New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
New Swedish Books 56 Emre’s Manual in the Art of
Throwing a Party (...and destroy one) The books about nine-year-old Emre and his friends from the periphery of Stockholm’s urban suburbs are filled with familiarity, ordinary life, and friendship, but perhaps above all, humour. The bizarre situations, perfectly timed dialogue, hilarious pictures, and the affectionately depicted characters, make the books almost impossible to read without being put in a very good mood. In this the third part of the series, Emre’s class is planning a party. Emre is almost salivating when he thinks about it, because what he likes best of all with parties is the free access to sweets, cakes and sodas. Then the teacher drops a bombshell: the school has a new policy to be sugar free this year. Only healthy snacks will be served at the party. In the end there’s only one solution at hand: Emre and his best friend Ömer have to plan their own party. The books about Emre are unlike many of the depictions of problematic suburban life that we’ve become used to. Children with parents from every corner of the world don’t usually populate books this entertaining, without it being made into a big thing. But this is the case here. It’s refreshing and fun! Siri Spont (pseudonym for Titti Persson) (text) b. 1974 Jonna Björnstjerna (ill) b. 1983 Emre’s Manual in the Art of Throwing a Party (...and destroy one) Publisher Hippo marianne.lindfors@hippobokforlag.se hippobokforlag.se Rights Koja agency carin.bacho@kojaagency.com Siri Spont Selected Works Emres handbok i konsten att bli känd – och ökänd illustrated by Jonna Björnstjerna (Hippo 2016) Chapter book Emres handbok i konsten att skaffa sig vänner – och ovänner illustrated by Jonna Björnstjerna (Hippo 2016) Chapter book En förtrollad jul illustrated by Alexander Jansson (Rabén & Sjögren 2016) Chapter book Jonna Björnstjerna Selected Works Djupsjöns hemlighet (Bonnier Carlsen 2016) Picture book Karla Brottare och hamsterpappan written by Anders Sparring (Natur & Kultur 2016) Emres handbok i konsten att bli känd – och ökänd written by Siri Spont (Hippo 2016) Chapter book Photo: Private Photo: Rasmus Råsmark