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Jump to navigationJump to searchFruitloops and Dipsticks by Ulf Stark (view source)
Revision as of 11:52, 28 November 2010
, 11:52, 28 November 2010no edit summary
That's what Simone thinks. Cue lost ducks, shower room frenzies, stolen handbags, fending off potential girlfriends and trouble at school. Simone quickly discovers that life is exactly as Grandpa has described it: full of fruitloops and dipsticks. And the dipsticks (everyday people) have a great deal of trouble understanding the fruitloops (people like Simone).
''Fruitloops and Dipsticks'' is funny and heartwarming and has an unmistakable Scandinavian flavour: what British writer for tweens would mention erections in a perfectly natural way? Or girl-on-girl kissing-with-tongues - even if it is a comedy of manners? We Brits have such a schizophrenic way with these things, don't we? On the one hand, we sell boob tubes and glitter make-up to six-year-olds, and on the other, we have forty fits and die quiet about sex and violence in media. It's a shame. Anyway. There's nothing here to frighten even British horses, I'm just a-sayin'.
There's a lot of humour in this short little book. There's a great deal of pathos too - the missing dog, Grandpa's grief and his illness, too. There's also a wonderful dollop of kindness. Simone's coming-of-age as a fruitloop in the family tradition is a joy to read and a celebration of uniqueness - not just Simone's, but yours and mine too.
