The New Boy in the Class

"Fjodor på skolen" by PÅL H. CHRISTIANSEN
illustrated by ANNLAUG AUESTAD
published by Cappelen Damm (Leseløve)

(English translation)

Summer vacation is over, and Palle's getting ready for the new school year. He'll walk to school with his best friend, Molly, and there's going to be a new boy in his class, too. Palle can hardly wait.

And it's going to be even more interesting than he has any idea, because the new boy isn't a boy at all, but a fish! And not just any fish, but a cod that Palle has already made the acquaintance of. And though Palle thinks he's getting a new best friend, it isn't going play out quite that way.

Fjodor is a real hooligan who soon turns not only the class, but the school and Palle's days at school upside down. Little by little, we learn what exactly it is that is so special about Fjodor - besides his being a fish - and why his relationship with Palle is so full of sparks.

Elementary school children, who undoubtedly are used to a bit more structure in their classes than that in Palle's class after Fjodor makes his entrance, will certainly think it incredibly funny as Pål Christiansen describes the shenanigans, vandalism and chaos that follow in the wake of the new boy's pranks and exclamations. Poor Palle gets blamed for a lot he doesn't do because of Fjodor, but it all works out in the end.

Annlaug Auestad illustrates the book in a style that very much resembles the way we'd expect a child to draw, though in much more detail, using lots of warm colors. Her illustrations complement the author's rather good and easy-to-read text in an excellent way.

(by Per Ivar Henriksbø
published May 14,.2009
in Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen)