Abeltje

Abeltje is a children's novel by celebrated Dutch author Annie M. G. Schmidt, originally published in 1953 by De Arbeiderspers. It was one of Annie M. G. Schmidt's first children's books, and such an instant success that it was already in its fourth edition when the sequel, De A van Abeltje, came out in 1955. Since 1988, the book has been published by Querido with illustrations by Thé Tjong-Khing.

Abeltje has been adapted for radio and film. It has been translated from Dutch into Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish.

The story of Abeltje has some similarities with the plot of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972), in which the main characters also fly around the world in an elevator.

Lift boy Abeltje takes off in his lift. This to the horror of the management of the department store where he works, the other inhabitants of the lift and of course his mother. Soon after the lift flies out of the department store, Abeltje finds out how to steer the lift.

His travelling companions - his classmate Laura, the businessman Mr Tump and singing teacher Miss Klaterhoen - are also embroiled in his adventure.Abel manages to land the lift on a New York parking lot. There Abel sets off to look for work. Millionaire's wife Mrs Cockle-Smith thinks he is her long-lost son Johnny and kidnaps him. Locked up in the luxury penthouse of his 'second' mother, Abeltje finds out that he does bear an uncanny resemblance to Johnny, this makes his next destination clear: he wants to find Johnny. Mr Tump helps Abeltje to escape and immediately after they reach the lift they set off at top speed for Perugona, the spot where Johnny disappeared.

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Wikipedia