Wilhelm Otto Kühne
Wilhelm Otto (WO) Kühne (1924–1988) award-winning author of children's literature and editor of Die Jongspan and Die Burger in Cape Town, South Africa. He was one of the first children's authors in the Afrikaans language. The most notable of his books are the Huppelkind series and Die wonderbaarlike motor van Barnabas Bombas (1981). Kühne won the inaugural C. P. Hoogenhout Award for Afrikaans children's literature for his book Huppel verjaar. His wife, the illustrator Dorothy Hill, illustrated the entire Huppelkind series as well as other of his books and was an illustrator for Die Burger and Die Jongspan.
Wilhelm Otto Kühne was born in 1924 in the district of Graaff Reinet. After four years in education, he joined the editorial boards of Die Burger as 'seiljagverslaggewer', Huisgenoot and Sarie Marais. In The Die Jongspan appeared when he was teacher, his first children's stories. In 1960 he was editing "some time the youngsters and also own contributions. He married in 1951 Dorothy Margaret Hill, the famous children's illustrator, who illustrated most of his subsequent books.
WO Kühne is especially known for his six Huppelkind books: Huppelkind (1958), Huppel maak 'n plan (1958), Wip-Huppel-Wip (1959), Vrolike Huppelkind (1959), Huppel by die water (1960) and Huppel verjaar (1960) published through Tafelberg. The six books were printed in an omnibus in 1976 (Vrolike Huppelkind), 1982 (Huppel en sy maats, reprinted in 1988), and in 1995 in a second revised edition. Kühne was the first recipient of the C.P. Hoogenhout award for 'Huppel verjaar'.
Hooray for Klaas Jas! (1975), Pete-a-John (1975), The miraculous engine of Barnabas Bombas (1981), Pot, spade and wooden fork (1983) and Pip in Otterland (possibly 1983) and Once there was A Pied, a fantasy story (1985) is also on the younger child focused. In 1960 Kühne published his first juvenile book, Kassie Krog in the pinch.
The circuit of Keerom (1962) was co-winner along with the gold protea Micro the first prize in the contest for youth stories that the National Bookstore in 1961, writing for the appearance of the first African book in 1861 to commemorate. It has two editions and twelve reprints experience.
The series The nagvlieërs (1957), the invaders (1958) and Competitors (1962) is light adventure stories. In Golden flute my story is out: stories, verses and riddles for children (1988) with Linda Rode the compiler was published Kühne a retelling of the Icarus story under the title The young man who wanted to fly too high.
Bold has a number of nursery books translated or retold as the valor goblins Cologne (1969), my picture polish book (1976) with fresh and manupileerbare images, and four books in the series of Bible stories for the kids, even the birth of Jesus, Moses in the basket, David and Goliath and the childhood of Jesus, all from 1982.
Selected works
- Huppelkind (1958)
- Huppel maak 'n plan (1958)
- Huppel verjaar (1960)
- Huppel en sy maats (anthology, 1982, ISBN 0-624-01706-0, ISBN 0-624-03431-3)
