“If you want to earn your son’s love, you must make applesauce”
“Johnny’s daddy has smooth cheeks, an apple in his throat and sounds like a mom when he sings in the bath.”
It is the beginning of “Applesauce”, a book of Belgian world famous author-illustrator Klaas Verplancke. The book has been translated into Armenian for the first time. It was recognized the best children’s book in 2012.
“Applesauce” is a sweet book, which tells about the relationship between father and son, “Once I got angry with my son and my son told me that he didn’t love me and we weren’t friends anymore. I said that even if I got angry, I am your father, and we will continue to be friends. Then I decided to write this book. The children think that you are either good or bad. There is no medium status. I am trying to keep balance with the help of this book,” says the author of the book.
He didn’t aim at creating an image of a father who is perfect. If other books present fathers as heroes, as an ideal father, in “Applesauce” we can see him in different characters. The aim of the author is to create a real character.
World famous illustrator-author adds, “Father must be able to say, ‘Yes, I was wrong, I am sorry.’ And in order to earn the love of his son, he must make applesauce. It is very important that the door of parents be always open for their children. The book tells, when someone knocks on the door, someone else opens it.”
Children together with their parents were present at the presentation of the book, “Oh My God! So many people have come in order to get acquainted with my book. I am very happy,” says Klaas Verplancke.
Parents present at the event note that there must be many such books both for fathers and mothers.
In the interview with us Belgian author spoke about the title of the book, “Applesauce is a very famous meal in Belgium. Every child likes this dessert very much. This sauce regulates the relationship between father and son. When I was a child, I ate it, my son also likes it. By the way, when I was writing the book, he was six, now he is sixteen.”
The author has his own version of making the sauce, which is a secret, “I have a secret, which cannot be found in classic popular recipes. I can only say that something personal must be added in the sauce and it must be served hot and must be tasted with a finger.”
Klaas Verplancke’s “Applesauce” is a book for the whole family. The translation into Armenian is the 14th translation of the book.
Klaas Verplancke has published 5 and has illustrated 150 books.
By the way, after the presentation he personally plied the attendees with the applesauce made by him.
