The line between being different and being excluded is thin.
Saša Stanišić has now published his first children's book dealing with bullying.
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This changes nothing for you.
It's not easy for someone who is different.
Many children have experienced being bullied at school when they were young.
Saša Stanišić, who received the German Book Prize for "Origin" (promotional link) in 2019, made the topic of courage and bullying a topic with his children's book "Wolf".
For him there is no more important topic that should be conveyed to children and young people.
Adults should read the book too.
Saša Stanišić "Wolf": A book about bullying and courage
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Saša Stanišić has published his first children's book "Wolf".
The book deals with bullying among children.
© Katja Sämann/Carlsen (montage)
Bullying is not an easy subject.
How do I deal with the topic as an adolescent?
And how do I talk about it with my children?
If we suffer from depression or mood swings as adults, we can fall back on titles such as “Compass for the Soul” by Bas Kast.
But for young readers, the selection of good titles is more limited.
At summer camp, Kemi becomes part of a diverse group of youngsters and caregivers.
And he meets Jörg, who is somehow different, but whom Kemi is very interested in.
He watches closely what the others are doing with Jörg and how everything is slowly escalating in the group.
How far?
In his dreams, Kemi encounters a wolf, his own fear.
He learns to live with the wolf and to be brave.
Blurb / Carlsen
For his book, the 45-year-old author chose the perspective of a 13-year-old teenager growing up with his mother who is forced to spend a week at a summer camp in the middle of the forest.
The boy has zero interest in nature and also has no interest in the stupid classmates who are with him at summer camp.
But then he meets Jörg, who is different from the others and seems to be at peace.
At the same time, Jörg is being harassed by the mean gang of boys led by Marko, but nobody does anything about it, not even the 13-year-old protagonist.
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Saša Stanišić, who lives in Hamburg, took up the topic of bullying in his book and told the
dpa
: "The topic seems to me to be one of the most important in the life of all adolescents, and it deserves that a lot more is talked about." He himself had in during his school days, how life was made difficult for one of his classmates and he and most of the others did nothing to help him.
This "silent complicity" never let go of him.
"School must have felt like the biggest hurdle for him."
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The book by Saša Stanišić, who lives in Hamburg, deals with the topic of bullying and its effects on the lives of adolescents.
The author, who himself saw a classmate being bullied as a schoolboy, sees the topic as one of the most important in the life of young people and emphasizes that there should be a lot more talk about it.
Through the first-person perspective of the 13-year-old protagonist, the reader is brought closer to the teenager's inner conflicts and tender thoughts of hope and courage.
The book contains 185 pages of appropriate and unexcited drawings by Regina Kehn and deals with inner strength, peace of mind, observation and openness to other perspectives as well as the magic of getting to know things that you actually wanted to find stupid.
Saša Stanišić "Wolf": Conclusion
Bullying concerns everyone.
Therefore, the book is suitable for all age groups.
Younger children should have their parents read it to them.
It is a book that encourages and takes the standpoint not to look away.
Certainly more likely to accept those who have no buddies.
Better to talk to each other than about each other.
This is the right way.
A highly recommended book that belongs in every children's room.
Saša Stanišić's "Wolf"
Illustrated by Regina Kehn
2023 Carlsen, ISBN-13
Price: hardcover 14 €, 185 pages
Order here!
Sasa Stanisic
Saša Stanišić was born in Yugoslavia in 1978 and has lived in Germany since 1992.
His books have been translated into over thirty languages and have received numerous awards.
Regina Kehn
Regina Kehn was born in Hamburg in 1962 and studied illustration at the University of Applied Sciences for Design in Hamburg.
Since 1988 she has worked as a freelance illustrator for various publishers and magazines.
List of rubrics: © Katja Sämann/Carlsen (montage)
