By Elisabeth Helland Larsen
In this book we meet Death, in the shape of a kind and considerate person. Death’s job is to collect everybody who is about to die – it may be insects and elephants, children and the old. Death plays an indispensable role, because without Death there will not be room for new life to emerge. Death performs the task in as gentle and caring a manner as possible. Death is a part of life, of love and of us all.
In the twin title “I Am Life” (2016), we meet Life who is the one who sets everything in motion. What she loves the most is to give people strength and hope. This title is a celebration of life and the earth we live on. It also tells of being present and in interaction with nature, animals and humans.
Together the two titles address fundamental questions of death and life in a beautiful and poetic way, independent of cultural and religious background.
Elisabeth Helland Larsen studied theater in Paris at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq and children’s literature in Oslo at the Norsk Barnebokinstitutt. She has worked as a clown for more than 20 years in hospitals and hospices, as well as refugee camps, circuses, and theaters. Her experiences with children are reflected in her sensitive and insightful stories.
Marine Schneider has drawn since she could hold a pencil. The young Belgian illustrator just received her degree from the LUCA School of Arts. I Am Death was her children’s book debut.