Schutten is a Dutch children’s writer. Most of his work consists of informative books, especially on
animals, history and science. With his debut Smell what I Tell, a non-fiction book about the
language of plants and animals, he immediately won a Vlag en Wimpel award. In 2008 Schutten
received the Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) for Children of Amsterdam and in 2014 for The
Mysterie of Life – How Nothing Became Everything. This book was also awarded the Golden Brush
for Floor Rieder’s illustrations. In 2009 he wrote the Children’s Book Week Gift: The revenge of the
Brussels Sprout.
Jan Paul Schutten was appointed as the Children’s Book Laureate for 2 years in 2015. His books
are sold in more than 30 countries