This book feels very relatable with how ones imagination, lies, and desires can run away from you. It touches on a lot of heavier subjects but is very approachable. The illustrations are whimsical and not too frequent.

Hattie + Olaf is an endearingly and warmly written tale of an 8 year old girl and an irascible donkey she gets instead of the horse she's been dreaming of. Originally published in Swedish in 2006, this English language translation was released 5th Oct 2021. It's 182 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

This is the second English language translation book featuring Frida Nilsson's mischievous and rebellious 8 year old, Hattie. She begs for a horse and winds up with grumpy Olaf, a broken down maltreated donkey with a fearful and angry attitude instead. She finds it impossible to tell the truth to her classmates and her fabrications become more and more fantastic as the days pass. Inevitably, it all comes crashing down and Hattie has to try to clean up the mess.

The book deals with quite a number of somber issues and has central plot themes revolving around bullying, friendship, family, death, relationships, trust, and the meaning of home. The book is set in Sweden and the relationships and settings in the book are very much Scandinavian in flavor. English language readers will probably find it curious that catechism is taught in secular schools, leading up to confirmation around age 15. This is normal for Scandinavia and is still the standard, however now the focus is comparative religion and students learn about other faiths and beliefs, not just Lutheranism (and not just with the intention to lead to confirmation at age 15). There's also mention of snuff use which was rampant among young people of both sexes in Scandinavia.

The simple pen and ink drawings by Stina Wirsén are whimsical and fluid, and add a lot to the story. The book is generously illustrated and there are numerous small drawings throughout. Despite being very simply rendered, many of them are full of small subtle details which invite a closer look.

Four stars. This is a well done young reader chapter book and would make a good choice for public or school library acquisition, gift giving, school reading circle, or home library use.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

🌾Rural life with its pleasures and problems: entertaining rapscallion of a girl👧!

This story, which seems to be set in the past, maybe the 1960's, in a rural Sweden a bit like a later version of Astrid Lindgren's Emil of Lonneberg series, features Hattie, a young girl who is all too real for her weaknesses and troubles. She does things she knows are wrong and sometimes rages and does and says hurtful things she later regrets but the word "sorry" sticks in her throat. She wants the popular kids in her class to like her, dreams of being admired, but takes a slippery path to achieve her dreams and ends up smarting with the consequences. Her parents are pretty forebearing, her teacher is totally oblivious of the not so subtle bullying in his classroom and on the playground. Hattie the heroine is naughty and sometimes gets away with it. I think children will see a lot of realism in the issues the story highlights despite the old-fashioned, rural setting.

The story comes with some artwork: nothing fancy and not too frequent. I think it was just the appropriate amount for the target readership which would be maybe 7 to 9 or ten years of age.

As to Olaf: he's a thorn in Hattie's side, an embarrassment she attempts to hide, until one day she realizes that he's become an important part of her life on the farm. I liked this part of the storyline but it's just one of several parts of the plot that totally held my interest. For me, the real emotional hook is in Hattie's relationship with her friend Linda.

I really liked the realism of a book that describes a normal child's desires and fears without sugar-coating it. Hattie is no paragon, just an adventurous girl whose exploits make for an entertaining story.

Thanks to Gecko Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

A fun story to share with young readers, and I love the illustrations and style. I would gladly share this as a read aloud or choice reading.

This is the second book in this series, about a young girl growing up in rural Sweden, where the is a sheep field, and room for a horse, but her parents are too poor to get her one.

Hattie desperately wants one, because all the other girls do nothing but talk about riding or being horses, and she wants to fit in. This despite having a best friend that she hangs out with.

Olaf is the donkey her father gets her, because, well, aren't they like horses?

The usual thing happens when Hattie lies about what Olaf is, and things go haywire.

One thing that seems odd, is religion is taught in the schools. Perhaps that is common in public schools in Sweden, but I got thrown off by that.



<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>