New Swedish Books, Autumn 2017 1
New Swedish Books 52 Ant and the Riddles Linn Got
tfridsson debuted in 2016 with the read aloud book En myras liv [An Ant’s Life], and was praised by readers and critics alike for her sharp eye and comic touch. Now Ant is back! And it’s a privilege to once again be part of his everyday life. Ant is now seven and lives one week with Dad and the other with Mum. He grapples with both the big and the small things in life. The runaway cats, the hats that disappear and the Mums who fall in love and suddenly say yes to everything. “It’s a little bit good and a little bit bad”, Ant says at one point, and this is significant. There are two sides to most things in Ant’s life. Nothing is easy. For example, who will listen to Dad strumming his guitar now that Mum won’t? Is it up to Ant? Linn Gottfridsson and Emma Adbåge sketch their characters with such care they feel real. Both child and adult emerge as complete beings, with socks that are about to fall off, unwashed hair and with some good and some not so good days. It’s perfectly pitched, both in text and image. Linn Gottfridsson (text) b. 1974 Emma Adbåge (ill) b. 1982 Ant and the Riddles Publisher Rabén & Sjögren www.rabensjogren.se Rights Rabén & Sjögren agency asa.bergman@rabensjogren.se lillevi.cederin@rabensjogren.se Linn Gottfridsson Selected Works En myras liv 2016 Emma Adbåge Selected Works Jag är jag 2011 Chapter book Snart blir det roligt 2016 Chapter book Halsen rapar, hjärtat slår, rim för 0-100 år together with Lisen Adbåge 2016 Literary Prizes Lennart Hellsingpriset 2017 Photo: Angelica Zander Photo: Richard Gustafsson