Ö

The star of this book is the wonderful bear Ö. The text on the cover informs 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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Both the cover and the first page, 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", the joy of making snow angels, the surprise when he catching his reflection in the surface of the ice. We see how he loves interacting with other animals: a deer, a rabbit. The bear is like child, curious, unafraid, eager to try everything and learn everything, as 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. After that, he introduces color, a yellow object on the right page. The next pages make it obvious that this is trash left by humans. The bear cleans it up and retreats to his cave. His child-like innocence and playfullness seem to be lost. The first time we see the bears eyes is at the endpaper, white 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, might be read as a symbol of how 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 reminds the reader both of what is at stake: the beauty and joy in the wilderness of nature - and of how easy it is lost. 

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

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