Hopman, Philip 1961-

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Hopman, Philip 1961-

Personal

Born July 16, 1961, in Egmond, Netherlands; son of a tulip farmer. Education: College degree, 1980; Rietveld Academy of Arts (Amsterdam, Netherlands), degree.

Addresses

Home—Netherlands. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Illustrator, muralist, and author.

Awards, Honors

Ezra Jack Keats Award nomination and Dutch Silver Brush nomination, both for Een reuze heksentoer; Silver Brush Award, 1999, for 22 wezen.

Writings

(Self-illustrated) Een reuze heksentoer, 1988.

(Self-illustrated) Altijd als ik aan je denk, Unieboek (Houten, Netherlands), 2006.

ILLUSTRATOR

Jacques Vriens, Ik ben ook op jou, Van Goor (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1992.

Tjibbe Veldkamp, Een ober van Niks, Ploegsma (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1992.

Tjibbe Veldkamp, Temmer Tom, Ploegsma (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1994.

Diana Lebacs, Wak—lus Riba Klein Bonaire, Stichting Culturele (Netherland Antilles), 1997.

Hans Hagen, De kat en de adelaar, [Netherlands] 1997.

Tjibbe Veldkamp, 22 wezen, Lemniscaat (Rotterdam, Netherlands), 1998, translated as 22 Orphans, Kane/Miller (La Jolla, CA), 1998.

Hans Hagen, Ledereen min één, VanGoor (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1998.

Tjibbe Veldkamp, Het schoolreisje, Lemniscaat (Rotterdam, Netherlands), 2000, translated as The School Trip, Front Street (Asheville, NC), 2001.

Tony Mitton, Fluff and Other Stuff, Orchard (Faversham, England), 2001.

Miles Bouwman, Rambamboelie, Ploegsma (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2002.

Carry Slee, Hebbes, Prometheus (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2002.

Hans Hagen, De dans van de drummers, [Netherlands] 2003.

Hans Hagen, Zwaantje en Lolly Londen, Van Goor (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2003.

Carry Slee, Vals, Prometheus (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2003.

Carry Slee, Botsing met zwarte piet, Blue in Green (Netherlands), 2004.

Hans Hagen, Wilde beesten: de avonturen van Maliff en Djit, Querido (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2004.

Ted van Lieshout, Goochelaar!, VanGoor (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2004, translated as Uncle Gus's Magic Box, Annick Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

Hans and Monique Hagen, Het paardenboek, Querido (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2005.

Er woont een liedje in mijn hoofd (poetry collection), DiVers (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2005.

Driek van Wissen, Dierendokter Dik, Unieboek (Houten, Netherlands), 2005.

Daan Remmertsw de Vries, Over het uitkomen van Wensen (en hoe je dit kunt laten gebeuren), Kinderboekenmarkt ('s-Gravenhage, Netherlands), 2005.

Simon Puttock, Earth to Stella! Clarion (New York, NY), 2006.

Bette Westera, De schilderijententoonstelling, Gottmer (Haarlem, Netherlands), 2006.

Hans Hagen, Jubelientje wordt wild, Querido (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2006.

Bibi Dumon Tak, Laika Tussen de Sterren, Stitching Collectieve (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2006.

Tjibbe Veldkamp, Het Papegaaienplan, Lannoo (Arnhem, Netherlands), 2006.

Marjet Huiberts, Ridder Florian, Gottmer (Haarlem, Netherlands), 2006.

Sjoerd Kuyper, Robin is Verliefd, Nieuw Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2006.

Also illustrator of Dutch translations of texts by Kate DiCamillo, J.M. Barrie, Astrid Lindgren, and others, and of more than 150 Dutch-language books, including "Computer-Heks" series by Francine Oomen.

Sidelights

Born into a family of tulip farmers in the Netherlands, Philip Hopman suspected that he was destined to become a tulip farmer as well; although he did not enjoy farming, he was not much better at the academic studies that might have signaled a different sort of career. However, there was one subject at which he excelled, and that was drawing. Ultimately pursuing a career in illustration, Hopman has become a prolific artist whose work appears in over 150 books. His collaboration with writer Tjibbe Veldkamp has produced several books, including Een ober van Niks, Het schoolreisje, and 22 wezen, some of which have been translated into English. His popularity in his native Netherlands prompted Hopman's choice as the illustrator assigned to create art for the Dutch-language edition of Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Award-winning The Tale of Despereaux as well as of J.M. Barrie's classic "Peter Pan" novels.

Hopman and Veldkamp's collaboration on 22 wezen—translated into English as 22 Orphans—has been translated into six other languages. The picture book has some similarities to Ludwig Bemelman's time-honored "Madeline" picture-book series because the twenty-two orphans in Veldkamp's tale sleep in beds arranged in straight rows and walk in straight-line formation. Breaking with Madeline's tradition, however, the orphans of Veldkamp's story enjoy creating chaos and disarray, and revel in messiness. "Hopman conveys all the energy of imaginative children creating havoc left and right," wrote a Publishers Weekly critic of the title.

Hopman and Veldkamp also teamed up for The School Trip, in which young Davy decides he would rather build his own school than attend class at the regular schoolhouse. A series of misadventures sets the village school off its foundation, and the building sails off with its delighted students on board while their teacher paddles furiously in an effort to catch up. "Irrepressible Davy is a colorful character," wrote Shawn Brommer in School Library Journal, the critic going on to note that Hopman contrasts Davy's bright colors with a dull surrounding world. Hopman's "illustrations have natural fluidity and movement." Brommer also noted. Keely Milner Halls, writing in Booklist, described the illustrator's contribution to The School Trip as "freewheeling cartoons" that are "as quirky as [Veldkamp's] … story."

In addition to his work for Dutch authors, Hopman has also created illustrations for the English-language novel Earth to Stella by Simon Puttock. The picture book shows Stella as she gets ready for bed, and every part of her bedtime routine has its parallel in the space journey playing out in her imagination. "Hopman illustrates the voyage with softly colored cartoon views of the helmeted young pilot," wrote a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. Wanda Meyers-Hines, writing in School Library Journal, noted that the book features "pages bursting with color" and "innovative illustrations."