This is a powerful story that addresses themes of loss and love. The author, Stein Erik Lunde, and illustrator Oyvind Torseter, use simple language and illustrations to let us peek into an intimate evening between a man and his young son. The story is set in Norway and the team has masterfully used paper sculpture and pen and ink drawings to set the scene and illustrate the story. Upon looking at the pictures, one immediately senses of sadness in this story especially in the illustrations showing the father and son alone. The reader doesn't have to wait long for the father and son to come together and in these scenes, we see the intimacy that this father and son share. This would be a wonderful book for families to use during a time of grieving because it acknowledges the pain of loss, the comfort of love and the reassurance and "everything will be alright". The book is Stein Erik Lunde's sixteenth book. My Father's Arms are a Boat was awarded the Norwegian Ministry's Culture Prize for the Best Book for Children and Youth. It was also nominated for the 2011 German Children's Literature Award. Oyvind Torseter is a recognized, award winning artist. He received the Norwegian Book Art Prize in 2011 and was nominated for the ALMA Award and the Hans Christian Anderson Award. This was...OK. The story itself is sweet, if a bit meandering. The language is too complex for preschool but the story itself is a bit simple and whitewashed for gradeschool. Still, the image of the father and child consoling each other over the loss of the mother is tender and gentle. The illustration technique- 3D cutouts- was neat. But the illustrations didn't always match with the text, and almost seemed a part of a different story. This could have worked if that second story was followed through with, but it didn't work for me as it stood.
What do You think about Papas Arme Sind Ein Boot (2010)?
I checked this out for myself! It was touching and the illustrator innovative.
—chels
This is a pensive, even troubling book with unique, dreamlike illustrations.
—Mar
A father and son cope with the loss of the mother. BEAUTIFUL art.
—ishaq
