Swedish Picture Book of the Year

The picture book Småkrypsboll [Bugball] by author Tove Pierrou and illustrator and comics artist Joanna Hellgren is recognised as the Swedish Picture Book of the Year. Illustations and original drawings from the book will be showcased in an exhibition at Bildmuseet, opening in conjunction to the winners receiving the prize at Littfest - Umeå International Literature Festival 2016. 

The main character in the picture book Småkrypsboll doesn't really want to play football at all; during matches, he stays as far away as possible from the ball. But then he sees a snail in the middle of the pitch, a beetle and a bumblebee - they must also think balls are hard…

"A thought-provoking anti-hero story about an unmotivated and dreaming young football boy, who wins the silent acceptance and respect from people around him when opting out from his football match", writes the jury in its statement. They also emphasize the unexpected image solutions, the distinctive perspectives, a particular colouring and strong sense of nature in the images, which fruitfully unite with the many humorous undertones of the effective and objective text.