My Father's Arms Are a Boat

Author(s): Stein Erik Lunde

Picture | Thinking & Feeling | Grief

It's quieter than it's ever been. Unable to sleep, a young boy climbs into his father's arms. Feeling the warmth and closeness of his father, he begins to ask questions about the birds, the foxes, and whether his mom will ever wake up. They go outside under the starry sky. Loss and love are as present as the white spruces, while the father's clear answers and assurances calm his worried son. Here we feel the cycles of life and life's continuity, even in the face of absence and loss, so strongly and clearly that we know at the end that everything will, somehow, be all right.


Born in 1953, Stein Erik Lunde has written sixteen books, mostly for children and young adults. His books have been published in many countries. This is his first book to be published in the United States. He also writes lyrics and has translated Bob Dylan into Norwegian. In 2009 "My Father's Arms Are A Boat" was awarded the Norwegian Ministry's Culture Prize for the Best Book for Children and Youth. The book was also nominated for the 2011 German Children's Literature Award.


Born in 1972, Oyvind Torseter is an artist and one of Norway's most acclaimed illustrators. He employs both traditional and digital picture techniques. Torseter has received numerous prizes for many of his books. In 2011 he received the Norwegian Book Art Prize. For 2012 he has been nominated for the ALMA Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.



Product Information

"A young boy, grieving and unable to sleep, climbs into his father's steady arms to find warmth and reassurance in this luminous story about loss, love and healing. [...] A breathtaking masterpiece." -- "Kirkus Reviews"


"[Lunde's] writing is lovely in its spareness, but also hard edged, even in the story's many moments of tenderness. ("We look straight into each other's eyes. His eyes, black as night, are dark and deep in his face.") Pain is never far from the surface, yet when the boy's father assures him, "Everything will be all right," in the final scene, readers will believe him." -- "Publishers Weekly"

Stein Erik Lunde: Born in 1953, Stein Erik Lunde has written 16 books, mostly for children and young adults. His books have been published in Sweden, Denmark, The Faroe Islands, Germany and France. This is his first book to be published in the United States. He also has written lyrics for more than a hundred songs and has translated Bob Dylan into Norwegian. Over the past 14 years, Lunde's books have received many awards. In 2009, My Father's Arms Are A Boat was awarded the Norwegian Ministry's Culture Prize for the Best Book for Children & Youth.
My Father's Arms Are A Boat was also nominated for the 2011 German Children's Literature Award (Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis).
Oyvind Torseter: Born in 1972, Oyvind Torseter is an artist and one of Norway's most acclaimed illustrators. He employs both traditional and digital picture techniques and has made five picture books on his own and several together with different authors. Torseter has received numerous prizes for his books, including the Bologna Ragazzi Award, the Norwegian Ministry of Culture's prize for the Best Book for Children and Youth (for 5 different books, including this one), and the "Most Beautiful Book Award" for best picture book, also for five different books. In 2011, he received the Norwegian Book Art Prize. For 2012, he has been nominated for the ALMA Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.


Kari Dickson: Translator.

General Fields

  • : 9781592701247
  • : Enchanted Lion Books, LLC
  • : 0.368
  • : February 2013
  • : .48 Inches X 7.88 Inches X 9.5 Inches
  • : United States
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Stein Erik Lunde
  • : Hardback
  • : Oyvind Torseter
  • : English
  • : [E]
  • : 40