Ö

In this book, we meet the bear "Ö". The text on the backcover tells us that he has decided not to hibernate this year. And why would he, surrounded by so much beauty and adventure?​

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The cover, and the first pages, of "Ö" is in black and white only. The negative space, the white paper, portrays the snow, and the reader gets to follow the bear around in a winter wonderland. His name, the letter "Ö", is a perfect symbol for his experiences, as it can be read as a bear´s face: Two eyes over a big mouth, wide-open in awe of the beauty of nature. Thus, the title itself is also silent.

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The bear is portrayed in black. We can´t see his facial expressions, but we can feel them through his body language and actions. The reader feels his amazement over the snow, the fun he has by shaking a tree to create his own, personal "snow storm", making snow angels, catching his reflection in the surface of the ice. We feel his joy of interacting with other animals, a deer, a rabbit. The bear is like child, curious, unafraid, eager to try everything and learn everything. This is his first experience with winter.​​

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Guridi uses very subtle storytelling techniques that has great impact. He shifts the mood from fun and whimsical to more serious by just showing a few cracks in the ice. At the next spread, color is introduced, we spot a yellow object on the right page. Over the next pages, we realize it is rubbish left by humans. The bear cleans it up and retreats to his cave. His child-like innocence and playfullness is lost. The first time we see the bears eyes is at the endpaper, against an all black background. They are open: is he worried? is he scared? He is wide awake in his dark cave.

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The yellow color that broke the black and white, is symbolic of how the humans destroy the natural world. Guridi´s subtle techniques speak loudly - there is no planet B. Over a few pages in black,white and a little yellow, he shows the reader both what is at stake: the beauty and joy in the wilderness of nature - and how easy it is lost. 

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Ö won the Andersen Rivista award for best silent book 2025. 

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