Nobody but Me

Sara Lundberg

A story about untying the knot of the little boat anchored to the bridge, and sliding away from mom, who is right there next to it. The child sets off on a long journey and sees the world as it is. The child will return as another, while mom is still there, chatting by the shore. He brings back a gift, a seed that leads into the future. Sara Lundberg narrates with evocative images and a terse text a magnificent river journey through dream and reality.
Sara Lundberg is one of Sweden’s most praised picture book makers and has received several prestigious nominations and prizes for her work. The Bird Within Me Flies, translated to 17 languages, was awarded the August Prize 2017, the Snowball Prize 2018, and the Prix Sorcières 2023.

Press voices

“The first thing that floors me in Sara Lundberg’s new picture book “Nobody but me” is the color. Then it’s the warmth, the almost tactile sensation of sun-warmed water, of the play of shadows on the skin, of light and dark, cool and hot. The deep green foliage is reflected in the lake. People on the beach, on the docks, and in the water are dressed in vibrant colors.” Göteborgsposten

“Entering Sara Lundberg’s visual world is an artistic experience. She alternates dense water-based colors with chalk; the images are sometimes saturated, sometimes transparent, and move between impressive detail and a more loosened, shadowy style. Recurring patterns and details invite interpretation, but do not provide a definitive way to read the book. Thus, it never becomes boring.” DN

“You are the bridge, I am the boat, the child says to the mom and throws away! Undescribably moving from the beginning to the end. Pure genius!!” Läslusen

“I have read Nobody but Me multiple times and each time I find something new in the illustrations. […] The adventure that the boy experience is infinite and the fantasy flows through the pages and illustrations. I really like this book, and I love how it turns directly to the little reader, without passing any adult” Enligt O

Awards

Nominated for the August Prize 2024

“Sara Lundberg offers a bildungsroman in miniature when she explores the picture book medium with extraordinary intelligence and thoughtfulness. The splashing of the sun-warm water seduces both the reader and the book’s protagonist, who with growing agency floats away from the mother’s safety towards the new and unexplored. The illustrations are given maximum leeway, and the writing has to effectively stand back for a visual narrative at the very highest level.” The August Prize jury

Books by Sara Lundberg