Anneke and Hans – 30 Short Stories from North Holland

By Susan Kramer

Anneke and Hans are nine year old twins and best friends who learn while having adventures in North Holland. These thirty short stories include virtues, social issues such as bullying, dealing with grief, and safety while swimming. Stories can be used as lessons in the classroom. Each tale includes an illustration of an animal that lives in The Netherlands, identified in an index. Another index lets the reader know what topics and virtues are included in each story. Upper elementary reading level. 18,600 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780359892082

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Anneke and Hans – 30 Short Stories from North Holland

Anneke and Hans – 30 Short Stories from North Holland by Susan Kramer

By Susan Kramer © 2019

ISBN: 978-0-359-89208-2

Cover and interior artwork by Susan Kramer

USA.

All rights reserved.

1. Moving Day Adventure

Just a year ago this was a big day. Twins Anneke and Hans, then 8 years old, and their parents moved from Amsterdam to a village in North Holland. Their city apartment was too small for a growing family and their parents wanted the twins to grow up surrounded by woods and fields, near the ocean.

Pa knew about the Dunes National Park from visits in his childhood. Ma and Pa scanned the maps and found an ideal village along the park's eastern border two miles inland from the North Sea. The intercity train from Amsterdam to Den Helder ran along the western edge of the small town.

The perfect town house with a front and back garden had recently become available. After negotiations with a realtor the house became theirs.

A moving company arrived at their Amsterdam apartment early that Monday morning. Two weeks before, they had delivered more than a hundred packing boxes. The family easily filled, labeled, and numbered them. Ma kept the list of numbers and contents in a small notebook. Then they would later know where to find everything.

It took the movers two hours to load up the cartons and furniture into the van. And they drove another hour north up the coast to their new home.

The family started driving to their new house while the movers were still loading up. They wanted to be ready to receive the moving van. And in another hour everything was unloaded and boxes and furniture were placed in the rooms where they belonged.

Anneke and Hans each had a portion of responsibility in the move. Hans was to make sure his room contents made it up to the second story. His bedroom was there under the eaves. And it was the longest distance the boxes and furniture had to be carried.

Anneke's responsibility was to check the labels on the cartons as they were brought in. She needed to point out to the movers which room to put them in on the ground floor and first floor.

Giving the twins these responsibilities freed Ma to start unpacking the kitchen boxes and get a cold meal ready for everyone. She cleared and cleaned some counter space and unpacked the basket she had brought with them from the city.

There was a large bag of two dozen sliced sesame seed rolls, a small tub of butter, a jar of mustard, packages of sliced Gouda  and caraway cheese, a head of lettuce, a container of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and several knives, forks and spoons for serving and eating. She also included napkins to wrap around each sandwich. When Ma had this set out she called everyone, including the movers, to come fix themselves a sandwich and rest for a moment. She also set out bottles of water and juice.

Pa was helping the movers bring furniture into the house and he was glad for this short break. Soon the truck was unloaded and the movers paid.

The little family was in their first real house with gardens, and a workshop and bike shed out back. They smiled at each other. Ma and Pa were happy with the new location. There was an elementary school nearby and stores in walking distance. The train station was six blocks away.

Ma and Pa were proud of the twins taking responsibility for their parts in getting the boxes to the right rooms. They knew that this village offered many opportunities for Anneke and Hans to explore nature.

The twins looked forward to making friends at school. And, they liked the thoughts of being able to run and play in the many small parks in the village, and in the Dunes National Park.

Key points: responsibility; cooperation; helping

2. The Shortest Day of the Year

By the time the twins came home from school to begin their winter vacation, the street lights were on. It was the shortest day of sunlight at their home in the far north. Most of the year the twins walked to the nearby playground after school to meet friends, and climb the jungle gym and swings. But nearing the end of December they had to be content to spend late afternoons indoors, enjoying a snack from Ma. She usually set out hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies to tide them over till dinner.

On this special day of the winter solstice, they were allowed to light a few of the smaller candles spread around the room. The twins sat at the table drinking their hot chocolate, watching the candle flames flicker. They became quiet and thoughtful.

After a minute of settling into the silence, Hans said to Anneke that even though it was too dark to go back outside and play, it was a treat to be able to enjoy the glowing lights in the room. And with the time of sunlight gradually lasting longer now, they'd soon be able to play outside after school.

Anneke responded that she liked the thought of brighter days to come, that she had more energy in sunlight. So the twins agreed that the longer