Annika Sandelin och Karoliina Pertamo

Annika Sandelin
Photographer
Cata Portin
Annika Sandelin and Karoliina Pertamo (ill.): Råttan Bettan och masken Baudelaire. Babypoesi och vilda ramsor (Bettan the rat and Baudelaire the worm. Baby poetry and wild nursery rhymes) Schildts & Söderströms 2013

Råttan Bettan och masken Baudelaire är (Bettan the rat and Baudelaire the worm) is an exquisite picture book packed with candid poetry for small children. Annika Sandelin excels in the genre that she handles best, nonsense-like poems and nursery rhymes. She has brought the illustrator Karoliina Pertamo with her on her contemporary poetry expedition. The text and the image perspective in the picture book are both recklessly humorous. Here you will find everything from striped monster underpants to fluff ball romance depicted in a way that contributes to the playful poetry and in the picture composition. The book's slim tall format is utilised to the full. The separate poems are tied seamlessly together by pictures which stretch over the whole cover consisting of clear contrasts and flowing meeting of colours: purple, turquoise and brilliant red, orange goes together with olive green. The poems often have a dogged tone, they tempt activity. Sometimes, the writer herself suggests a game, such as lifting a quilt slightly or counting on your fingers. Sandelin and Pertamos' plucky and funny poetry picture book shows the picture book media's ability to create an urgent and timely portrayal of contemporary childhood that is both imaginative and aesthetically challenging.

Råttan Bettan och masken Baudelaire (Bettan the rat and Baudelaire the worm) has been awarded a prize by The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland for its "witty, wild text" which is "characterised by a deep respect for children". Pertamos' illustrations are described as "generous and associative, confronting the text with their own humour". ”A children's book with a classic warning” the jury wrote in their summary.