New Swedish Books. Spring 2016 1
SPRING 2016 THE PICTURE BOOK – AN ALL-ENCOMPASSIN
G ART FORM FOR CHILDREN Children’s and Young Adult Literature With words we make sense the world. It’s pictures that delight our senses. In the above quote, Fibben Hald, the Swedish illustrator and author of many fantastic children’s books, describes the genius of words and images, and their impact on the reader. The picture book is an all-encompassing art form, where we can make discoveries and lose ourselves in the subtleties of text and image. Often, picture books cross genres and appeal to all ages. Their interactivity turns us from passive readers or listeners into active creators. They make us want to engage and read between the lines. To discover words and narrative. To pause and study the images. To consider and reflect. To create new worlds and experiences, both while we’re reading and afterwards. In recent years, the number of picture books published in Sweden has grown, and new illustrators and authors have been drawn to the genre – exploring and developing it. Perhaps it’s also in the picture book is also that the most exciting developments in Swedish children’s books are happening. This spring’s lists feature multi-faceted, interesting books with images and texts to suit all ages. The following pages present a range of them. Barbro Lindgren, 2014 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Awards laurate and one of Sweden’s foremost authors, has some wise words to offer on the wonder of children’s books and the importance of reading: Actually, the book is a wonderful, peerless way of enriching life. You can take it anywhere with you, it doesn’t require batteries, petrol, speakers, silly clothes, membership fees. It requires nothing more than a pair of eyes or sensitive fingertips. And the biggest gift you can give your child is to make time to read to them. It’s an unbeatable way to develop your child’s imagination and simultaneously give and receive the intimacy all children and adults need. In this spring’s Swedish children’s and YA books, children and adults alike will find literary riches that capture life’s essence and open us up to new worlds and new adventures. We find books that capture the spirit of life and thoughts about life and death: Great Grandma, Daisy and Death by Anna Ehring (words) and Lotta Geffenblad (ill.), and Today I Don’t Know Who I Am by Ida Sundin Asp. The experience of fleeing and longing for what you’ve left is portrayed in The Bus Ride by Henrik Wallnäs (words) and Matilda Ruta (ill.), and we encounter prejudice and injustice in Elin Cullhed’s The Gods. We are treated to spine-tingling tension in Kristina Ohlsson’s Zombie Fever and Katarina Genar’s Hidden Letters and Silver Secrets. In many of spring’s titles we get an insight into children’s reflections on life, and fascinating children’s perspectives on day-to-day routines – not least in An Ant’s Life by Linn Gottfridsson (words) and Emma Adbåge (ill.). Welcome to our selection of the diverse, intriguing children’s and YA books that Sweden has to offer for spring 2016. 21