The Wound

STARRED REVIEW In a work that’s just right for fans of Pepper and Me, AdBåge (The Grand Expedition) combines the matter-of-fact and the awe-inspiring to capture a glimpse of social caretaking and minor fame in the kid world. Ages 4+ – Emma Kantor * Publishers Weekly *A standout picture book in translation for 2025. Pepper and Me has a Swedish cousin … It’s The Wound by Emma Adbage! […] An honest accounting of the kids-eye emotions of an everyday playground experience (a wound!), and the brash, exaggerated style of retelling that so many kids enjoy when recounting their tales of woe. – Chrissie Wright, Librarian & Host of Book Delight Podcast * NetGalley *The book’s title, The Wound, already draws the reader into an everyday drama with an existential basis. A child is injured and the stage is the school […] Rarely has the wound’s path from flowing blood to solidified scab – and finally a shiny scar that can evoke memories – been depicted with such nerve! – Jury Comments * August Prize *With winsome mixed-media illustrations that capture all the most telling details, and a fine-tuned ear for the way kids think and talk, Adbåge understands the fun that can be found in a child’s everyday reality. – Maria Russo on The Grand Expedition * The New York Times *Charming and wonderful reading […] I appreciate its simplicity and the lack of a gender formulation in the pictures.” * Goodreads *Both my four-year-old and I really like this book and can read it over and over again. [Adbage] really captures emotions in a good way in both text and pictures. The way she connects everyday events with emotions really invites dialogue between child and adult. * Goodreads *

Emma AdBåge is a Swedish illustrator and author who debuted in 2001 and has since illustrated several titles, both her own and others. She has won several awards, including the Elsa Beskow Plaque and the Lennart Hellsing Prize. In 2018 she won the August Prize for THE HOLE BEHIND THE GYM, and was also awarded the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2022 for the same title. Her works have been translated into over 20 languages.