Norway
190
Egner,
Thorbjørn
Et selvportrett
(A self-portrait)
[Oslo] : Cappelen, 2001. - 143 p.
ISBN 82-02-21079-8
Egner, Thorbjørn - Autobiography
Two of Thorbjørn Egner's book are particularly well-known internationally:
»Karius og Baktus« (»Karius and Baktus«, 1949) and »Folk og rövere i
Kardemomme by« (»The singing town«, 1955). This beautifully designed
autobiography will provide those readers, who would like to learn more about the
person who wrote these modern classics, with some interesting information. The
lovely selection of Egner's own illustrations through the decades makes the book
all the more enjoyable to look at. Moreover, readers who carefully study the
bibliography of Egner's books, will discover how many more books the author has
written and illustrated beside the two about dental hygiene and the town of
Kardemomme. (12+)
191
Iversen, Anniken Telnes
Metamorfoser eller det store spillet (Metamorphoses or The Big Game)
[Oslo] : Damm, 2001. - 286 p.
ISBN 82-517-8341-0
Literature - Game
When reading an advert for a pen friend, Lena becomes interested in a boy
who introduces himself with a Kafka-quotation. In his first letter, the boy
called Bjørnar asks Lena to help him solve a literary puzzle that his uncle has
put on the Internet. The two teenagers soon become pen pals and later even a
real friendship develops between them. They complete the game successfully and
win a journey to America. In this book, the author cleverly tries to stimulate
the readers' interest in literature with the help of an exciting story; the use
of »hand-written« passages and computer screens livens up the book's
typography. (12+)
192
Øglænd, Finn
Så lenge alltid varer (As long as everything exists)
Oslo : Det Norske Samlaget, 2001. - 95 p.
ISBN 82-521-5812-9
Youth - First love - Jealousy - Fulfilment
The typical problems of teenage love described in this book, such as
shyness, courtship, jealousy, and finally the fulfilment of one's dreams, may be
all too common topics in contemporary young adult literature. Finn Øglænd,
however, by now an experienced author of youth literature, chooses a form that
convincingly conveys a message despite its hackneyed topic. He lets his
protagonist relate the events in a mixture of diary and monologue, yet not as
eloquently as an author in disguise. Instead, the boy clearly reveals his
taciturnity and clumsiness towards his stronger and more popular class mates.
Nevertheless, he is an acute observer and convinces through his honesty. (14+) €
Special
Mention
193
Sande, Hans (text)
Nordberg, Harald (illus.)
Fuglejenta (Bird girl)
[Oslo] : Gyldendal Tiden, 2001. - [36] p.
ISBN 82-05-29508-5
Persecution - Rescue - Ungratefulness - Hubris - Arrogance - Punishment -
Peace - Striving for peace
One day, a group of people living in a coastal region is attacked by
foreign soldiers. The people manage to escape but they suffer from hunger and
thirst, until some huge birds show them the way to a paradise-like place in the
mountains. The feeling of gratefulness, however, doesn't last very long; soon
enough, some leaders start going their separate ways. When they discover a nest
with the huge birds' eggs, they ruthlessly steel them. As a consequence, the
birds take revenge and destroy the paradise completely. Only a girl, who had
learned the birds' language and worshipped them, is saved by one of them and
taken to a distant land. In a simple, fairytale-like manner, this book explains
how hubris causes disturbance. It thus makes a positive contribution to a
peaceful education for children today. Nordberg's illustrations, in earlier
books characterised by their naïve style, have reached a new level: Painted in
intensive and unusual colours, they have great symbolic power. (8+) <>
194
Sortland, Bjørn (text)
Bredesen, Trond (illus.)
Venezia-mysteriet (The Venitian mystery)
Oslo : Aschehoug 2000. - 123 p.
(Kunstdetektivene)
ISBN 82-03-24361-4
Venice - Modern art - Theft
A Norwegian tourist family spends the carnival time in Venice. Inside the
Guggenheim Museum, the children witness the theft of a famous Picasso painting.
As they have met the suspected thieves earlier at their hotel, the children are
able to assist in solving the case - not without getting themselves into
dangerous situations. With this book, Sortland, who has already published
several books about art, starts a new series intended to make art more
attractive and interesting for children by presenting information hidden inside
an exciting story - quite a remarkable attempt. (10+) €
195
Wolf,
Oystein Wingaard (text)
Nyka, Justyna (illus.)
De dødes sirkus (Circus of the
dead)
[Oslo] : Cappelen, 2001. - [44] p.
ISBN 82-02-21063-1
Birthday - Circus - Fantasy
Fantastic tales in general do not need to be logical; neither does this
one, in which a boy on his birthday meets some kind of oriental ghost at the
Brighton beach. He leads the boy to a bizarre circus where a performance for the
dead people commences. In the end, inevitably, the boy wakes from his weird
dream. Yet, the story itself is not really that important; it only provides
readers with words for the peculiar graphic game developing before their eyes:
An unreal world is elaborately sketched and glued together from bits of coloured
paper and old prints. The style has its origins in a different time and place;
it is connected with Max Ernst and Polish experimental illustration of the
sixties, as the illustrator's name and the few Polish words in the pictures
reveal. (6+)