You Are Not My Mother

“You Are Not my Mother “(Ni är inte min mamma) written by Frank Furu and illustrated by Linda Bondestam is a beautiful and moving story about an unaccompanied refugee child. It is the child itself that tells the story of how it feels to be different and how it is to lack knowledge of the language you are supposed to express yourself with. The illustrator strongly depicts the child’s feelings in the pictures: anger is a roaring panther and loneliness is pitch black. And the dream of Mother is beautifully sand colored. The illustrations invite us to step into a small person’s life, alone in a new and foreign country. The book’s short and melancholic text, together with the illustrations, creates a strong emotional experience for both the reader and the listener."

"Frank Furu's and Linda Bondestam's picture book is a real children's cultural act in terms of its subject matter. But it is also special because if it's intense illustrations and scarce, but perhaps precisely for that reason, extremely expressive text. In addition to explaining how refugee children feel, the way the picture book describes the feelings of being excluded is familiar to all children."

The picture book You are Not My Mother is one of last years most touching children's books. The book tells the story of Aysha's existence at a refugee reception centre and is not afraid to shy away from the painful things.