, edited by Timothy Larsen. The other (my subject here) is small and slim (66 pages, with lots of space between the lines of text):
Mom and Dad in Heaven, by Alf K. Walgermo, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter and translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin. Here’s how it begins:
Dear God, I went back to school today. It was weird being back in school. So quiet. The boys looked down at their desks. The girls looked at each other. I didn’t know what to say. We played hopscotch on our lunch break without arguing or smiling.
Mom and Dad in Heaven consists of brief paragraphs like this, explicitly or implicitly addressed to God in the voice of Mary, a small girl whose parents have been in an accident. Mary’s father, we gather, was killed instantly; her mother survives for a day or so, and Mary is able to see her briefly in the hospital, brought there by her grandfather; she will be cared for by her grandparents going forward.