Wilhelm Otto Kühne

Who was Wilhelm Otto Kühne?

Wilhelm Otto Kühne award-winning author of children's literature and editor of Die Jongspan and Die Burger in Cape Town, South Africa. He was one of the first children's authors in the Afrikaans language. The most notable of his books are the Huppelkind series and Die wonderbaarlike motor van Barnabas Bombas. Kühne won the inaugural C. P. Hoogenhout Award for Afrikaans children's literature for his book Huppel verjaar. His wife, the illustrator Dorothy Hill, illustrated the entire Huppelkind series as well as other of his books and was an illustrator for Die Burger and Die Jongspan.

Wilhelm Otto Kühne was born in 1924 in the district of Graaff Reinet. After four years in education, he joined the editorial boards of Die Burger as 'seiljagverslaggewer', Huisgenoot and Sarie Marais. In The Die Jongspan appeared when he was teacher, his first children's stories. In 1960 he was editing "some time the youngsters and also own contributions. He married in 1951 Dorothy Margaret Hill, the famous children's illustrator, who illustrated most of his subsequent books.

WO Kühne is especially known for his six Huppelkind books: Huppelkind, Huppel maak 'n plan, Wip-Huppel-Wip, Vrolike Huppelkind, Huppel by die water and Huppel verjaar published through Tafelberg. The six books were printed in an omnibus in 1976, 1982, and in 1995 in a second revised edition. Kühne was the first recipient of the C.P. Hoogenhout award for 'Huppel verjaar'.