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What could be better after a year of school than an adventurous summer? And what’s more fun than exploring territories where everything seems possible? Here are five books to leave without knowing when or if to return.
Kemi is someone who likes to stay on his own, among his own thoughts. He hates having too many people around him and hates the summer camp imposed by his mother. Here he shares a room with a companion who is even more solitary than himself. He is Jorg, a sensitive, measured, nature-loving guy, the classic foreign body in a group of disorderly and noisy boys. In fact, it is Jorg who becomes the designated victim of the cruel bullying of Marko, the camp bully and his henchmen. Kemi has well understood that ruthless game, he worriedly observes from a distance the wickedness and escalating abuses that Jorg endures, but he doesn’t always have the courage to intervene, even though he tries several times to protect him. And then there is a wolf – The wolf which gives its title to the light and profound novel by the German Saša Stanišic (Hyperborea, 192 pages, €16.00) – who wanders around the two boys’ room every night. A dream or a reality? Or that creature that everyone carries inside, companion of all fears? From 12 years.
Guido Quarzo and Anna Vivarelli write together The forgotten island (Uovonero, 176 pages, €16.00) a story about distance and isolation, about the desire to change one’s life, the deceptions of the adult world and the disenchanted gaze of adolescents. A gripping novel that takes readers back to the early twentieth century, to the tragic shipwreck of a steamship bound for Brazil. Only three boys are saved and land on a deserted beach. I am the enterprising Isabella, her brother Giacomo and Luca, the keen cabin boy of the steamship. The island seems like a small deserted paradise, but the three soon discover that they are not alone and that the ambiguous characters who welcome them, as well as hiding dark secrets about their past, actually keep them prisoner. That, they argue, is an island where you can only arrive and not leave again. Will it really be like this? From 11 years old.
Saving a bear and her cub threatened by a hunting trip is the feat that twelve-year-old Caterina, on holiday in the mountains, wants to attempt with the help of her friend Matias and her dog Romeo. It involves walking at night, without the families’ knowledge, the impervious path that goes over the mountain, convincing the animals to follow them across the border, where they can live free and in peace. Said and done. Not without stumbles and heartbeats, thanks also to the special relationship that Caterina has built with the bear, the mission succeeds. But it doesn’t end here. Francesco D’Adamo, 2023 Andersen Award for best writer, goes beyond the simple environmentalist story. Why The Bear Trail (Mondadori, pages 144, €14.00) is also the hidden street where that same night the boys meet a group of young Syrian and Afghan refugees chased by border guards. They too, like the bear, need to be saved. From 10 years old.
It cannot be said that Ida’s dealing with her younger brother is not a daily adventure. Oscar is five years old and is the most lovable, restless, stubborn and shrewd creature you could ever meet. The opposite of Ida, who is eight years old, patient, calm, kind and diplomatic, trained to deflect her brother’s objections. It is a delightful little fresco of family everyday life and authentic childhood that Maria Parr, one of the most beloved Norwegian authors, outlines with the humor and delicate realism that is typical of her. Oscar and me (Beisler publisher, 220 pages, €16.90) was born in the heart of Norway in a small village on the edge of a forest where time seems to have stopped together with the children’s entertainment, their arguments, their games and their questions about the world . An authentic childhood told with respect and a smile. From 9 years old.
The last day of school is always a mixture of joy and melancholy. There are many emotions, we celebrate and say goodbye with a hint of sadness because some, certainly the teacher, won’t be there next year. And then because even holidays can become boring, even more so if your best friend will spend the summer far away, in another city. The inseparable Noa and Manne, protagonists of The best surprise (La Nuova Frontiera Junior; 180 pages, €14.90) followed by Friends forever of Swedish Ellen Karlsson, they won’t be able to see each other for a long time. What to do? Come up with a way to see each other anyway. And meet at the amusement park every night. In dream. Want to see how it works? From 7 years old.
