Synopsis
Everyone knows the conflict at bedtime. The tucking-in situation that should be cosy and safe, but ends in defiance and frustration.
It's evening, but the child is certainly not tired, and when the parents insist and kiss goodnight, things really go wrong. The child grabs its teddy and angrily runs out the door, through the garden, down to the river AND throws the teddy into the water!
If only it could all be undone! The miracle happens - the child's wish is granted. The book is turned upside down and, page by page, sentence by sentence, the story unravels to a new and surprising ending.
Check out Danish publisher, Gutkind's lovely extra material here.
The book was chosen by the Danish Arts' Foundation as one of 8 literary works published in 2025, "which makes us wiser and contributes to the dynamics of language, whether it concerns poetry, prose, children's books, non-fiction books or translations" with the following motivation:
"The book is a read-aloud book for the little ones with charming, detailed illustrations by Signe Kjær, who complement Anne Sofie Hammer's text, which runs first one way, then the other way in the book. The first way is a "No" from the stubborn child, the other way a happier "Yes". The meaning of the words is literally turned on its head, and gives the child an increased language awareness and sense of what language, words and sentences can do in different contexts. The illustrations are not only charming, but support the change in mood and tone of language and contribute to the little reader getting the opportunity to understand themselves in the world in a new and more conscious way."
Anne Sophie Hammer is currently short-listed for the Danish Art's Foundation's annual Children's Book Author Award for 2025.
Reviews
"An incredibly beautiful and touching story about the child who won't sleep and runs away from home, but if you turn the book upside down and read it backwards, the story unravels and takes on a completely different meaning... It plays with both form and structure, which works really well. Signe Kjær's illustrations are truly beautiful, both in colour and line, and support the story in the best possible way. An extraordinary reading experience!" – (Danish Library Centre (Dansk bibliotekscenter)
Personal note from the author
Anne Sofie Hammer loves doing jigsaw puzzles, sudoku puzzles and crossword puzzles. Perhaps that's why she has set herself the seemingly impossible task: To write a book that can be read from the front and back - and thus become two completely different stories.
What inspired you to write the book?
For years, I've been thinking that it would be great to write a book that could be read both ways. And with the opposite conclusion. If you put the sentences in reverse order, the opposite would happen. But it was really just a form idea to begin with. Because what would a book like that be about? And then it hit me. Of course it should be about something that you do in anger - and that you regret afterwards and wish you could undo.
I think it's a feeling that most people know. And it's an amazing feeling to get the text to make the impossible possible - to rewind time, redo everything and achieve a different result. It's really a feeling that books are a bit magical.
