Behind the Heart

Lisen Adbåge

To be just a child
is not just at all
It’s the very first thing
and the grandest of all.

You’ll only be
grown-up later on,
Never again
just a child, once it’s gone.

Lisen Adbåge has written a love letter to a child. The tone and illustrations are as deeply personal as they are universal. She writes with bubbly joy about the closeness with one’s own child and everything a child can teach a parent. But there is also melancholy in the passing of time, in everything that happens only once- like turning two.

A book to read aloud together, and a perfect gift for new parents!

Lisen Adbåge is an illustrator and author.
At Natur & Kultur, Lisen Adbåge has published, among other works, The ABCs of Life, and Big Emma.
Lisen Adbåge’s At the Same Time As was awarded the Elsa Beskow Plaque for the best picture book of 2017.

“The ruthless forward motion of time is a necessary, wistful undertone in “Behind the Heart”. But there’s also room here for the small, quirky details of everyday life: static hair, morning farts, dry elastic waistbands, and scrunched up clothes. Lisen Adbåge captures the sulky stubbornness of a small child, its hyper-focused gaze on a toy, the deep breath a parent takes at the hairline of it. The sincerity of a safe, comforting hug, where the answer to the mystery of existence seems to be found.” -DN

“Although the language is witty at the same time as profound, and the illustrations are both softly humorous and saturated with melancholy, it’s the latter mood that lingers after reading: a poetic sorrow over not being able to hold a single second in your hand forever.” -GP

“This is a sparkling gem of a book for people of any age. /…/ Seventeen shimmering poems to unconditionally embrace, seventeen poems that stand up to many rereadings.” – BTJ, 5/5

 

Books by Lisen Adbåge