Garmann's Summer

Add to Wishlist

Garmann's Summer

Paperback

$10.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

Paperback
$10.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

SHIP THIS ITEM

Ships in 1-2 days
PICK UP IN STORE

Your local store may have stock of this item.

Available within 2 business hours

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Related collections and offers

Overview

An intergenerational story about facing our fears—from going to school for the first time, to performing onstage with an orchestra, to learning to use a walker in the winter.

This unique, award-winning picture book introduces readers to a young boy who is afraid of starting school. Summer is nearly over. The old aunts have come to visit, and autumn is in the air. Everything is ready for Garmann's first day of school, but he is still afraid. And—despite his best efforts—he hasn’t lost a single tooth yet!

Stian Hole has created a memorable and endearing character in Garmann, whose musings about fear and courage, life and death, beginnings and endings, help him understand that everyone is scared of something. Published in over twenty countries, Garmann's Summer has received honors across the globe, including the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, a Batchelder Honor, and the BolognaRagazzi Award.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802856289
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Pages:	44
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Stian Hole is an acclaimed Norwegian author and artist. His children's books include Anna's Heaven and Night Guard (both Eerdmans), and he has also created book covers for readers of all ages. One summer evening, Stian saw a familiar fear in his oldest son's eyes: he was afraid of starting school. Soon Stian began writing the story that became Garmann's Summer.

Don Bartlett has translated many books by Scandinavian authors, including crime novels by Jo Nesbø and picture books like Anna’s Heaven, Samira and the Skeletons, and John Jensen Feels Different (all Eerdmans). In 2016, he was awarded the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in rank of Knight, Class I, for his work as a translator of Norwegian literature. Don lives in Norfolk, England.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-4- Mixed-media collage illustrations, prominently featuring oversize, digitally altered photographs of human heads, reflect Garmann's anxious thoughts in his last summer before he begins school. Signs of autumn abound in nature and in his elderly aunts' annual visit. The six-year-old side of Garmann thinks his aunts are shrinking and soon may not be able to see over the grass, naively offers one aunt his skateboard when she says that soon she will need a walker, and worries because he has not lost his first tooth. The tooth seems more urgent as he compares himself to the twins next door and notices his aunts' dentures, also shown as part of the photo collages in which size, proportion, and color draw the eye into the youngster's imagination. The introspective boy wonders about life's transitions and asks the aunts about aging and their possible fears of dying. He also asks his violinist father and his serene-looking mother, "What are you scared of?" In the end, Garmann sees that everyone feels fear and yet goes on living. He says good-bye to the aunts, organizes his school bag one last time, checks his teeth, counts the hours until school-and accepts his anxious feelings. With its literary tone and distinctive illustrative style, this unusual picture book is for larger collections.-Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MD

School Library Journal

This translated picture book from Norway, the 2007 BolognaRagazzi Award winner, examines a young boy's anxieties. As summer draws to a close, it's time for Garmann's three elderly aunts to make their annual visit and for school to begin soon. Six-year-old Garmann is scared of the new school year, but he finds comfort in asking his family about their own fears. While Auntie Ruth fears she'll soon need a walker, Auntie Borghild is scared of dying. His violinist father gets nervous before concerts, his mother worries about his crossing the street by himself and forgetful Auntie Augusta "doesn't remember what it is like to be scared." As he observes the signs of the aunts' aging and the death of a sparrow in the garden, Garmann begins to understand that fear is a natural part of growing up. A melange of vintage photographs, antique floral prints, patterned backgrounds and realia gives Garmann's discoveries a dreamlike quality, but the surreal effect, as well as the lengthy text, will appeal more to adults than young children. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews