About the five favorites of this monthly list, 20 editors of ZEIT vote. Katrin Härnlein presents the current titles here.
Rank 1
Elin Lindell: 12 Joys and 2 Deaths
Translated by Katharina Erben; Klett Children’s Book 2026; 176 pages, age 8 and up
Children’s novel for ages 8 and up
Uno is a shy child, eight years old and mostly keep to himself.
Playing with others is difficult for him. Until one day he meets Katjes (short
for Katja-Jessica) – at the palliative care ward of the hospital. Uno
visits his step-grandpa there, who will soon pass away. Katjes visits her grandma,
who is expected to recover soon – the book title 12 Joys and 2 Deaths
hints that it will turn out differently. But the children are not concerned about death.
While their parents sit by the sickbeds, Uno and
Katjes play apocalypse with comet showers and floods in the hallway and lounge. But then Katjes disappears as suddenly
as she appeared. Did Uno just imagine his friend, as his parents
suspect? Swedish author and comic artist Elin Lindell tells of
saying goodbye and longing in the midst of a bustling everyday life;
of children’s fears, the joy of wild play, the courage to grow beyond oneself,
and a wondrous friendship. She balances the heavy with
great lightness – in the text and in the illustrations. A small
gem of a children’s book!
