Children's Books2015 · 48 pp · Age 6 - 12
Morkel’s Alphabet
Stian Hole
In Stian Hole's new book, Morkels alfabet, we are reunited with Anna from Annas himmel.
There is someone leaving notes on the ground. Who can it be? Anna wonders. One evening, she sees a shadow. A boy. Is it him? Next day, the note says “Morkel”. Morkel, who is almost never at school. Morkel has a cabin in the forest, and Anna finds him. They spend a lot of time together, both of them interested in words and letters. Everyone has their own alphabet, Anna thinks, and it can take a long time to work out what letters mean. Morkel knows a lot about birds, but one day he is gone, like a migratory bird. Anna longs and hopes that he will return. Maybe he'll be back in the spring?
A beautiful story about friendship and what is important in life. The story is both intense yet moderately-paced with a lot of food for thought. The illustrations are full of wonder, nature and life. A new, fantastic picture book from one of our leading picture book authors.
Rights sold to: DENMARK (Høst & Søn), SWEDEN (Alfabeta Bokförlag AB), GERMANY (Carl Hanser Verlag).
‘Brilliant picture book from Stian Hole about the fantastical void between childhood and adult life. … Hole’s seamless collages, for which clippings from photographs as well as other artwork and popular media were edited in Photoshop, reach new heights here. Where text is scant, details in the typography flesh out the story’s generous landscape. Dreamlike tableaux are presented that nod to other art and literature. Like the cake crumbs in Hansel and Gretel, Hole sets up visual puzzles that add to the story and our experience as we look along the way. The author also manages to let the story of a lonely boy, neglect and a friendship that borders on adult friendship seep out into the visual landscape.Bergens Tidende
‘Stian Hole takes us once more into a dreamland where we find pieces of reality to ponder over. … Using his own unique technique, he has a signature that stands out. … Her [Anna’s] respectful approaches are charming as well as playful and imaginative. … One day, plain and simply, she asks Morkel: “What are you good at?” “Nothing,” Morkel answers. And instead of responding with an “oh well” or something similar, she just asks: “What else?” This short sequence in the book is pure gold. It shows that Hole’s poetic and sensitive means of expressing himself not only reveals itself in the pictures, but also in the text. It is food for thought. … The tentative friendship between these two is beautifully depicted. This is not a story about a clever girl that saves a loser and brings him back into the fold. They continue to be different, but nevertheless share a patient and sensitive connection and friendship. Hole’s particular method of using a mixture of photography, drawing and various digital media generates pictures queer enough to give us pause and which in themselves contribute to the sense of unreality. It works best of all in dream situations, in the darkness with all the small details that you can look for and delight over when you find them. Yet at the same time, there is always something very concrete in the pictures, such as Anna’s mud-covered boots positioned within reach next to her bed where she is sleeping, lost in the throes of her own imagination. … This is yet another masterpiece from Stian Hole and his artist’s cave.’Vårt Land
‘Stian Hole has garnered great international attention with his books. They have been published in 17 countries and won many prestigious prizes. His most recent offering should do the same. Morkels alfabet is a masterpiece.’DEMOKRATEN‘Morkels alfabetis full of secrets. You uncover some of them. Some of them stay secret, somewhere in the void between marvelling words and wonderful illustrations.’FÆDRELANDSVENNEN‘Hole’s seamless collages, for which clippings from photographs as well as other artwork and popular media were edited in Photoshop, reach new heights here. Where text is scant, details in the typography flesh out the story’s generous landscape. Dreamlike tableaux are presented that nod to other art and literature. Like the cake crumbs in Hansel and Gretel, Hole sets up visual puzzles that add to the story and our experience as we look along the way. The author also manages to let the story of a lonely boy, neglect and a friendship that borders on adult friendship seep out into the visual landscape.BERGENS TIDENDE
'Stian Hole has created a whole particular genre of his own with his poetic portrayal of children, where electronic manipulation of actual photographs is a basic element. At its best (as it mostly is), this is delightful. … A gentle book which appeals to the senses.' NRK
'A deeply captivating picture-story. … In ’Morkel’s Alphabet,’ today’s leading, internationally recognised, Norwegian picture-book illustrator takes another step forward in the range of his artistic explorations.'AFTENPOSTEN
'With ’Morkel’s Alphabet,’ Stian Hole has again created a masterpiece of a picture-book.’DAGBLADET
