Synopsis
Omnia's house has room for everyone. In fact, the house offers everything a child could possibly want: community, fun, a place where you can use your imagination and play and learn.
Omnia greets all the different children who come knocking on her door. Among them is Karl, who is anxious; Ida, who longs for a friend; Aisha, who is a refugee. Each and every one of them have speciel qualities and backgrounds, and every one of them is met with a "welcome here".
The book is beautifully illustrated by Norwegian artist, Maren Tjelta Thu, who unfolds the colorful, playful universe that you can emerge yourself in.
Reviews
"Maren Tjelta Thu's illustrations are colourful and charming with a wide appeal because of the similarity to popular animation movies. The book is published in a big and exclusive format and the spreads are seek-and-find-like, allowing the readers to explore the corners of the house and the abundance of details... Omnia's house is light and airy in its visual expression, but you should not underestimate the underlying seriousness, which adresses society's approach to people with bumps on "the path of life" and the lack of "open hearts" in communities... The author has something to say about modern childhood, efficiency, integration and inclusion, and she reminds the reader about the values that cannot be described through curricula and competency goals." – Anna Skyggebjerg (Weekendavisen)
"This beautiful picture book leaves you with a warm and glowing heart. It has a great message, a wonderful, poetic language and the loveliest, detailed drawings. You are left in no doubt about how welcoming, wise and open-minded Omnia is. Omnia's house is a paradise for children with love, community spirit and understanding, but also cool and fun things like a zip line, a swimming pool and a race court." – (Danish Library Centre (Dansk Bibliotekscenter))
"A lovely book about embracing each other's differences... We spend just as long talking about the fantastic illustrations, as we do on talking about the different children and how they look. Giant recommendation!" – (Mellem linjerne (blog))
"Cecilie Eken's tale is neither forced nor gloomy, because she creates hope and light for the children in the house. They are going to be all right in the end and at the same time they learn what it takes to help others and through the story they learn to take care of each other. They learn about understanding and empathy and they learn to see each other for who they really are." – (Bogbotten (blog))
