My Life at the Bottom
by Linda Bondestam
Description
An enchanting story about the ongoing climate change told by the voice of an axolotl, how the environment is affected and changed.
Each year, several species go extinct, disappearing from the surface of the earth forever. A perfect being, the result of millions of years of evolution, no longer exists.
An axolotl is a small smiling amphibian that lives its entire life at the larval stage, which means that it never really grows up. Nowadays, it is believed to exist in the wild only, in a lake in Mexico – but not even that is certain.
In this picture book of an astonishing axolotl, we possibly meet the last of its kind. He thrives in his own pool where he hangs out with tiger salamanders, collects treasures, and spies on what the peculiar two-legged beings on the beach come up with. But as it gets hotter and hotter, the pool gets cloudy, and everyone moves on. The poor axolotl is left all alone. Everything changes one day when a giant wave sweeps away everything, and the axolotl embarks on a journey to the unknown.
Linda Bonsestam’s happy, ecological, and existential book about life on earth – the fragile, but at the same time robust. A surprising and moving story about climate change and just how dull it is to play alone. A touching story combined with beautifully detailed illustrations of the wonders of the underworld.
More Information
Reviews
”Bondestam is a phenomenal colorist. In My Life at the Bottom, which is her second solo project, she follows up on the success of the innovative Goodnight on Earth (2018). The expression has deepened, the portrayal of the characters has gained more weight[…]With her description of the tsunami, she places herself in the group of illustrators who, like Tove Jansson, allude to Japanese Katsushika Hokusai's’ famous woodcuts of a tsunami "Under the wave outside Kanagawa" (1832). It is deliciously performed and Bondestam is deservedly one of the most appreciated picture book artists in the Nordic region, with international reach.”
- Mia Österlund, Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper
Author Biography
Linda Bondestam (b.1977) studied to become an illustrator at Kingston University in the United Kingdom.
Bondestam has illustrated dozens of children’s books for Finnish and Swedish publishers, and her books have been translated into several languages including Arabic, Belorussian, Croatian, Danish, English, Finnish, German, Latvian, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Turkish and Ukrainian. She is one of the most prominent children’s book illustrators in the Nordic countries.
Bondestam has been nominated for Finlandia Junior Prize three times, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award five times, as well as the Nordic Council’s Children and Young People’s Literature Prize in 2013 and the August Prize in 2016. Animals That No One Has Seen Except Us was awarded the Snöbollen Prize for Swedish Picture Book of the Year in 2016 and the Nordic Council’s Children and Young People’s Literature Prize in 2017. Bondestam was also the first recipient of the Vanessa Prize (Vanessapriset) in 2016.
She has been sitting on chair number 11 in the Swedish Children’s Book Academy since 2019.
Rights and Brands
Rights & Brands is a 360 licensing and publishing agency bringing Nordic rights and brands to a global arena. Starting from a strategic base in literature, art and design, R&B’s platform is built on knowledge, passion and people. Using all aspects of character representation and branding, from publishing and PR to licensing, merchandising and digital development, with a worldwide network of sub-agents and over 800 clients, R&B’s international insight and business capacity is unique.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Förlaget M
- Publication Date September 2020
- Orginal LanguageSwedish
- Publication Country or regionFinland
- FormatHardback
- Pages42
- ReadershipChildren
- Publish StatusPublished
- Original Language TitleMitt bottenliv
Rights and Brands has chosen to review this offer before it proceeds.
You will receive an email update that will bring you back to complete the process.
You can also check the status in the My Offers area
Please wait while the payment is being prepared.
Do not close this window.