dreams.  He has made peace with his sister and more, when, after he has heard she is a lesbian and when he understands what that means, he chats with a lesbian girl on the internet in  his sister’s name, and invites her to his 15th birthday party.

Topics like integration, identity and (homo)sexuality are discussed in an unobtrusive way. What makes the book worth reading is its surprising content together with humoristic traits.

drs. Leni Hof-Hoogland

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Telegraaf:-- Review 1:-- Review 2:

REVIEW IN ‘DE TELEGRAAF’, Thursday 26th April 2007. By Frank van Vliet

Contentious topic is made a subject of discussion by a children’s book.

INTEGRATION WITH A WINK.

A 14-year-old boy has a mother as prostitute and an alcoholic father, whose only hobby is chasing chickens. But what especially is the problem. Dad hates foreigners. That promises something when the boy with learning difficulties falls in love with an Muslim girl in his class. In the book, ‘Mijn Kant, iedereen heeft een geheim’ (my side of things) everyone has a secret, the London resident Willem van der Sluis, tells the story of integration, awakening sexuality and identity.

The book was launched this weekend at the PABO (=PGCE) institution in Assen and has already been read by a group of schoolchildren in year 12. Their reaction was ‘humorous, but fierce’. For the author it was most intriguing to hear the discussion with the children of primary school ‘De Driemaster’, led by his collegue and children’s writer Chris Vegter. “Children do keep surprising you”. I knew there was humour in the book but I was especially interested how fierce/heavy they found it, says 33-year-old Willem van der Sluis, sipping a cup of coffee. He deliberately wrote the book ‘on the edge’. Children of 12/13 years old can cope with more than you think. Nowadays too much is being decided for children, but it is possible to ask their opinion about things. With integration, according to the author, it is especially important that both sides learn something from it. It may seem to be a difficult topic for a children’s book, but Van der Sluis feels it is inescapable. He felt there was a lack of such a book for young people that is suitable to discuss in the classroom or to read oneself.

“Whether you are for or against it, Holland is changing. Presently there are already Maroccan and Turkish  politicians in The Hague, who originated from those countries, and that number will only increase in the coming years”.

Nowhere is ‘Mijn Kant’ instructive. For instance the discussion around the wearing of head scarves is being presented via Willem, the main character, who sports a pirate’s head scarf in school.  The reaction of a boy in Assen:”If you wear clogs in Turkey then they don’t prohibit that, do they?”

Muslim reservation about  the subject of sexuality is being discussed via the girl Meryem who has her first period and doesn’t know what is happening to her. Both sides are not treated lightly: Willem’s family is totally anti-social and Meryem’s father treats her very severely when he hears that Meryem had given Willem mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save his life.

Frank Van Vliet , Telegraaf

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