Synopses & Reviews
“Magnason’s writing is lean, swift and often lyrical. . . immensely satisfying — a major contribution to the sparsely populated eco-lit genre, and one that could entice other
authors to contribute.”— New York Time Book Review
Brimir and Hulda are best friends who live on a small island on a beautiful blue planet where there are only children and no adults. Their planet is wild and at times dangerous, but everything is free, everyone is their friend, and each day is more exciting than the last.
One day a rocket ship piloted by a strange-looking adult named Gleesome Goodday crashes on the beach. His business card claims he is a “Dream.ComeTrueMaker and joybringer,” and he promises to make life a hundred times more fun with sun-activated flying powder and magic-coated skin so that no one ever has to bathe again. Goodday even nails the sun in the sky and creates a giant wolf to chase away the clouds so it can be playtime all the time. In exchange for these wonderful things, Goodday asks only for a little bit of the children’s youth—but what is youth compared to a lot more fun? The children are so enamored with their new games that they forget all the simple activities they used to love.
During Goodday’s great flying competition, Hulda and Brimir fly too high to the sun and soar to the other side of planet, where they discover it is dark all the time and the children are sickly and pale. Hulda and Brimir know that without their help, the pale children will die, but first they need to get back to their island and convince their friends that Gleesome Goodday is not all that he seems.
A fantastical adventure, beautifully told, unfolds in a deceptively simple tale. The Story of the Blue Planet will delight and challenge readers of all ages.
Synopsis
Brimir and Hulda are friends on the beautiful blue planet where there are only children and no adults. Where there is no bedtime or homework or scolding. Ragnar finds great joy in mountain climbing; Elva loves to swim in the waterfall and splash in the puddles; all the children delight in the annual flight of the butterflies from their cave. One day a rocket ship lands on the Blue Planet. It's pilot, an adult called Jolly Goodday (his business card claims he is a "Dream.ComeTrueMaker and joybringer") says he will make life a hundred times better: with flying and flying competitions--they only cost a small bit of Youth and butterfly dust; teflon-covered skin so one never has to bathe--so what if hugging and holding hands is too slippery! And Jolly Goodday even puts a great wolf in the sky to chase away the clouds and the moon so it can be daytime/playtime all the time! The children are so enamored with their new games that they forget those simple activities they used to love.
Hulda and Brimir fly too high one day and soar over the forest to the other side of planet, where they discover it is dark all the time because the sun is now permanently tacked up on their side of the world. The children on the dark side are sickly and pale. They live in darkness and fear. They will die without help. Hulda and Brimir have their work cut out for them to get back to the light and convince the other children that Jolly Goodday is not all that....
A fantastical adventure, beautifully told, unfolds in a deceptively simple tale. The Story of the Blue Planet will delight and challenge readers of all ages.
About the Author
Andri Snær Magnason is one of Iceland's most celebrated young writers. His children's book, The Story of the Blue Planet--now published or performed in 22 countries--was the first children's book to receive the Icelandic Literary Prize and was also the recipient of the Janusz Korczak Honorary Award and the West Nordic Children's Book Prize. His 2002 book LoveStar was named "Novel of the Year" by Icelandic booksellers and received the DV Literary Award and a nomination to the Icelandic Literary Prize. Andri is the winner of the 2010 Kairos Award.