New Swedish Books, autumn 2020 1
New Swedish Books 8 The Child Who Couldn’t Close
Her Eyes Lotta Olsson’s choice Anna Höglund has created several picture books for older children yet The Child Who Couldn’t Close Her Eyes is a story for all ages with its mythological and biblical references, as in its opening lines: “And it came to pass…” It’s a story for those brave enough to read past the horror-like cover where the child’s eyes have been cut out like holes through to the pages behind. An abandoned child who sees too much is cared for by a blind dog rummaging for food on a rubbish heap. The story teems with symbolism as Anna Höglund, seemingly quite casually, draws glasses and windows to look through, or includes a green praying mantis that knows more than the others and a green ball of yarn, which becomes a link between the dog and the child. It is a book to read over and over again – a tiny Bible about finding each other and yourself. Anna Höglund Selected works Mina och Kåge 1995 Om detta talar man endast med kaniner 2013 Titta Hamlet 2017 Selected awards Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 1995 Augustpriset 1996 Astrid Lindgren-priset 2016 Picturebook, 5+ years, 32 p. Publisher Lilla Piratförlaget Anna Höglund Rights Lilla Piratförlaget Linda Widman linda@lillapiratforlaget.se Photo: Stefan Tell