When We Were Alone in the World

Ulf Nilsson, illustrated by Eva Eriksson

I’ve just learned to tell the time at nursery. Nine o’clock, ten o’clock, one o’clock. At three o’clock Daddy usually came to pick me up. But why didn’t he come? In the end I went home on my own. The door of our house was locked. I shouted for Mummy and Daddy. But they were gone, I worked out that they were dead. I sat down on the steps and cried. I wasn’t even six years old, and I was all alone in the world…

A poetic and timeless picture book about the fear of being alone, by picture book giants Ulf Nilsson and Eva Eriksson, who have worked together to create classics such as “Little Sister Karin”, “All the Little Dead Animals”, “All Granny’s Money,” among others. Once again Ulf Nilsson has written an existential, charming tale with an infallible sense of what it can be like to be a child. With his sensitive ear and a perspective that is always loyal to the child, he once again brings to life the world of childhood. Eva Eriksson’s delicate, gentle illustrations perfectly reflect, underline and complement the atmosphere and tone of the text.