Gunnar Helgason: My Bonkers Mum (originally published in 2015 under the title of Mamma Klikk!)
You think your mom is a difficult case, just wait until you meet Stella’s… Stella is 12 years old, about to turn 13, and that’s exactly the problem. She wants a perfect 13th birthday party, but she’s afraid her mom will ruin it with some phenomenal idea. She wants to team up with her siblings Palli and Siggi, but they don’t understand what her problem is because they think their mom is funny. Stella wouldn’t leave it to chance anyway, no matter how funny her mom is, she wants to change her to be normal.
As I read the book, I realized that there’s nothing wrong with Stella’s mom, she’s very kind and humorous and a real mother tiger. All her fantastic ideas are fueled by pure love. I loved every member of the family, they are imperfect, or should I say, perfect as they are. This is also the most important message of the book that we are who we are. And we can decide whether we will rage about it all our lives or make the most of it.
Gunnar Helgason graduated as an actor from the Icelandic Academy of Arts in 1991, and then acted, wrote and directed in both TV and theater. One of his first jobs was a children’s show, but since then he has also acted in American films, such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (which I really love). Since 2011, he has been the best-selling Icelandic children’s book author. My Bonkers Mum! was published in 2015 and became the most popular children’s book that year, and the 3rd most popular Icelandic book. It has won several awards, including the Icelandic Literary Award, and has also been premiered as a play. It has already been translated into Danish, Macedonian, Korean and Italian before being published in Hungarian. A total of 10 books have been published about the life of Stella and her family, and we can get to know each family member through the stories.
