Garmann's Street

Summary: The follow up to the quirky Garmann’s Summer. In this fun new book we get to follow Garmann, see how he deals with bullies and all the fun and crazy personalities of his neighbors and the people that surround his home. Quotes:AwardsUnited States Board on Books for Young PeopleOutstanding International Books (2011)Reviews Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review"In another unusual and sensitive intergenerational story, a follow-up to the Batchelder Honor book Garmann's Summer (2008), the anxious, introspective Norwegian boy now frets about Roy, a bully from the fourth grade. While standing near the overgrown garden of the Stamp Man, an old mailman who's scary to the neighborhood children, Garmann is goaded by Roy to light a match, which falls and sets the tall grass on fire. The boy earns a new ally instead of scorn when he helps put out the fire, and both Garmann and the Stamp Man discover that they are collectors, one of stamps and one of pressed flowers, with a penchant for numbers. Hole's expressive, detailed and surreal photo-collage illustrations are similar to those in the first outing, with patterned backgrounds and a blend of contemporary and vintage images from Legos and Batman to a nod to Magritte's Golconda with raining men. A host of characters, including Elvis, from Garmann's first outing also return. American readers who look beyond the seemingly quirky illustrations will find a visually stunning tale of friendship."Author Bio: Stian Hole is a Norwegian author and illustrator whose Garmann books have garnered considerable acclaim in North America. His Garmann's Summer won a BolognaRagazzi Award, a Batchelder Award Honor, and an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and it made the IBBY Honour List for 2010.