Sweden
196
Bergqvist,
Karin / Lundberg, Fredrik (text)
Lundqvist, Ulf (illus.)
Bakterieboken (The book
about bacteria)
Stockholm : Natur och Kultur, 2001. - 59 p.
ISBN 91-27-08596-1
Bacteria
Books about big animals or small and cuddly ones are easy to make because
you can flaunt magnificent colour-photographs and illustrations. Information
books about bacteria, on the other hand, are extremely rare - especially those
for children. Therefore, anyone planning such a book needs to be able to write
in an exciting style - something which the authors of this book are particularly
good at. They rely on the facts' own potential for attracting the readers'
attention rather than dressing them up in neat little stories. At some point,
however, the bacteria themselves get a chance to speak. The illustrator of this
book does not attempt to portray the bacteria »realistically«. Instead, he
creates differently shaped monsters that wander the pages and offer diverting
optical breaks from the text. (10+)
197
Buregren, Sassa (text/illus.)
Demokratihandboken
(The Democracy Handbook)
Stockholm : Rabén & Sjögren, 2001. - 47 p.
ISBN 91-29-64866-1
Democracy
The author of this book presents the abstract topic of democracy in an easily
comprehensible and entertaining way. He takes a child of a fictitious family as
a starting point and voices the demands this child might possibly have towards
society (e.g. »The youth club should be open till the evening«). With the aid
of simple examples, the author then demonstrates which »institutions« (e.g.
family, town council, government) are responsible for what kind of matter. In a
second step, he shows ways leading to the fulfilment of these goals. At the end,
the author introduces several people who have fought for human rights and
democracy: Mahatma Ghandi, Iqbal Masih, the carpet weaving boy who was
assassinated, Anne Frank, Astrid Lindgren, and others. The simple yet
informative illustrations further add to these qualities of the book. (8+)<>
198
Corneliusson, Marie / Porat, Anna von
(text)
Glave, Lotta (illus.)
Så funkar ekonomi : en första upplagsbok
(This is how the economic system works : a first reference book)
[Stockholm] : BonnierCarlsen, 2001. - 79 p.
ISBN 91-638-2052-8
Economy - Monetary economics
This book provides children with basic information about money, monetary
economics, family income, government revenue, speculation on the stockmarket,
and similar topics. The text is written in a very concise style, forcing the
authors to express themselves accurately. This fact makes the book an
interesting read, easy to understand. Economic relations are explained with the
help of simple examples. This book does not rely on photographs of money and the
like; instead, it trusts in the effect of a uniform, slightly caricaturesque
style of illustrations rendered in rich colours. High quality books about such
topics are hard to find. (10+)
199
Hammar, Johanna (illus.)
Leka
(Playing)
[Stockholm] : Eriksson & Lindgren, 2001. - [12] p.
ISBN 91-87803-12-7
Children's game
The style of Johanna Hammar's first two books for toddlers, »Åka« (»Driving«)
and »Leka« (»Playing«), resembles that of the Dutch artist Dick Bruna. Like
Bruna's books, they meet the demands of educationalists from around 1900 who
stated that clear outlines and homogeneous colours were the most suitable for
small children. Despite the similarities, this artist can be distinguished from
Bruna by her use of more »elegant« outlines and a wider range of colours.
Nevertheless, the pictures, full of information, are just as easy to recognise
and leave as strong an impression as those of the Dutch artist. (2+)
200
Jaensson, Håkan (text)
Grähs, Gunna (illus.)
Rita ensam hemma (Rita home alone)
[Stockholm] : Alfabeta Bokförl., 2001. - [28] p.
ISBN 91-501-0048-3
Child - Loneliness - Drawing - Fear - Coping with fear
A small girl, alone at home waiting for her father, draws her own picture
book. In this storybook, she projects her own fears onto another girl, wandering
about in a city and being exposed to increasingly threatening dangers; finally,
the father comes home and ensures that the story ends happily. Instead of
cultivating an expressive style, as she did in her earlier books, Gunna Grähs,
one of Sweden's most original illustrators, lets this story begin in a fictional
reality drawn in naturalistic style. When the readers enter Rita's own book, the
child protagonist's drawings closely resemble the artist's usual bizarre
pictures, distorting and parodying her style. The book concludes with a happy
end showing another naturalistic picture of father and daughter. (5+)
Special Mention
201
Kadefors, Sara (text)
Wirsén, Stina (illus.)
Långlördag i city (A long
Saturday evening in the city)
[Stockholm] : BonnierCarlsen, 2001. - 94 p.
ISBN 91-638-3907-5
Parents - Separation - Child - Protest
Klara, the child of separated parents, living with her quarrelsome mother
who is preoccupied with her own problems, feels that she is the victim in her
parents' fight against each other. The provocative desire for an expensive bike,
which she finally steals in a fit of desperation and defiance, makes her parents
see reason again. They cover up for Klara's deed by inventing an extremely
unlikely story of a different theft in order to diminish the bike dealer's
mistrust, and, as a result, the family is reunited. In this modern and often
painfully realistic »Lottie-and-Lisa«-story (Erich Kästner) even impossible
events and absurd situations are described in an exceptionally sparkling and
amusing manner. One example for this is the family episode at the junk-food hut,
making the book a pleasure to read - in spite of its serious topic. (10+) ¤
202
Mankell,
Henning
Eldens gåta
(The fire riddle)
Stockholm : Rabén & Sjögren, 2001. - 210 p.
ISBN 91-29-64821-1
Africa - Girl - Handicap - Poverty
Sofia, a girl who has lost her legs when stepping on a landmine (as Mankell
told in the first volume of this trilogy called »Eldens hemlighet« - »The
fire mystery«) has by now accepted her new life without legs and struggles to
earn her living by sewing things. Her work is much appreciated by her customers.
But now she is fifteen and the thought of being loved by someone is completely
inconceivable to her. Therefore, the first date with a boy, her »moon-boy«,
seems but a dream to her. Yet, slowly she realises that she is strong enough to
survive and that other people may not lead easier lives even if they still have
two legs: Her sister Rosa, for example, is slowly dying of AIDS. The book's
central topic, poverty, and the problems resulting from it are brought out
particularly well in Mankell's narration. (12+)
203
Nilsson-Brännström, Moni
Klassresan (The school trip)
Stockholm : Natur och Kultur, 2001. - 156 p.
ISBN 91-27-08608-9
School trip - Coming of age - Estrangement
A class of twelve- and thirteen-year-old teenagers, including some
immigrant children, go on a last school trip together before they separate to
leave for secondary school. In this book, the author, whose »Tsatsiki«-books
about a young boy with a Greek father were a great success, relates how the
teenagers slowly start drifting apart now that they are about to go separate
ways. She convincingly portrays each of the 21 pupils and thus accurately
describes teenagers' feelings in a European country towards the end of the
twentieth century. (12+) <>
204
Sidenbladh,
Cecilia (text)
Nygren, Tord
(illus.)
Slottet brinner (The castle is
burning)
[Bromma] : Opal, 2001. - [28] p.
ISBN 91-7270-950-2
Stockholm/1697- Royal castle - Fire disaster
This book is one of several well-made picture books about history published
within the last few years (another interesting title for example was illustrated
by Sven Nordqvist). They are supposed to acquaint children with historical
events and settings in an entertaining way. The widely known burning of the
Stockholm castle in the times of Karl XII enabled the rebuilding of the castle
by Nicolaus Tessin. The renowned illustrator Nygren draws an account of these
events from a kitchen maid's point of view, whose father (a man of German
origin) is one of the royal cooks. Nygren's realistic drawings show the
fictitious characters as individuals and therefore easily take the reader back
to a life 300 years ago. (8+)
205
Trenter, Laura (text)
Kovanen, Erika (illus.)
Gräv efter spår
(Dig for traces!)
Stockholm : Alfabeta, 2001. - 52 p.
ISBN 91-501-0070-x
Scandinavia - Archeology - Introduction
With its precise text, which is fairly detailed without being boring, and
its powerful almost caricature-like illustrations, this non-fiction book clearly
stands out from those naturalistic, sterile books, which are still flooding the
international market. Despite their individual unusual style, the illustrations
cannot be considered to be less informative than those in mainstream non-fiction
books; they concentrate on the essential information. The texts do not only
convey interesting facts but also include exciting and tempting recipes, such
as: How to cook an un-plucked chicken in a coat of clay à la Stone Age. Parents
will certainly be delighted at the results that can be expected from their
children's cooking excursions. (8+)