Silkmonkey’s Laughter

By Annika Sandelin Linda Bondestam

A much-needed book set in the jewel-coloured jungle opens up the difficult theme of death with gentle and caring words to children and adults alike. The text carries strong feelings but it is accessible and healing at the same time. Tapir sees his best friend Silkmonkey getting sick and fading away. Once she is gone, he is angry and sad and con sed, and acts up with everyone, even though all other animals − Sloth, Parrot and Bear − make room for him in his sorrow. Litte by little, Tapir must accept his loss and understand that he is not the only one who misses Silkmonkey.

Publishing information

About the author

Annika Sandelin (b.1972) is an established author and poet, who worked as a librarian before she became a full-time writer. Apart from writing, she also teaches a writing course in how to write children’s and youth literature. Her latest works include Silkmonkey’s Laughter (2019) and Moominvalley’s Alphabet (Mumindalens alfabet, 2021). Her newest book My Flying Grandma was released in spring 2022.In 2014 Sandelin was nominated for the Nordic Council Prize and has since received prestigious awards like the Anni Swan Medal for Silkmonkey’s Laughter in 2021, which is the oldest children’s literature award in Finland. She has also been recognized for her translations as her translation made the IBBY International Honorary List in 2022. 

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.She has been nominated for the prestigious Finlandia Junior Prize three times, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award six times. She has also been recognized with nominations for the Nordic Council’s Children and Young People’s Literature Prize in 2013 and 2021, and the August Prize in 2016, 2019 and 2021.Bondestam’s collaboration with Ulf Stark on 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. Bondestam’s own title, My Life at The Bottom, was a pick for the White Raven Catalogue in 2021. She has been sitting on chair number 11 in the Swedish Children’s Book Academy since 2019.