Norwegian poet, novelist, psychiatrist, and illustrator, Hans Sande, pens two cavernous pieces of children’s literature. First, is the powerful, When I Came Home, the Horse was Gone and the unputdownable second, Frog. The texts come to us through NORLA, an initiative to promote the translation of Norwegian books and published by the Indian partner, Eklavya.
A sense of plain bliss pervades every page of the book—right from the beginning—right to the end. Little delights snuggle in nooks and corners of the drawings, and you may repent if you overlooked them when you turned the page in a hurry. You should not. This happy boy, Mattie, draws the sun in the sky (in which can be seen a cricket ball) and turns to grin at the puppy who licks his feet.
There is a country in the Eastern end of what is known as the Mideast in the West. Iran—Persia of history and what we used to call Faaras, has given us wonderful works of cinema, poetry and other forms of art. Who can forget the amazing film ‘Becchha-ye Aasmaan (Children of Heaven)’ by Majid Majidi! Irani imagination stands out as a unique contribution to the repository of aesthetics that the human mind has produced. The same is true of children’s literature.
Grief and loss are never easy to talk about, more so with children. In fact, death and children feel like opposites. Children are full of life, laughter, energy and hope. Death is silent, dark, still and hopeless.Can you write a children’s book about death and not make it dark? In the hands of master storyteller Hans Sande, this is possible.
When I chose this book based on its title, Beauty Is Missing, I had imagined the book. And when I received it and held it in my hands and read the book, the story was far removed from my imagination!The story begins at a police station, where a woman has come to report her loving buffalo who has gone missing. The story then brings in humour, adventure, and also some filmy twists. Eventually, the thief is caught, and the story reaches its climax at the reunion of the old woman and her buffalo.
A storyline where the main character has an episode of hiccups makes for an amusing read. Each character comes in to offer solutions to the protagonist, and eventually one of the solutions works out in the end. The theme of a recurring plot helps one stay engaged as the story goes along.