Att trösta ett monster
(To Comfort a Monster)
by Jesper Cederstrand and Clara Dackenberg
reviewed by Elizabeth Lutz
Att trösta ett monster (‘To Comfort a Monster’) is a moving story about what it means to support people when they are sad. In the story, a very large, sad creature comes to a child’s door. This monster has a little bit of everything – claws, scales, fur, whiskers, prominent teeth – but the first thing the child notices is that it’s sad. He knows what to do when someone is sad. You comfort them, of course! He tries hugging the monster, drying the monster’s tears, and holding the monster’s paw. Everything goes wrong. He can’t get his arms around the monster, he gets drenched with tears, his hand is too small…nothing seems to work. Finally the monster stops crying on its own and then growls its thanks to the child for his help. He did provide comfort, after all, just by being there with the monster. Now they can play together!
This book has an encouraging message for children. It is possible to comfort a monster (or the adult in your life) even if you are only small. Size is referred to in both the text and illustrations. The child is engulfed by the monster’s enormity: ‘I was too little and the monster was too big’. The difference in size between the child and the monster is powerfully portrayed in the illustrations using perspective. The monster never fits on one complete spread and the child is often overshadowed by its shape. The child’s feelings of helplessness in the situation are heightened by him appearing so small on the page.
The book also holds many possibilities for discussion. The first-person narration and the fact that the child’s gender is not mentioned makes the situation very relatable to any child reader. Because readers never see the whole monster, children can invent more features for it, like horns and feathers. Using details on the last page, such as the monster slippers and a furry-looking coat hanging near the door, readers can also speculate about who the monster is. Adults can ask questions like: What would you do if a monster came to the door? What if you were all alone? As Lotta Olsson notes in her review of the book for the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, this story can have new interpretations with each reading.
Att trösta ett monster
Natur & Kultur, 2023
32 pages
Foreign Rights: Carin Bacho, Koja Agency (English rights sold)
Jesper Cederstrand is a journalist and screenwriter. He has worked on several programmes for Swedish public service radio. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the Norwegian Film School. Att trösta ett monster is his first book for children. Clara Dackenberg has illustrated more than five children’s books. Her works include Hemma hos Harald Henriksson (‘At Harald Henriksson’s House’) by Uje Brandelius, nominated for the August Prize in 2018, and Oväder (‘The Storm’) by Tuva Lisa Rangström. Both books were nominated for the Elsa Beskow Plaque, awarded to the artist of the year’s best picture book in Sweden.