Text by Rolf Smid

The world of Catharina Valckx
by R. Smid (friend and fan) 

The books by Catharina Valckx are books that make you happy. Not only because of the pictures, but also the text. “You’d be amazed how sensitive little children are to dry humor.” 

All her stories – from her very first book, “The King and the chicken” 1997 – contain a kind of self-evident logic which is, at the same time, wonderfully absurd. The theme is nearly always friendship, you could say warmheartedness.  

Before she started writing children’s books, Catharina Valckx worked as an artist. And that can easily be seen; the colors of her illustrations are particularly beautiful. Her illustrations are styled, but perfectly accessible for children. The expressions of the characters are striking.
In her earliest books, you can detect the influence of William Steig, of whom she is a great admirer. But in the later years, she developed a style that is completely unique.