Adventures with Waffles

Written by the Norwegian author Maria Parr, this is the only translation on the BoB list 2019.

Trille lives in a small village on the coast of Norway. His best friend is his neighbour Lena, a naughty and courageous girl his age. Trille lives with his mom and dad, older brother, older sister, younger sister, and his grandpa. Lena is the only girl in her class. The story stars on Mid-summer day and ends on Mid-summer day. We follow the adventurs of the two kids, and what happens in the two families, during the period of one year. Sometimes the story is very happy, exciting and funny, but sometimes the story is very sad. Grandpa is always there to do mischief together with the kids.

'' You can't see the world from the kichen table.''

This book was first written in Norwegian language in 2005 as a debut novel of Maria Parr. It was later translated in English by Guy Puzey in 2015. From the book you can learn a few things about life in Norway. I have learnt a new word, fjord, which means a long norrow passage of water between high cliffs typical for the coast of Norway. In winter, Norway is very cold and there's lots of snow. In summer, they celebreate Mid-summer day with bonfires and songs.

'' You see, Trille lad, if you're sad because you miss someone, then that means you care about that person. And caring about someone is the best thing there is. We carry the person we miss inside us.''

In 2017, the Norwigian televestion made a TV series based on the book. You can see the trailer here.

This story reminds me of the famous Swedish fearless girl Pippy Longstocking.