Fam Ekman

Call me uncle alf

Kall meg onkel alf

«Everything had started well that autumn until a strange man turned up on our doorstep.» «Call me Uncle Alf,» he said. «But I don’t have an uncle,» said the girl with a stranger in her house. Is there enough room for three?
A new book from our most prominent picture-book author.

“Major drama. Text and pictures tell a story with many layers in which child-like voices, streaked with a mature laconicism, speak to us. Ekman is ostensibly a minimalist, but in this book she directs a large drama in a small format—and with burlesque humor.”

The Norwegian Critics’ Association jury, explaining its motivation to award the prize for Best Children’s book in 2007.

“She is at her best, in my opinion, when she (Fam Ekman) is responsible for both the text and pictures, as in this book with the associative title Call me Uncle Alf. A book that is about holding on to what is dear, and about the fear of the unknown. It is about a child’s response when a mother or father finds a new partner and ends the twosome. “

Anne Schäffer, Children’s Book Critic

Cappelen 2007

Fam Ekman has written and illustrated a long line of books for children and adults. In both Norway and abroad, she is recognised as a leading picture book artist. Her picture books are collector’s items also for adult art aficionados.

TRANSLATED TITLES:
Hva skal vi gjøre med lille Jill? (What do we do with Little Jill?), 1976.
Kattens hale (The Cat’s Tail), 1991
Kattens skrekk (A Cat’s Fright), 1992
Kaffebønneslekten (The Coffee Bean Family), 1996
Lommetørkleet (The Handkerchief), 1999
Skoen (The Shoe), 2001