Rakel Helmsdal & Kathrina Skar\u00f0s\u00e1 (ill.): Miljul\u00f8tur. Novel, B\u00f3kadeild F\u00f8roya L\u00e6rarafelags, 2018.<\/p>\n How many writers master the most important and essential aspect of children\u2019s literature \u2013 the ability to write credibly and convincingly about the everyday things that fascinate children? With her stories about Milja, Rakel Helmsdal enters the core of the child\u2019s mind with a credible, beautiful and stylish depiction of Milja\u2019s life. The book is made up of twelve stories in which twelve-year-old Milja talks about her experiences over the past five years. The reader is introduced to Milja\u2019s emotional states, provoked by everyday events such as a scout camp, tobogganing on a winter\u2019s day, or a visit to her grandmother \u2013 events in which the reader, together with Milja, is given an opportunity to feel loss, joy, fellowship, guilt, loneliness, etc.<\/p>\n The child is given a voice in these stories, which show confidence in the child as a thinking and reflecting being. Milja is a girl who is sensitive and conscientious, yet robust and energetic. She sees<\/em> people, and has empathy with those closest to her, and sympathy with those who do not fit in, for example due to psychological problems \u2013 and she also manages to act on these impulses.<\/p>\n The portrayal of human beings in the book is so fundamental that both children and adults can recognise Milja\u2019s emotional roller-coaster trips caused by the small things in everyday life.<\/p>\n Between the individual stories are small breathing spaces where time stands still, while space is provided for orientation in the dramatis personae and the world of the book, which are presented for reflection. In these breathing spaces, the illustrator Kathrina Skar\u00f0s\u00e1 augments Milja\u2019s role as a narrator by adding small, quite childish drawings that serve as guides for the reader. The more nuanced drawings, which are found both on the book cover and as elements in the various narratives, are on the other hand obviously created by an adult, and add emotional depth to the stories.<\/p>\n The narratives, in text and pictures, are beautiful, integrated stories, but they are given a boost when they are linked with each other with a thread of small remarks and small things that are repeated and create a whole.<\/p>\n Rakel Helmsdal (b. 1966) made her literary debut in 1995 and for almost 25 years has written books that have become part of the upbringing of many Faroese children. Most – including Miljul\u00f8tur <\/em>(\u201cMilja\u2019s Moments\u201d) \u2013 take place in the fictional town of Port Janua, which has become a well-known universe for many readers. Rakel has also become a well-known name in Nordic literature for children and young people. In 2016, she received the West Nordic Council\u2019s Children\u2019s and Youth Literature Prize for the book Hon, sum r\u00f3\u00f0i eftir \u00e6laboganum<\/em> (\u201cShe Rowed Towards the Rainbow\u201d), and in 2018, together with \u00c1slaug J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir and Kalle G\u00fcettler, she was awarded the Icelandic Literature Prize in the children\u2019s and young people\u2019s literature category for Skr\u00edmsli \u00ed vanda <\/em>(\u201c<\/em>Monsters in Trouble\u201d<\/em>)<\/em>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/rakelhelmsdal.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/F\u00e4r\u00f6arna.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/rakelhelmsdal.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/miljulotur-228x300.jpg\")
<\/a>N\u00fdggjasta barnab\u00f3kin eftir Rakel Helmsdal, Miljul\u00f8tur<\/em>, er \u00ed uppskoti til Barna- og ungd\u00f3msb\u00f3kmentavir\u00f0isl\u00f8n Nor\u00f0urlandar\u00e1\u00f0sins. Hetta kunngj\u00f8rdi Nor\u00f0urlandar\u00e1\u00f0i\u00f0 fyri l\u00f8tu s\u00ed\u00f0an \u00e1 \u00e1rligu barnab\u00f3kamessuni Bologna Children\u2019s Book Fair<\/em> \u00ed Bologna.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/rakelhelmsdal.info\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/5212a698f12b4dd5d1003b563d6fafe1ea06fbf0_w1152_h0_fS-225x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n