I Am Me/Jag är jag

Mickan is eight years old and not as shy as her teacher says she is. It’s just that she doesn’t like to go to Natali’s Big Bang Party, is afraid to death and of the power drill in shop class.

One Monday there has been a burglary in the classroom. At first Mickan and her classmates don’t notice it. The teacher turns the light on and everybody goes to sit down, everybody but Pecka. He walks up to the class aquarium instead and that is when he notices it. The fish are gone. Soon, the entire class stands around the empty aquarium.

The teacher believes Pecka took the fish, but Mickan doesn’t believe that. During break everybody talks about the fish thieves. Richard and Lacke believe the cleaning ladies took them. Not until the last chapter does the reader find out who the culprit is.

Mickan is a wonderful character, eagerly awaited in the world of books. She is the small, afraid and quiet girl who does not take up much space in the classroom but who observes everything that happens and tells us about the others in an incredibly funny and serious way.

Emma AdBåge hits a bull’s eye when she has Mickan revolt against everybody who views her as a quiet girl who needs to be more assertive. She is assertive, but in her own way.

Emma AdBåge has written and illustrated a number of books. Her picture books about Leni have been very well received.

“The lovely point of view of a child, and with a sense of humor” “Emma AdBåge portrays, with a warm sense of humor, funny things, difficult things, embarrassing things and terrible things. With the lovely point of view of a child, and with a sense of humor that even grownups laugh at, I Am Me becomes a story that both young and old can enjoy and see themselves in.”

Anna Nygren, Folkbladet

“AdBåge’s humorous and sweet gangly illustrations enhance the reading experience”

Borås Tidning