Thé Tjong-Khing

Thé Tjong-Khing, born August 4, 1933, in Purworedjo, Java, Dutch East Indies, is a children’s book illustrator best known for his wordless picture book *Waar is de taart?* and his long career in Dutch comics. Growing up in a large Chinese Indonesian family, he was drawn to Tarzan comic strips. He studied at the Seni Rupa arts institute in Bandung before moving to the Netherlands in 1956. There, he began as a volunteer draftsman at the Toonder Studio, eventually working on *Oliver B. Bumble* comics and contributing to the magazine *Tina*. He also created the series *Arman & Ilva*. In 1970, he illustrated Miep Diekmann’s children’s book, shifting to freelance work for authors like Guus Kuijer, Els Pelgrom, Sylvia Vanden Heede, and Dolf Verroen. His signature style blends detailed linework with gentle humor, often in wordless narratives. Tjong-Khing won the Gouden Penseel three times, and in 2005 received the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs for *Waar is de taart?*, which also earned a Zilveren Penseel and a 2007 nomination for the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis. In 2010, he won the Max Velthuijs-prijs. His later work continued to influence Dutch illustration, with his catalog spanning 17 credited issues from 1963 to 2018.