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Elsewhere Editions

Bob and Hilbert

Bob and Hilbert

by Bárður Oskarsson, translated from the Faroese by Marita Thomsen

$19.95
$19.95
Ages 5–8 Available as E-Book Books for Kids Children's Literature
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Bob is a long-toothed rabbit obsessed with finding the perfect carrot. Hilbert is a flat-nosed dog convinced he can fly. The two come to life in deft, joyous strokes: humor seeps out from white paint outside of jagged lines, goofy smiles and lanky arms, rounded noses and shifting eyes, and the slight curves of a head tilted in question. Beloved Nordic children’s book author Bárður Oskarsson’s trademark illustration crafts a minimalist world with playfully misshapen, big-footed animals who are as imperfect and human as we are. Flip the book one way and Bob loses his carrot on the bus and Hilbert can’t fly, but they give each other a little help to make things right. Flip the book the other way, and Hilbert and Bob are each able to give up a little freedom in order to fulfill their dreams. Readers will love Bob for his frank determination and Hilbert for his idealist heart. Oskarsson weaves a gently optimistic and reflective story about compromise and perspective, showing us what it’s like to hold two truths together at once. Bob and Hilbert is about the joy of learning how to rely on others through words, and shared silence. Reading this book is like making a new friend.

Additional Book Information

Series: Elsewhere Editions
ISBN: 9781962770651
Pages: 76
Publication Date:

Praise

The tales are spare yet generous with subtext. Young readers will enjoy the pair’s eccentricities, but the characters’ disparate ways of experiencing the world will also resonate with adults. Minimalist illustrations capture the narrative arcs succinctly. Bob and Hilbert are drawn in profile on unembellished, scenery-free kraft paper pages, with just a few simple set pieces: the carrot bin, the bus stop, a length of string, some buzzing flies. A quirky pair of stories with spare, stylish charm that’s hard to resist.
—Kirkus Reviews

An adorable, charming little book . . . Each story involves one friend needing the other’s help . . . The illustrations’ thin lines and childlike simplicity (Hilbert’s a dog and Bob’s a rabbit, in case you can’t tell) matches the deceptively terse prose (nicely captured by Marita Thomsen’s translation). The stories are short, fun, and silly.
—Tom Bowden, The Book Beat

Everyone’s favorite Scandinavian author/illustrator is back . . . In spite of its seemingly simplicity, this book is both extremely funny and subtle. It has this angle into the absurdity of human existence that children respond to . . . Utterly unique.
—Betsy Bird, School Library Journal's Fuse 8 Blog

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