Lots of Love: Just Be Yourself

Lots of Love: Just Be Yourself by Emma Freya, co-illustrated by Rae Freya (Vittra Publishing) PB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9781764098106

It's the first day back at school, and Love, a young Swedish girl, is feeling nervous. Today there will be new classmates, a new teacher, and all the little uncertainties that come with change. As she lines up for class, Love tells herself it's just another day. But when something goes wrong, she finds comfort in the small treasure tucked safely in her pocket. 

Love makes a new friend, Mel, who quickly becomes friends with both her and Izzy. And when their teacher assigns everyone to present something cultural that they do at home, Love needs to decide what to share. Pappa suggests something very Aussie, while Mamma has a Swedish idea. Love picks her favourite tradition to share, but things don't go quite as planned. With Mamma and Pappa's support, she works to make everything right for her big moment. And what will her friends choose to share? From pocket treasures that bring comfort to shared traditions that bring joy, Love discovers that the simplest moments - when we're brave enough to be ourselves - can turn an ordinary day into something wonderful.

This is a must-have children’s novel for readers interested in the Swedish language. The book tells the story of a girl with a Swedish name whose parents speak to her in a combination of English and Swedish. At the foot of each page where the Swedish words are used, the author provides not only a meaning of the word, but a practical way of learning how to pronounce it. Thus, as part of Love's story, readers will also learn some Swedish, including how to pronounce the vowels and the words that appear throughout the book.

At the back of the book are pages that help the reader learn more about the Swedish language. For instance, there is a double-page spread with black-and-white illustrations for different meals throughout the day. We learn and see words such as coffee (kaffe in Swedish), chocolate (choklad), and glas (glass and glasses). The information the author provides is clearly set out and very interesting.

Just Be Yourself is a gentle story celebrating the small, special moments that make everyday life precious. It is ideal for independent readers building confidence with chapter books, as well as family read-alouds that spark conversations about friendship, family, and the special moments of everyday life.

 

See you when I see you

See you when I see you by Rose Lagercrantz, Illustrated by Eva Eriksson

(Gecko Press) PB RRP $15.99   ISBN 9781776571307

Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

Rose Lagercrantz is a popular Swedish author of books for children as well as adults. She has received many of the top Swedish literary awards, including the August Prize and the Astrid Lindgren Prize. Eva Eriksson is one of the world’s great illustrators. She has been nominated for the Hans Christian Anderson and other international awards.

See you when I see you is a beautifully illustrated chapter book for children aged 5 to 7.  The quality of the physical book is stunning with a heavy, semi-Matt cover and a good thick presentation which gives this age group the feel of a novella. The large print makes it easy to read and allows for a plethora of illustrations on almost every page. Erickson’s black-and-white sketches are full of emotion, action and character. She brings the characters to life, showing how they relate to each other with eye contact and facial expressions. It is obvious from the affectionate detail of these illustrations that Eriksson was in love with this story. The sheer joy on the faces of children on page 74 – 75 bear testament to this.

Set in Sweden, the story provides a unique snapshot into the life of Swedish children, showing the style of their particular houses and streets as well as indigenous animals such as moose. The names of the children are highly accessible to English-speaking speaking readers – Ella, Dani, Vicki, Mickey but with Swedish place names such as Solna and Skansen adding interest.

The central friendship between Ella and Dani (Daniela) is beautifully told, through the ups and downs, mistakes and misunderstandings and the affection and commitment they have to each other.

The teacher didn’t seem to be angry any more.

“And I thought you were making things up!” was all she said. “There’s still a lot for an old fox to learn.”

“Fox?” Dani looked at her.

“So they say,” answered the teacher.

Dani nodded.

It wasn’t always clear what people meant. But one thing was clear: Ella wasn’t happy. Ella was sad. And Dani was sad too.

Themes of loss and misunderstanding run like a thread through this story, adding a sense of desperation when Ella moves away and Dani’s mother dies. Dani misunderstands her father’s intentions when he falls in love again after losing his wife. Dani’s father misunderstands her friendship with Ella when Dani refuses to have a close relationship with any other children in her class. He doesn’t seem to realise his newfound love is a source of pain for his daughter. Ella’s class teacher misunderstands her need to reconnect with her old friend. Ella herself misunderstands when she realises the treasure the two girls buried is gone not knowing Dani has collected it. She is convinced the friendship is “in jeopardy.”

What is lovely about this story is the natural and very open way it shows conflict in a family in periods of stress. With the death of her mother Dani struggles to cope with the children in her class teasing her and her father’s newfound love. Her friend Ella moving away was the last straw, so finding Ella again on a class trip to the zoo and re-establishing that connection is extremely important to her sense of happiness and well-being. Eventually the adults in her life figure this out too.

Everyone wants a best friend. Everyone has high expectations of that friendship. But sometimes life interferes with what we want and perhaps that is the overall message of this book - when things fall apart there will be someone in your life who understands and is there for you, but you must communicate and trust them with your heart.

The only criticism I have of this book is the complexity of some of the vocabulary used in the text, perhaps due to it being a translation from Swedish. Some of the words are above a seven-year-old’s reading vocabulary, such as knowingly, hurried, meringue, quietened, hesitated. Therefore I would put the independent reading age of this book higher, 8 years+. It would still be a lovely book to read to a young child from age 6 years and up.