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Top Dog has come into being in a quite remarkable way. It all started in 2011 in Cambridge, where storyteller and retired teacher Peter Hilken listened to a colourful collection of Dutch children’s songs brought to his attention by his friend and colleague storyteller Kathleen van der Weerd. The songs were created by Kathleen's son-in-law, Dutch music teacher Jeroen Schipper. Peter's enthusiasm (not hindered by the fact that he didn't understand a single word!) was so energetic that the three of them soon set out to translate Jeroen’s collection of over 60 songs, some of which are becoming quite well-known in their original Dutch version. Two years of playing with words, meaning, music and in some cases even cultural differences resulted in this marvellous collection of sparkling original songs.
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