Garmann's Summer

"""How do you feel about starting school?"" Auntie Borghild asks. ""Do you have butterflies in your tummy?"" ""I'm scared,"" Garmann answers, wondering how butterflies get into your stomach. Garmann's 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 still he is nervous. And he can't believe he hasn't lost a single tooth yet, despite his best efforts! An endearing and memorable central character, Garmann ponders fear and courage, life and death, beginnings and endings. And in the process he learns in touching ways that everyone is scared of something. This unique story, with its fascinating and imaginative illustrations, won the 2007 Bologna Ragazzi Award, one of the most important international prizes for excellence in children's book publishing, which is awarded each year in conjunction with the Bologna Children's Book Fair."