Dutch-language children's and youth literature is not only coveted in the German-speaking world. Children's and youth literature accounts for approximately 40 percent of all titles translated from Dutch, and it is highly appreciated. The list of authors from the Netherlands and Flanders who have received the German Children's Literature Award is long: Guus Kuijer, Ted van Lieshout, Els Pelgrom, Maritgen Matter, Bart Moeyaert, Do van Ranst, Joke van Leeuwen, Edward van de Vendel, and Dolf Verroen.

The success story of Dutch-language children's and youth literature in the German-speaking world began in the 1950s with Godfried Bomans, an author who primarily wrote for adults, but whose imaginative stories for children (Das Lokomotivchen [The Small Locomotive], 1954; Der unzufriedene Fisch [The Discontent Fish], 1953) opened the door for following translations of Dutch-language children's and youth literature in the German-speaking world. Another important event in the 1950s was the discovery of Marten Toonder, known for his stories about Tom Puss and the bear Ollie B. Bommel, and Dick Laan, whose stories about 'Pünkelchen' were enthusiastically received by young readers.

In the 1960s Annie M.G. Schmidt and Miep Diekmann were discovered in the German language area. Annie M.G. Schmidt, who received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1987, was the best known Dutch author of children's and youth literature at the end of the 1950s. She made her debut in the German language area with Heiner und Hanni (Jip and Janneke) and the stories of 'Wiplala' and 'Abeltje'. Miep Diekman, known for her open approach of themes such as eroticism, violence, death, politics and discrimination, shaped the perception in the German language area with her realistic novels for young people in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In the 1970s, children's and youth literature from the Dutch-speaking regions reached a level of recognition in Germany, Switzerland and Austria that adult literature to date has not yet reached: it became a model for German-speaking authors. This was due in part to the success of the creator of Miffy (for more information see miffy.de), Dick Bruna and Max Velthuijs, the author of Der Junge und der Fisch [The Boy and the Fish], whose work was translated into more than 25 languages. Successively authors such as Annemie and Margriet Heymans, Marjan Roodt, Rie Cramer, Thea Beckman, and not to forget Guus Kuijer, whose work was awarded the German Children's Literature Award not only in 1982 for Erzähl mir von Oma [Tell me about Nana] but also in 2002 for Wir alle für immer zusammen [All of us Together Forever], conquered the market in the German language area. It took a while, but nonetheless, at the end of the 1970s, Dutch-language children's and youth literature became the role model in the German-speaking world. The time between the publication of the original and its translation became shorter and shorter, the number of publications per author higher and higher.

In the 1980s, children's and youth literature from Flanders also gained popularity in the German-speaking world. This period saw the discovery of the works of Paul Kustermans and Henri van Daele, followed by translations of the work of Johan Ballegeer, Gaston van Camp, Gerda van Cleemput, Ed Franck, Mieke Vanpol, Katrien Synaeve, and, last but not least, translations of the work of Anne Provoost and Bart Moeyaert, who have become fixed stars of Dutch children's and youth literature.

Just as in the days of Bruna and Velthuijs, readers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are particularly interested in the work of illustrators. Guido van Genechten, Annemarie van Haeringen and Mies van Hout are currently very successful. In the German-speaking world, people are convinced of the power that comes from the interplay of illustrations, language, tension and humour in children's and youth literature from the Netherlands and Flanders. The reviewer of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for example, is "completely mesmerized" by the interplay of the illustrations by Judith Vanistendael and the text by Michael De Cock in Rosie und Moussa (Lenz, 2013).

Joke van Leeuwen, who not only writes but also makes illustrations herself, was discovered in the German language area at the end of the 1980s. The first translations of her work were published by Sauerländer, but her breakthrough came with Deesje macht das schon [Deesje Will Manage], the story of the unusual but imaginative Deesje, which was translated by the famous translator Mirjam Pressler (Anne Frank and others) and awarded the German Children's Literature Award a year later. "Deesje is just as spritzy and turbulent as it is labyrinthine and oppressive" (Arbeitskreis Jugendliteratur).  Als mein Vater ein Busch wurde und ich meinen Namen verlor [When My Father Became a Bush and I Lost My Name] (2010) was also highly regarded. An important and "a poetic, thought provoking book about war and what it does to the people involved" (Joke van Leeuwen, 2002).

Toon Tellegen debuted in the German-speaking world with the pen name Anton Tellegen as early as 1987 with the translation of De dood van tante Miesje (Ich war fünfzehn und zum Glück gross für mein Alter [I Was Fifteen and Luckily Tall for My Age], 1987), the story of a child whose traumatic experiences during the war continue to dominate its life. But the breakthrough only came about at the beginning of this century. Tellegen's book about the "most complicated father in the world", Josefs Vater [Joseph's Father], appeared in 2006 as a paperback with DTV, the 'trilogy' Ich wünsche [I Wish], Ich denke [I Think] and Ich sollte [I Should] was published by Mixtvision in Munich, and Hanser published Tellegen's books for young "hot heads" (Hanser) Man wird doch wohl mal wütend werden dürfen [One Can't Avoid Getting Mad Now and Then] (2014) and Wird denn hier keiner wütend? [Is no One Getting Mad?] which, according to Die Welt, could achieve "the status of a modern classic" (Perlentaucher).

Just like the work of Guus Kuijer, the work of Edward van de Vendel is appreciated in the German language area for its fine humour and the lightness with which the author writes about feelings, without becoming sentimental (c.f. Menzel, 2010). Van de Vendel made his debut in the German-speaking world at the beginning of this century with the "bittersweet lovestory" Spring, wenn du dich traust [Jump if You Dare] (2001). Van de Vendel's start in the German language area was a difficult one. The Coming-Out of Tycho and Oliver was well received, but also received criticism. Sometimes Van de Vendel is a bit too "narcissistic" and fails at "dampening his exuberant ideas for the benefit of the narrative", commented Ralf Schweikart in Die Zeit (Schweikart, 2002), but then things suddenly went very fast. After 2007 Van de Vendel conquered the German market. Every year one or more of his titles appeared in German translation. With Superguppy the publisher Boje even started a new series with poems (Gedichte für neugierige Kinder [Poems for Curious Children]) in 2007. "Simple" and "mastered", a "high point" judged the Süddeutsche Zeitung (Lettner, 2009). In 2016, Edward van de Vendel received a prize for Der Hund, den Nino nicht hatte [The Dog, That Nino Didn't Have] (2015), "Text and illustrations [have merged] into an entity" (Arbeitskreis Jugendliteratur, 2016).