Mark Tijsmans with his new book. — © Michel Van der Auwera
Children’s book author and actor Mark Tijsmans has written a new book ‘You do not bring my peace’. What is immediately striking is the shocking cover showing a young person in a Hitler Youth uniform. But that was the intention.
‘You do not bring my peace’ is the latest book by children’s author Mark Tijsmans. The 22nd already. “My books are indeed classified as children’s and youth reading material, but they are rather reading material for the whole family,” Mark corrects me. The cover of the book shows a child in a Hitler Youth uniform. “We talked about it for a long time, but the flag covers it all.” The book is about two children in 1944, Freek and Rosa. He is a member of the Hitler Youth, she grows up in a family of resistance fighters. “For the cover, we even asked Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever for permission to photograph the boy in this uniform in public.”
The cover of Thou Doesn’t Bring My Peace. — © Michel Van der Auwera
What would you do?
‘You do not bring my peace’ is about friendship and puppy love. The underlying message is that you have to be lucky with the nest you end up in. Both Freek and Rosa did not choose to end up in this situation. “I want the reader to think about what he or she would do in this situation and how far you would go to save that situation,” Mark explains.
Book chat
Mark Tijsmans is often invited by schools for his ‘Book Chat’. He does notice that war concerns the young people. “Although I have discovered that many kids are interested in the Second World War on their own. They also appear to know a thing or two about the war past of their (great) grandparents,” he says. He feels much less about extremism. “Good thing, too. The target group of my lectures is 10 to 13 years old. Perhaps a good age to live life with an open mind.”
Act
“Do I still have time to act? With a good agenda, this works perfectly.” Mark Tijsmans is one of the storytellers at the Antwerp Zoo during the summer months this year. He also tours with his musical program Hartslag Alleluja.
https://www.marktijsmans.be/
Mark Tijsmans with his 22nd book. — © Michel Van der Auwera
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