 The book was a commercial success, and was adapted for a movie in 1934; in 1974 it was adapted to a musical for television.His "De scheepsjongens van Bontekoe" (1934) was to become his best-known book; based on the real-life experiences of a 17th-century Dutch captain, Willem Bontekoe, who was shipwrecked on the way to the Indies, it became a best-seller after a slow start.The three fictional characters who set sail with Bontekoe allowed for easy identification for a young audience; a statues of the three is in the harbor of Hoorn since 1968.