This Norwegian exposition on death and loss almost defies description. It is mesmeric and obtuse, alarming and atmospheric, and ultimately peaceful and unresolved-much like death and loss themselves. A child mourning her younger brother ventures into a wood with her brother's spirit in tow, passing creatures familiar and menacing, to arrive in the presence of a lake-bound lady who recounts their story. The scratchy black-and-white figures move through dark, densely colored landscapes fullof inexplicable detail on a propulsive quest for something, a hurried passage through the hardest part of their story, to come out the other side. Torseter's imagery defines their journey, indelibly imprinting on the reader myriad confounding and consuming emotions, in tension with one another. We are left with many questions, but beneath them a definite sense of it's-going-to-be-okay. This is what art is for.'- Calling Caldecott (a Horn Book blog) 'Thought-provoking narrative entwined with emotive illustrations create an enchanting story that can be appreciated by children of all ages.'-Dr. Marie A. Lejeune, 2022 Batchelder Chair Poetic and dreamlike, rushing, soaring, beautiful and sharp." -www.barnebokkritikk.no (Children's Book Criticism) "This is a book you can read many times and discover new things each time. A classic book for all ages, in the sense that experienced readers will read into the text in ways that less experienced readers might not, but the youngest doesn't feel cheated of anything because of that. Tj�nn and Torseter's fairy-tale world is a fascinating and moving universe."- Dagbladet ( Daily Magazine ) "