Denmark
173
Aakeson, Kim Fupz (text)
Brøgger, Lilian (illus.)
En historie om vokseværk (A story about growing pains)
[København] : Gyldendal, 2006. – [26] p.
ISBN 87-02-03852-8
Father – Growing pains – Metamorphosis – Dragon
In his unique and very original style, Kim Fupz Aakeson describes a father who suddenly suffers from growing pains, just like a child. He grows taller and taller and eventually turns into a dragon. The book closes with the huge portrait of his final appearance on a double fold-out page. There is no happy end to the story: Mother and son flee, and although they are wondering whether he might shrink again one day, it is highly unlikely that an overpowering father gets back to normal size. It may seem that this book is imbued with a heavy moral. Yet, the story focuses not so much on an overpowering father figure as on the grotesque idea of a person bursting at the seams, an idea which Lilian Brøgger’s ingeniously anarchic pictures make visible in a most beautiful way. (6+)
174
Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen /
Moe, Jørgen (text)
Nygren, Tord (select./illus.)
Rud, Anine (transl.)
Asbjørnsen og Moes bedste eventyr (Asbjørnsen and Moe’s best fairy tales)
[København] : Gyldendal, 2006. – [ca. 260] p.
ISBN 978-87-02-04832-2
Norway – Fairy tale
This edition, produced in cooperation with the Swedish publisher Opal, contains some of the most popular Norwegian fairy tales from the famous collection of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. In 1841, they both started to edit and publish tales that they had been collecting in various Norwegian villages. Although the stories were printed in Danish, which was the official literary language at the time, they were larded with Norwegian expressions. Swedish artist Tord Nygren’s wonderful watercolour illustrations, which radiate a rich atmosphere and perfectly characterise the various figures, turn this volume into a real gem. (8+) ¤
175
Denning, Ken (text)
Bartholin, Hanne (illus.)
Den blå dreng og andre fortællinger om natten (The blue boy and other tales about the night)
København : Apostrof, 2005. – 93 p.
ISBN 87-591-0569-0
Bedtime story – Darkness – Fear
Young Berlin’s father tells him bedtime stories. Bizarre as they are (a quality that the author is famous for), they will fascinate both children and adults because they deal with »practical« issues such as how to cope with the fear of darkness, who may have told the first bedtime story ever,
or how much such a story may cost. The child’s questions with their peculiar logic frequently lead the adult down the garden path. The father in turn tries to reduce his son’s fears by (falsely) claiming that children were never afraid of the dark when he was small. A young child reading the tales will easily see through these fibs and enjoy them. (By the way: A bedtime story’s price increases according to the weight of the words it contains; and the creepiest ones are the most expensive ones.) (8+)
176
Jørgensen, Lars Holmgaard
Nicklas og krigen (Nicklas and the war)
København : Forum, 2006. – 92 p
ISBN 978-87-638-0450-9
Iraq/2003 – War – Soldier
Since Nicklas adores his uncle Per, who has been sent to Iraq as a soldier, the boy has fairly romantic ideas about war. Yet, when his uncle comes home for a short holiday, Nicklas learns that it is quite different from what he imagined. His uncle is neither the brave soldier he saw on the photographs, nor a weapons enthusiast. On the contrary, he disapproves of the war games his nephew plays on the computer and is severely traumatised by his experiences. Very slowly, the boy realises that this war, and any war for that matter, is a terrible human catastrophe. The author describes the events from the young boy’s perspective and thus clearly points out the difference between the child’s imagination and reality. (10+)
Special Mention
177
Mouritzen, Peter (text)
Themberg, Mads (illus.)
Det usynlige (The invisible)
København : Høst, 2006. – 55 p.
ISBN 978-87-638-0446-2
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von / Der Erlkönig (The Erlking) – Father – Son
With this small book, the renowned author gave himself a special 60th birthday present. He uses Goethe’s famous ballad (in the magnificent translation by V. Andersen, 1864-1953) and retells it in a modern setting: After watching a horror movie, a father and his son drive home at night. As the father feels guilty for taking his young son to see the film, he tries to ignore the child’s feverish fantasies caused by it. In the end, rising fog makes him crash into a tree, and the soul of the dead child floats away with the fatherly figure of the Erlking. Impressive black-and-white drawings underline the story’s uncanny atmosphere. The book offers a gripping new version but may also generate new interest in the original classic ballad. (10+)
178
Neergaard, Dorthe de (text)
Cools, Els (illus.)
To knapper i hånden (Two buttons in the hand)
København : People’s Press, 2006. – 28 p.
ISBN 978-87-91812-36-1
Child – Visual defect – Glasses
Little Rie doesn’t want to get up one morning because she believes that suddenly two buttons are sewn unto her hand. The world around her, which she isn’t able to take in properly anymore, frightens her terribly. While the girl’s mother, busy with her daily routine, fails to see what’s wrong with her daughter, toy elephant Øjvind is the only one the girl can relate to until the mother finally realises that Rie needs glasses. With these on her nose, the girl immediately returns to the real world. With the help of absurd situations, the author and illustrator of this story try to explain the confusion of a child who doesn’t grasp what has happened to her eyes. The picturesque illustrations hover between a realistic representation and surreal distortions of reality. (8+)
179
Rasmussen, Bent
Klabauter (Ship’s kobold)
København : Høst, 2006. – 187 p.
ISBN 978-87-638-0387-8
School holidays – Grandparents – Child – Adult
In Scandinavian children’s literature, the protagonists often spend their holidays on small islands or
at similarly remote places where they are suddenly confronted with other people or develop a better understanding for the beauty of the landscape. In this novel, too, the Scandinavian solitary region isolates the inexperienced protagonist to a greater extent than similar settings in other countries would do. The few other people whom young Aske meets while he is staying with his grandparents show special, unusual qualities. He learns about the wishes and dreams of his new play-fellow Kjartan whose older sister is the first »friendly« female Aske encounters. Overall, it’s the insecure boy’s grandparents who provide him with some inner stability. (10+)
180
Serup, Martin Glaz (text)
Nielsen, Lars Vegas (illus.)
Sebastians monster (Sebastian’s monster)
[Hillerød] : Alma, 2006. – [28] p.
978-87-7243-236-6
Child – Falling asleep – Monster
This book offers an original and jocular interpretation of an ever-popular topic: Tired parents try in vain to make their chirpy, wide-awake off-spring fall asleep so that they can have a peaceful evening for once. The continuous nagging of the parents (who themselves are huge, monster-like creatures) is visualised by sketchily drawn, skewed figures surrounded by disgustingly pale blurbs of colour in brown and green. When the parents still refuse to stop whinging, the child finally magi-cally summons his own monster which promptly materialises from his imagination. The colours turn into comforting shades of eerie green and raw red. In the end, monster and boy cosily sit around together, shovel popcorn into their mouths, and watch a ghost film on TV. (4+)