B贸kabeitan ICELAND 2015-2016
My friend, the wind (Vinur minn, vindurinn)
Grandma sometimes talks about window weather, grandpa never misses the weather news and kitty loves to chase the leaves when the wind blows. A beautiful and sweet book where the reader follows a curious kitty in the ever changing Icelandic weather. Text available in Norwegian and English
Here comes summer! (Sjáðu mig, sumar!)
In Iceland, the golden plover is the first sign of spring and summer is just around the corner. Migrating birds lay their eggs and the cat comes out to play and stretch in the sun. In this beautiful book, the subject is the Icelandic summer in all its capricious glory. Text available in English
Building brigdes (Viltu vera vinur minn?)
A lonely little bunny decides to build a bridge, hoping to find friends across the stream. In the end she learns that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it and maybe what you’re looking for is right in front of you all along. The magic words are simple: Will you be my friend? Text available in English
Bergrún
Íris
Sævarsdóttir
was born 1985 and lives in Hafnarfjörður with her husband, their two boys and the tree legged cat
Megas.
She’s
illustrated
Grand Granny does what she feels like, when she feels like it and doesn’t worry about what other people think. Fanney Þóra loves spending time with Granny as you never know what might happen.
several books but the first book that is completely hers is Vinur minn, vindurinn (My friend, the wind). The book was inspired by a conversation with her son and is nominated for the Nordic
Grand Granny and the trolls in Trölladyngja Granny is an artist and gets a lot of her inspiration from the
Jenný Kolsöe was born in Reykjavík. She loves telling
Council Children and Young
magnificent Icelandic nature. Fanney Þóra and Granny
stories to her
People’s Literature Prize 2015.
go up to Trölladyngja (Troll lair) where they intend to
grandchildren and
Her second book, Sjáðu mig, sumar! (Here comes the summer!)
camp for a week. But the Icelandic nature is restless and
was published in June and her
suddenly Fanney Þóra and Granny find themselves in the
third book, Viltu vera vinur
middle of a volcanic eruption. Things look rather terrifying
minn? (Building Bridges) will be
but then they get help from an unexpected source.
published at the end of October.
My Friend, the wind Nominated for The Nordic Council Children and Young People‘s Literature Prize 2015
Illustrated by Bergrún Íris Sævarsdóttir The first in a series for young readers where Granny and Fanney Þóra meet alls kinds of creatures and people from Icelandic folk lore.
wanted to share them with other children as well.
Hilmar Örn Óskarsson was born in Reykjavík 1975. His books about Camille are inspired by his oldest daughter and she, along with his other three children, continues to be an inspiration in his work. He was born and raised in Reykjavík where he also currently resides. He likes movies, music, martial arts and several other things starting with M. He sometimes talks to
Camille Windmill
himself but maintains that he is having a conversation about plot
(Kamilla Vindmylla) is an Icelandic series by Hilmar
In the first book the kids face evil scientist Elias Emil whose
and such with a pebble he found
Örn Óskarsson, illustrated by Erla María Árnadóttir.
greatest wish is to make life as much fun as it was when
at the seaside, named David.
Camilla is an 11-year old girl who, along with her
he was young. His solution is to make everyone behave
friends, repeatedly saves the world from terrible
like children, with funny and sometimes sad, results.
threats. The books are hilarious and imaginative and
Sample translation available in English
sometimes a bit scary. Ingenious wordplay is a big
In book two Camille and her friends face a new threat. Driven
part of the humour, as the author explores language
by his ambition to be accepted into the Bad Guys inc. Julius
and how meaning often depends on context, not the
Janus steals Elias Emil‘s mind converter. Instead of making
words themselves.
people behave as kids, he uses it to leech all the fun out of the
As can be seen in the English sample this translates
world.
well but requires that translators be imaginative and explore their own language when translating.
Book three finds Camille facing an old foe who has brought reinforcements to make things extremely unpleasant for our heroine and her friends.
NNI
i um
OG UNGLINGARNIR Í IÐUNNI
nnar ún
r n
40-2 -40-2
02
In her latest adventure, all the teenagers around Kamilla start to behave very strangely.
OG UNGLINGARNIR Í IÐUNNI
á
Kamilla Vindmylla and the teens in the vortex In fact, they seem to have more in common with zombies or ghosts, hypnotized by their phones and computers. Kamilla is quite certain she knows exactly whom to blame but she
Hilmar Örn Óskarsson
might be in for a surprise.
The pebble’s name is David that is. The seaside is called Þráinn Brjánn …
City of Bronze (Koparborgin)
The City of Bronze, where the palaces are surrounded by vast gardens and the harbor is full of ancient ships ... but the ships are abandoned and the palaces empty. When Pietros family dies in the plague he
Ragnhildur Hólmgeirsdóttir was
turns to the House of the Exchangers. The house stands in the oldest
born 1988 in Reykjavik. During
part of the city and for more more than three centuries it has been
her teenage years, she sought
inhabited by children only. When the children turn sixteen they have
out countless horror movies that
to leave but until then no child is turned away. Together they thrive
left her with a fascination for the macabre and a firm belief
while the city flounders.
that every protagonist should
When the safety of the house turns out to be an illusion, Pietro and
be hiding a dark secret from the
the other children are forced to enter the sacred centre of the city. Into
past.
the fortress, where no one has dared to go for centuries. Sample translation available in English
The Path of the Wind - Buen camino (Vegur vindsins) Where The Path of the wind crosses that of the stars. When Elísa’s world is turned upside down she decides to buy a plane ticket, some hiking shoes and just up sticks and leaves, not telling a soul. She soon finds herself on the border between France and Spain, rucksack on her back clutching a shell and her beloved St Christopher
Ása Marin is a university trained teacher,
however
she
now
alternates her time between travelling the world as a travel
and St James.
guide and writing educational
On her travels along the Camino de Santiago, she encounters colourful
material in Icelandic.
pilgrims, women in aprons and friendly locals. As the path unwinds
Having
published both short stories and poetry, she decided to try
in front of her, she soon discovers how true the Old Icelandic saying
her hand at something new and
“we each walk the longest road with ourselves” really is.
exciting - this is her debut novel.
Twilight Heights
Authors Marta Magnadóttir and Birgitta Hassell have always loved books with mystery, horror and fantasy elements. Their academic research revealed a limited selection for this kind of book for young readers in Iceland. Brainstorming about what they would have read themselves at that age led them to the small town of Rökkurhæðir, the fictional home of their characters.
Near the top of the hill are Rústirnar (the Ruins), built decades ago as a luxury development with apartments and the foundations for sprawling mansions with a spectacular view of the bay. Now they lie in ruins that nature does its best to erase from sight and memory. The children of Rökkurhæðir are forbidden to explore there, but they have all made a secret visit at one time or other. Something momentous, strange and terrifying happened there. Many people do not dare mention it, others allude to terrorism or to the supernatural. Some try to explain it away with comfortable, logical explanations. But the kids know better.
Rökkurhæðir –the series Seven of the books can stand alone, as each tells a story that begins and ends within the book. Yet all the stories are interconnected, located in the same small neighborhood–Rökkurhæðir. Except for a few youngsters from Sunnuvík, the main characters all attend the local high school, their siblings attend the local elementary school and
Rökkurhæðir – the suburb
kindergarten, and their parents work in town–at the kindergarten, coffee shop, post office. The main character of one book may appear as a minor character in
Rökkurhæðir (Twilight Heights) is a small, picture-perfect neighborhood
other books.
on the outskirts of the city of Sunnuvík (Sunnyvale).
As the stories all take place during the same time frame, an event in
Once it was just a small village nestled under the hill. Today, in this old part
one book may appear in another book from the another character’s
of Rökkurhæðir, winding streets are fringed with crooked houses, mostly
viewpoint.
hidden behind tall sheltering trees.
Each book can be read alone, but the big picture emerges when it is
The new part of town is very different. The trees are too small to shade the
read as a piece of a larger puzzle.
houses from the sun and the hill is too distant to offer shelter.
After book seven is published, the series will conclude with a trilogy
At the foot of the hill lies an apartment complex called Skuggadalir
that ties most of the loose ends and reveals what is actually happening
(Shadowvale), an apt name, as it is shaded most of the day, all year round.
in Rökkurhæðir.
Rökkurhæðir 1: Rústirnar (The Ruins)
Rökkurhæðir 7: Atburðurinn
Rökkurhæðir 4: Ófriður
(The Event)
(Unrest) Fourteen-year old Anna, a grade 8
Rökkurhæðir
pupil at Rökkurskóli, is on student
discord and violence.
council, plays handball, takes
Matthías
to
the past; in the department
dance, and goes skiing whenever
Rökkurhæðir. He is having a
house that today is known as
she can. What suffers is her
hard time adjusting to his new
The Ruins. While she searches
homework and her grades.
school and feels that the other
for ways to get back home, she
When a mysterious girl offers to
students and teachers are overly
experiences firsthand how the
help her out, doing her homework
nice, bending over backwards to
evil sets in and grows in the
and sometimes going to class for her, Anna agrees to
welcome him. But at the same time, he experiences an
her part of the bargain, to guess the “girl’s” name before
escalation of fights, violence and unexplained accidents.
to understand why the adults always talk about The
spring exams. She thinks she knows the name and what
Ingibjörg is used to life in Rökkurhæðir, but when she
Ruins in lowered voices. This is the last of the stand-
is going on, as it is all told in an ancient folk tale.
meets Matthías, she starts to see her town through his
alone books. The series will conclude with a trilogy
Things do not go as planned and she finds herself in way
eyes. Together they make connections between the
called The End.
over her head.
incidents and a bigger picture emerges that is more
is
aflame
recently
After a battle with a strange
with
creature, Margrét ends up in moved
building. Gradually she begins
horrifying than they could have imagined.
Rökkurhæðir 2: Óttulundur (Duskylane)
Rökkurhæðir 5: Gjöfin (The Gift).
Endalokin 1: Útverðirnir (The End, part 1: The Guardians) The first in the trilogy that concludes the
Vigdís, a grade 9 pupil in
Þórhallur, in grade 9, lives in a small
Rökkurhæðir Saga
Rökkurskóli, is an only child,
apartment with his mother. He is
Hanna moves to Misty Heights with her reporter
living alone with her mother since
not very happy since his parents’
mom. While researching the town’s history she
her father passed away some
recent divorce. As Christmas
discovers a secret sect that meet regularly in the
years before. Grandma’s house in
approaches, he hopes they will
old church. The events of books one to seven are
Óttulundur has always been her
make amends by giving him the
cast in a new light and the big picture is emerging.
second home, but suddenly she
presents he deserves, but he is sorely disappointed.
feels she is not entirely welcome there, as if something in the house
Soon, he realizes there is a lot more to the gift from his
wants her gone. Haunted by strange dreams and evil
mother than he first thought–and suddenly, he is knee-
eyes, for the first time in her life she is afraid. A secret
deep in something that is totally beyond his control.
from her childhood is unveiled. But is it safe for her to know?
Rökkurhæðir 6: Vökumaðurinn (The Watchman)
Rökkurhæðir 3: Kristófer (Christopher)
translation available in English
brewing in Rökkurhæðir suddenly escalates into an all-out war.
backyard and meets a girl who is
friends. Looking for a suitable place
change his life and the lives of everyone he loves. Sample
the hill. Unwittingly, the kids tamper with things
into one of Rökkurhæðir’s oldest
he notices strange goings-on in his
parkour-practice outside with his
present for his little sister, but he has no idea how it will
ski trip. A sudden storm leaves them trapped on best left undisturbed. What has been slowly
house itself welcomes the family,
grade 9, can finally take his
While exploring, Kristófer finds the perfect birthday
kids from Sunnuvík and a few teachers, are on a
Pétur Kristinn has just moved
place shortly before. Although the
and Kristófer, who is just finishing
forbidden Ruins!
Most of the high school students, along with some
houses, where horrible events took
It is springtime in Rökkurhæðir
to train, he finds the ideal spot–the
Endalokin 2: Gjörningaveður (The End, part 2: Snow storm/Blizzard)
invisible to everyone else. He uncovers more of Rökkurhæðir’s strange history and what might be at the root of all the strange happenings there.
Endalokin 3: Endalokin (The End, part 3: The End) This book recounts the final battle between the Guardians, the kids and the evil forces that are trying to gain control in our world. As if battling evil isn’t enough, the kids don’t know who to trust. Some people they thought were on their side have other plans entirely.
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