Fjer

Soft, pink background, beautiful surroundings, a cute little girl, beautiful birds. There is a vintage vibe to the muted colors and the illustration style of this book, initially lulling the reader into thinking this will be an uncomplicated and comforting story. Fortunately, it is not. At first, I wanted to write that Stephanie Donsø adresses topics of grief and death, topics that are difficult for children to understand.  But that is not true - these are complicated and confusing topics for all of us, regardless of age.

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The little girl in the book is looking for birds, and it does not take many pages before the mood shifts from cozy to eerie. The birds are captured, quite violently, and held in cages as the girl plans to use their feathers for wings. Just when you think her cruel and selfish, we are presented with a picture, almost an altar, of a younger version of the girl and her mother, and at this point many readers will understand that the girl has suffered a great loss. 

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I do not want to reveal too much of what happens. This is a story that can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. I found the description of how the girl at one point is willing to sacrifice so many beautiful birds for her dream, fascinating. Grief is a heavy burden. When a parent is lost, children sometimes have to carry the feeling alone because the living parent is too overwhelmed by the situation to see their needs. Donsø is spot-on with her storytelling, and I think this book can be a valuable tool for adults working with children who have experienced great losses.

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Besides being beautiful, "Fjer" shows true insight to children´s emotional life. Sometimes I think we do not realize how deep and devastating children´s feelings of grief and loss can be. I love how the book does not have a "sensible", pedagocial ending. Instead it provides plenty of room for the readers imagination, and for discussing many different outcomes and endings. 

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The illustrations are gorgeous, drawn in muted pastels. Most of the pages are double spreads, which makes the book quite easy to follow for children. Only in the dream sequence are some spreads divided into two or more pictures. There is so much attention to detail: all the different birds, the abundance of plants and flowers, the feathers of so many shapes and colours. The beautiful artwork is made even more so by the excellent quality of paper and binding. A Danish gem!

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