01 Apr '23

A born storyteller

4861
door Anne Peeters
Nadja Van Sever has been teaching at Tervuren municipal primary school for more than 30 years now. She is one of those teachers whose pupils will remember years later how well she could tell stories.

A teacher who wrote a book together with her charges and ended up writing children’s books herself. Not one to shy away from serious topics, she uses an imaginative and humorous style of writing to cover dyslexia, attention disorders, Afghan children on the run, transgender people, … ‘My books are designed to face reality as it is while presenting the facts in a way that keeps the reader entertained. After I finish writing a book, I like to read it out in the classroom before sending it off for final editing. My pupils’ reactions tell me not only what parts of the story they find compelling, what gets them excited and the things that make them laugh but also what items still need to be polished up a bit.’