If You Meet a Bear Nominated for Italy’s Most Prestigious Children’s Literature Award
7 March 2023
If You Meet a Bear Nominated for Italy’s Most Prestigious Children’s Literature Award
We are excited to share that If You Meet a Bear has been shortlisted for the 2023 Italian award Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi Narrazione per Immagini! Our sincerest congratulations to Linda Bondestam, Malin Kivelä, and Martin Glaz Serup.
The Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi is a children’s literature award in Italy that recognizes both books published in Italy and works translated into Italian. If You Meet a Bear by authors Malin Kivelä, Martin Glaz Serup, and illustrator Linda Bondestam, was among 33 nominees. The winner will be chosen on 8th March, at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
The jury’s motivation:
Not at all obvious and even less reassuring, unsettling and acute, the Scandinavian book warns against the dangers of the forest with irony and intelligence, inviting the reader – whom the text addresses already with the title – to take on the role of the unwary wanderer. For our little local explorers, sometimes overprotected, it will be a wholesome read, thanks to a skilful dance of figures and words that humorously chase each other through the pages.
You can find the other nominees here.
Created by the celebrated Nordic trio, this quirky field guide with a playful tone encourages readers to talk about the relationship between humans and nature and offers various tips on what to keep in mind if you happen to encounter a bear in the forest. Humorously written and wonderfully illustrated, If You Meet a Bear becomes an enjoyable and illuminating read.
The book was also nominated for the August Prize and Finlandia Prize in 2021, and nominated for the Runeberg Junior and the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature prize 2022.
Born from the most important Italian award for literature – the Premio Strega – this children’s literature prize was created in 2016 with the aim of promoting reading among young readers. It is comprised of three categories from which the jury selects winners: books for readers aged 6 to 7, aged 8 to 10, and aged 11 to 13. From these categories, the jury also selects winners for the Best Debut Book, and the Best Narrative Picture Book (the Narrazione per Immagini Award).
The Italian edition of If You Meet a Bear was published by Iperborea. It is originally published in Swedish by Förlaget M, and in Danish by Jensen & Dalgaard, and has been translated to Finnish and Dutch.
Are you a publisher interested in the book’s translation rights? Send us an e-mail atâ¯publishing@rightsandbrands.com.
