Het Schooltje van Dik Trom, Children's literature museum in Etersheim, Netherlands
Het Schooltje van Dik Trom is a former village schoolhouse with a single classroom displaying roughly 1,200 children's books and teaching materials from past centuries. The rooms are arranged as they once were, giving visitors a sense of how school life operated in earlier times.
The schoolhouse was built in 1882 and served as the workplace of author C. Joh. Kieviet from 1883 to 1903. During these two decades he created and refined his writing while teaching students in the same building.
The museum's focus on Dik Trom reflects a character who became beloved in Dutch children's stories. Visitors see how young readers were taught to love reading through tales written in this very schoolroom.
A visit requires no special preparation since the museum is small and easy to navigate on your own. It helps to allow time for reading and looking through the displayed materials at a comfortable pace.
The author tested his stories by reading them aloud to his students and watching their reactions firsthand. This direct connection between writing and his young audience shaped how the tales were refined and perfected.
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