STOCKHOLM (AP) ― Dutch writer Guus Kuijer has been named this year’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s literature, honored for his ability to portray life’s big problems with humor and warmth, the prize jury said Tuesday.

Kuijer, 69, has written more than 30 books since making his debut in 1975, releasing works such as “The Book of Everything’’ and “Florian Knol’’ ― mainly directed at adolescents entering their teen years.

“Respect for children is as self-evident in his works as his rejection of intolerance and oppression. Kuijer combines serious subject matter and razor-sharp realism with warmth, subtle humor and visionary flights of fancy,’’ the jury said in its citation, noting that he consistently conveys a message of “tolerance, understanding and broad-mindedness’’ through his works.