The Norwegian books are part of at series called Saat Samunder Paar Se which means “From Across the Seven Seas”. The overall idea is to introduce stories and art from different corners of the world to Indian children. This way the readers get to travel to other countries through imagination.
The four Norwegian books will be launched by Mr. Aslak Brun, Minister Counsellor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in National Bal Bhavan, New Delhi at 11 AM August 23rd.
In the four different books, children get a chance to discover different aspects about Norwegian life and literature. The book Chai ki Ketali (Den kinesiske tekannen) by Jan Kåre Øien is about Bunny the rabbit that breaks his grandmother’s kettle. Lene Ask has written Naye Ghar Mein Gadbadi (Familien Rotle flytter), which describes the lives of the ‘Gadbadi’ family while they are moving to another house. Dost ya Dushman (Uvenner) by Per Dybvig, Kaia, Bendik and Trond Brænne, is about five animal friends that quarrel over a simple twig. In Rajkumar Bho-Bho (Prins Bisk), Bjørn Ousland tells the story of the dog Bho-Bho who visits his grandfather together with friends.
5-6 children will present the stories and share their reactions to the books at the launch. Ms. Dina Roll-Hansen, representing NORLA, will talk to the children about the initiative.
A & A Book Trust’s principal objective is to bring books and economically disadvantaged children together through establishing reading corners and libraries, publish books from all over the world and make them available for the children, promote literacy through workshops, seminars and training sessions, and to produce educational material to facilitate an environment for education and learning. NORLA supports foreign publisher’s translation of Norwegian literature, and has supported the publishing of these books financially.