Willem van de Hulst
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W.G. van de Hulst Sr. trained as a teacher. He became a teacher in Utrecht in 1901 and was headmaster at the same school from 1913 to 1940. He started writing for the Nederlandsche Zondagsschoolvereeniging. He wrote his first book Willem Wijcherts under his pseudonym Jan van de Croese. With the book Jaap Holm and his friends he established his name as a writer of children's books with a Christian slant, which was mainly expressed in the attention to prayer. He eventually wrote a hundred children's books. He himself regarded Peerke and his comrades as his best book.
Wim Hazeu reported in 1988 that more than 11 million copies of Van de Hulst's books have been sold.[4] Publisher Callenbach reported the same sales numbers for its 150th anniversary in 2004.
Van de Hulst's books were illustrated by, among others, his son W.G. van de Hulst jr. The first book illustrated by Junior was A Mouse in This House (1933).