I am Vincent and I am not afraid

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I'm Vincent and I'm not afraid (Original title: Ik ben Vincent en ik ben niet bang ) is a book for children and young people by the Dutch writer Enne Koens and the Dutch illustrator Maartje Kuiper. It tells the story of eleven-year-old nature-loving Vincent, who, isolated in his class and bullied by his classmates, looks with great concern at the upcoming school trip until a new classmate begins to show interest in him. Topics such as childhood, friendship, bullying, overcoming fears and being different are dealt with. It is ranked among the ten best children's books in the Netherlands in 2017.

I'm Vincent and I'm not afraid was published by Luitingh-Sijthoff in Dutch in 2017 and will be published  in German by Gerstenberg Verlag in June 2019 . It was translated into German by Andrea Kluitmann .

content

Chapter 1 - 7 days until the school trip

It's a normal day at school. Quite normal, for eleven-year-old Vincent, that means avoiding the court break with an excuse, only taking part passively in lessons and planning the upcoming class trip, and leaving the premises as soon as possible after school has finished in the hope of not being caught by his tormentors become. This does not happen on this day, as is so often the case, and Vincent's lunch box ends up in the bin and he himself in the dirt. On arrival at home, he meets his nanny, Charlotte, who examines his wounds before retiring to the seclusion of his room. Here he can indulge himself in his own imagination, finally being strong enough to defend himself. Vincent's only consolation comes from his animal friends, which he makes up for himself and the maintenance of his survival kit.

Chapter 2 - 6 days until the school trip

The next morning Vincent, like every day, goes to school with a stomachache and much too late to avoid running into Dilan, his archenemy. In the classroom he bursts into the middle of the idea of ​​a new girl. Vincent and the rest of the class are immediately fascinated by Jacqueline (nicknamed "The Jacket"). She is placed in the free space next to Vincent and during the lunch break the two share their food. To his great surprise, “The Jacket”, which everyone wants to be friends with immediately, actually shows a personal interest in him. Vincent Charlotte enthusiastically talks about his new acquaintance. The fact that he is too slow for Dilan on this day is irrelevant with all the excitement, because on this day Vincent is happy for the first time in a long time.

Chapter 3 - 5 days until the school trip

“The jacket” wonders why Vincent is late for school every day and when he tells her that he does survival training in the park every morning, the two of them agree to meet there for Vincent's enthusiasm for the next day. Like the others, he really wants to become a friend of the "jacket" and since she likes rock music and even plays the electric guitar herself, Vincent decides to take drum lessons. On this day he is even spared Dilan.

Chapter 4 - 4 days until the school trip

Vincent quickly sneaks out of the house early in the morning to meet "The Jacket" in the park. The meeting does not take place, because Dilan and the others are already waiting for him there. They tie him to a tree and gag him with a piece of paper. Vincent cannot answer the call of the "jacket", so she goes to school without him and he goes home ashamed. In his anger and grief, he even tears up his own Spiderman poster.

Chapter 5 - 3 days until the school trip

Vincent tells the "jacket" and everyone else that he fell down the stairs and was therefore not at school. The two postpone their meeting on Sunday. Because the two go together after school that day, Dilan doesn't dare to approach Vincent, but Dilan is already making his own plans for the school trip.

Chapter 6 - 2 days until the school trip

On Saturday evening Vincent packs his equipment for the school trip in his backpack. In addition to his survial kit, this includes weatherproof clothing, a sleeping bag and a logbook. Looking forward to meeting the "jacket", Vincent goes to sleep.

Chapter 7 - The Last Day

Vincent and "The Jacket" have breakfast together in the park. He tells her everything he knows about survival, edible plants and insects, and the wild. The two decide, since they are not really full of what is growing in the park, to finish breakfast at the "jacket". To Vincent's astonishment, her parents are very different than expected. You are a very tidy and wealthy family because the father of the “jacket” is a finance manager. The two play a little music and want to start a real rock band. Although Vincent had a fantastic day with the "jacket" on, he cannot sleep well the night before the school trip because he suddenly remembers Dilan.

Chapter 8 - School trip

Vincent gets up in panic on the day of departure and tries to pretend a fever. However, he only manages to delay the departure by one day and the next day his mother takes him to his accommodation. As if it weren't already difficult enough for Vincent, he was promptly allocated the only free bed in the dormitory right next to Dilan. The students are sent to bed. Frightened, Vincent is clutching his flashlight and cannot sleep. When he shines over at Dilan, his bed is empty. He has crawled under Vincent's bed and sneakily pounces on him. Without thinking about it, he immediately takes flight through the kitchen window and out into the open.

Only at a stream in the forest, where he can't get any further, Vincent stops and collapses, exhausted. He now finds himself in the middle of the wilderness. From a stabbing pain in his arm, Vincent notices that Dilan has inflicted a bleeding wound on him with a knife. Fortunately, he has his survival equipment with him and he is never completely alone with his animals.

Chapter 9 - Survival

There is now no turning back for Vincent. His fear and shame are too great and a return is no longer an option for him. In addition, he is now in a situation for which he had always prepared: surviving alone in the wilderness. He finds a good hiding place and builds a shelter. In his logbook he makes a note: I'm not going back, never going back. The aim of the expedition: to disappear.

When the first search party comes near Vincent, he has to look for a new hiding place. However, he accidentally leaves his backpack behind and he cannot get it back until the search party finds him in front of him. Now the others are in possession of his provisions, his survival kit and his logbook and know his mission. Now he has to spend another hard night in the forest without his equipment, while a helicopter is now even looking for him.

Hungry and hypothermic, Vincent decides to return to the camp and get new food and clothes. He climbs in through the window of the girls' dormitory and meets the "jacket" there. She wants to find out why Vincent ran away, but the latter does not yet dare to confide in her and gives her a task. If she finds him hiding in the forest, he promises to tell her his secret. Vincent packs a new sleeping bag and something to eat and disappears into the woods again before anyone sees them together. When the “jacket” appears in Vincent's hiding place, night is already breaking.

Chapter 10 - All Telling

After great reluctance, Vincent finally manages to overcome himself and reveal his biggest secret to the "jacket" and tell everything that Dilan does to him. He talks about bullying, his insecurities and his fears of not being normal. To his surprise, the “jacket” also admits that she was bullied once, but then understood that you should actually be yourself instead of “normal”. This is very liberating for Vincent and they talk late into the night.

The next morning, the two of them are woken up by the police and taken back to their accommodation, where their worried parents, teachers and classmates are already waiting. Vincent now dares to open up to adults too and tells them everything. Vincent has even put aside his fear of Dilan. All thanks to the popularity of the “jacket”. The two are now friends.

characters

main characters

Vincent

Vincent is an eleven year old student and a loner. He has no friends at school, he is considered strange there, and Dilan and his friends lie in wait for him every day after school. They beat him up, drag him through the dirt, destroy his belongings. The shy Vincent would prefer not to come to school because of that, which is why he has developed great skills in making up excuses. When he is alone, he retreats into his world of thoughts and ponders what it would be like to be super powerful like his great hero Spiderman, who is also emblazoned on a large poster in his room and can finally stand up to Dilan . Vincent even trains with fifteen push-ups a day.

Nevertheless, in these moments his fears catch up with him again and again, of school, of Dilan, of confiding in someone, of being alone. Vincent's parents have no idea what their son is going through. Fortunately, Vincent is not all alone, because his animals bravely stand by his side. These are only a result of his imagination, but they are a great support for him when things get difficult. Vincent's nanny Charlotte also supports him when he comes home from school again. Because even they cannot protect him from Dilan and his thugs.

Survival is Vincent's one and only. He likes to be alone in nature, always armed with his beloved survival kit. Inside are all sorts of practical items that will make it easier for him to survive in the wild. Vincent has already read a few survival books several times and memorized all the essential rules for survival in detail. Apart from Charlotte, nobody is really interested in Vincent's great passion until one day the new girl in his class, Jacqueline, comes into his life.


Jacqueline "The Jacket"

Jacqueline, who everyone just calls “The Jacket”, is new to Vincent's class and a year older than the other children, as she has already lived with her parents in several countries, speaks several languages ​​and therefore already in several different classes was. Unlike Vincent, she is open-minded, sociable, brave and, above all, damn cool. She always wears a casual cap with a hoodie. She surfs, plays the electric guitar and loves the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

She quickly makes friends in Vincent's class, is friendly to everyone and even talks to Dilan. She is admired by everyone and everyone would like to be friends with her. It is all the more strange for Vincent that “The Jacket” seems to be interested in him, of all people, by all of his classmates.

Minor characters

The animals

The four animals from Vincent's daydreams into which he takes refuge to protect himself from his surroundings are a squirrel, a worm, a foal and a small beetle and are his only real friends. They reflect Vincent's character traits and conflicts of conscience. They encourage him, they admonish him, share their concerns and try to rebuild him in his darkest moments.


Dilan

Dilan also goes to the same class as Vincent and bullies him every day at school with his comrades. At first shy, silent and reserved, Vincent takes his hand to help, shows Dilan secret places at the school and initially believes that he has finally found a like-minded person in it. He and Vincent go to school in the mornings until he befriends some stronger boys and soon doesn't want anything more to do with Vincent. It gets even worse for Vincent when Dilan and his gang select him as a victim for their atrocities shortly afterwards, even though he has always been friendly towards him before.


Charlotte

Vincent's nanny and next to the animals his only real caregiver is Charlotte. The two have a brotherly and sisterly relationship with each other and Vincent is the only one who confides in Charlotte what is done to him every day at school. Charlotte is a few years older than Vincent and tries to give him advice in his dire situation.

criticism

“The book moves you and it won't be any different for children in class. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you read this book and speak to your class about some of the situations in the book. The book can also reveal hidden bullying behavior in your classroom. "

Thomas de Veen, on the other hand, notes at NRC that, in his opinion, the book simply does not have enough individuality to be fully convincing.

In Trouw, the reviewer says that the author, with her empathy and surefire style, made the book a worthy and quite exciting book.

Awards

In 2017, the author received the Charlotte Köhler grant, endowed with 5000 euros, for this book .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dit zijn de best Nederlandse Kinderboeken van 2017 parool.nl
  2. ↑ Announcement in Gerstenberg's catalog (page 88/89)
  3. ↑ “Het boek doet really wat met je en dat zal voor children in de klas niet different zijn. Daarom is het real een aanrader om dit boek voor te lezen en met je klas te praten over sommige situaties in het boek. Ook zou het boek best hidden pestgedrag naar boven kunnen halen in je klas. " , for reading promotion in the classroom (ndl.)
  4. ↑ Enne Koens laat de pesterij wel heel makkelijk verdwijnen
  5. ↑ Review: Enne Koens maakt een eenzaam avontuur van survivallen in de Ardennen trouw.nl
  6. ^ Letterenfonds.nl Charlotte Köhler Prize to Alfred Schaffer ; accessed on May 18, 2019