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Published by Arctis
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
From the "Mo Willems of Sweden," award-winning author/illustrator Emma Adbage captures a funny and true-to-life story about a little boy who hurts himself at school and is suddenly thrust into the spotlight
Awarded Best Swedish Picture Book of 2022
For readers of The Day You Begin and A Letter to Amy, The Wound similarly captures the humor and emotional growth that comes during common childhood experiences and their impact on a boy's sense of identity, belonging, and self-acceptance.
Feel the rush of the game as you dash around the ping-pong table, laughter and shouts filling the air. Your heart races. Then, a sudden stumble sends you tumbling down, and the world pauses—a sharp pain, a bloody knee. For a moment, for a week, you're the center of attention. You bask in a warm glow of sympathy and curiosity from your peers. But as days pass and the wound heals, the whispers fade and the crowd shrinks.
But what happens when life returns to normal? The fleeting spotlight, once thrilling, leaves you wondering about who you'll be once the bandage comes off ...
International picture book star Emma AdBåge is a master at capturing life on a schoolyard: the games, friends, and group dynamics. The Wound, honored as the Best Swedish Picture Book of 2022, is now available in English for the first time.
Awarded Best Swedish Picture Book of 2022
For readers of The Day You Begin and A Letter to Amy, The Wound similarly captures the humor and emotional growth that comes during common childhood experiences and their impact on a boy's sense of identity, belonging, and self-acceptance.
Feel the rush of the game as you dash around the ping-pong table, laughter and shouts filling the air. Your heart races. Then, a sudden stumble sends you tumbling down, and the world pauses—a sharp pain, a bloody knee. For a moment, for a week, you're the center of attention. You bask in a warm glow of sympathy and curiosity from your peers. But as days pass and the wound heals, the whispers fade and the crowd shrinks.
But what happens when life returns to normal? The fleeting spotlight, once thrilling, leaves you wondering about who you'll be once the bandage comes off ...
International picture book star Emma AdBåge is a master at capturing life on a schoolyard: the games, friends, and group dynamics. The Wound, honored as the Best Swedish Picture Book of 2022, is now available in English for the first time.
About The Author
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.
Product Details
- Publisher: Arctis (October 7, 2025)
- Length: 32 pages
- ISBN13: 9781646900480
- Ages: 4 - 99
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Raves and Reviews
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
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): The Wound
Hardcover 9781646900480
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Author Photo (jpg): Emma Adbage
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