Waar is Kiki?

Nedda Nagel received a grant for writing Waar is Kiki? Kiki plays the triangle in a large, very large orchestra. Everyone is playing their hearts out, except Kiki. Kiki has to wait because she only plays the very last note of the piece. Look at those flutists! Note after note, they get to play. And the violinists, sweeping from melody to melody. Kiki has had enough of waiting and decides to leave. What’s so special about that one note anyway? There are plenty of other notes; surely they won’t miss her. But is that really true? This story is about things that seem small but are actually very important. About how some things don’t need to be big and prominent to hold meaning. All of this is wrapped in a playfully designed book that highlights every instrument in the orchestra, with rhyming words creating a spoken melody.

As an illustrator, Nedda loves working from stories. Stories from close by (like her one-year-old daughter refusing to eat) but also from far away (like tales about animals in the Sahara). She enjoys focusing on the tiniest details, and her work always contains a touch of humor. Nedda has illustrated for various magazines and small independent businesses and created artwork for several short children’s stories. In 2012, she graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy and spent 10 years working as a costume designer for film and theater. In 2021, she changed course and decided to focus entirely on illustration. Over the past year, she has also discovered a deep love for writing.