The Sister from the Sea

Ulf Stark, illustrated by Stina Wirsén

In the shadow of war and of adults, a friendship slowly grows. A friendship that cannot be taken for granted and is therefore all the more precious. Sirkka must travel by herself, over the sea to people she doesn’t know. In this new land lives Margaret. Margaret needs someone to play with, say her parents. It is to be a surprise. Margaret secretly hopes it will be a dog, she would like that. But instead, Sirkka arrives. Her parents have decided that she will live with them while the war is on. At night Sirrka lies in Margaret’s room hugging her cloth dog. She buries her nose in her handkerchief, its scent reminding her of her mother, and looks at the photo of her family.

Ulf stark’s story is gripping and symbolic. Stina Wirsén’s watercolors are flooded with atmosphere and color.