My Life at the Bottom
2020 AUGUST PRIZE NOMINEE and a selection for the White Raven Catalogue 2021!
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, which is fragile and yet, at the same time, strong. A surprising and moving story about climate change and just how dull it is to play alone. It depicts the scenes through beautifully detailed illustrations of the wonders of the world under water.
info
Year of publication
2020
Original title
Mitt bottenliv
Page count
42
Original publisher
Förlaget M
Original language of publication
Swedish
Rights sold
DanishKoreanFaroeseGermanEnglish (USA, Canada)English (Worldwide, excluding USA and Canada)
Reviews
Mia Österlund, Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper
”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.”
Erika Hallhagen, Svenska Dagbladet newspaper
"In her wonderful picture book, Bondestam manages to summarize the big and the small by allowing a small endangered animal to depict its corner of the world where it becomes more and more lonesome the more we humans (in the book called "lugs") evolve."
August Prize Jury
“My Life at the bottom offers a humorous and hopeful climate story…The work shows Linda Bondestam’s mastery by the use and enrichment of the picture book’s entire range."
Sissel Ray, Ibby Finland
"Bondestam's book addresses climate change and the impact of humans, on everything that exists around them, even things invisible to the naked eye. With a big heart, she paints a world that has changed forever, but which still has hope for a brighter future."
Bavaria’s Best Independent Books 2023 Jury
"Linda Bondestam portrays the story in an unsentimental way with bright watercolors, with characters that follow the aesthetics of the animated film, and with bizarre details. She manages to take children seriously – appropriate to the topic – and to raise big questions even among the little ones."
The Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize Jury’s Quote
“How do you go about making a picture book for children that touches on one of the most difficult and painful issues of our time—the climate crisis? Bondestam does just this, with heart and mind, in a breathtaking story that bypasses people (or ‘big lugs’ as they’re called in the book) and heads for the margins…. The language is flexible and inventive, rather ingeniously making the axolotl the narrator. Thanks to this irresistibly charming protagonist, the story is brimming with empathy and nerve. By reflecting the small in the big, the reader can recognize and get involved in the fragile globe that we all live on whose future concerns us all.”
Youth Services Book Review
“Beautifully layered and illuminated underwater scenes, that appear to be watercolor and ink, create a mesmerizing world where the little Axolotl comes to vivid life.”
Outside in World
“This bittersweet tale, by Nordic author Linda Bondestam, translated by A. A. Prime, shows how climate change is destroying the axolotl’s habitat. Combining the wit of the philosophical and irresistible axolotl with appealing aquatic art Bondestam’s empathetic story demonstrates the catastrophe facing the little axolotl, who is, possibly, the last of its kind and is facing real-world habitat destruction and extinction.”
Kate Quealy-Gainer, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“The soft palette and mottled textures of the water contrasted against the more angular and crowded human world make striking visuals. . . The initial playfulness invites young viewers to see the world as the axolotl does so when disaster (after disasters) strikes, they understand the stakes.
Birgit Arnold/ Finnland-tour.de
"There are certainly plenty of books on the picture book market about environmental pollution or climate change, but Linda Bondestam has created a unique story here. You can't help but love the little protagonist and suffer with him when everything changes for him. The very humorously drawn, detailed pictures offer plenty of scope for reading aloud. Depending on age, the picture book can initially be read aloud as an ordinary story without going into the important themes of the plot. However, this would be a great pity, as even children of kindergarten age already have an idea about environmental pollution. The story also deals with themes such as identity, loneliness, marginalisation, friendship and love. Anyone who now thinks that the picture book is rather heavy fare due to the topics mentioned can be reassured: Linda Bondestam succeeds in conveying all of this to young readers in a hopeful, warm-hearted, light and very humorous way."
Awards & Nominations
Awards
Bavaria’s Best Independent Books 2023
2023
Nominations
Nordic Council Children's and Young People's Literature Prize
2021
August Prize
2020
Elsa Beskow Plaque
2021
Interested in literary or film rights?
Get in touch with your ideas and our literary agents will get back to you in a heartbeat.
Milestones
White Raven Catalogue
My life at the bottom. Told by a lonely axolotl is a pick for the White Raven Catalogue 2021. The Catalogue is published annually and features recommendations for children's and youth literature. The Catalogue is presented annually at the Bologna Book Fair. My Life at The Bottom was the only Finnish book to be featured in the Catalogue 2021!