Mint and her older brother are drawing. Mint wants to be as good as her brother, or better, but she doesn’t even know what to draw. It’s soooo frustrating! She wanders around looking for ideas and then she has it, snow! She’ll draw the pretty snow! But it all goes wrong and Mint is infuriated. She cuts up the paper and storms off. Mint gives up, she will never draw as well as her brother… But then Mint’s brother shows her that she made a lovely snowflake cutting up the paper. She can too! And it turns out the brother’s drawing is for Mint and it’s a portrait of her. A book about siblings, being the younger one and feeling small, but also portraying their fondness of each other. About sometimes wanting to do more than you are able to and the frustration that causes and the joy when you succeed. A lovely portrait of the relationship between siblings.

Johanna’s text written in her quirky signature style full of humor and Emma’s expressive and enchanting illustrations together create an absolutely irresistible picture book!

The jury’s motivation for the August nomination :
”Emma AdBåge and Johanna Thydell portrays siblinghood and the creative process poetically and with humour. The everyday kitchen-table-realism is charged with strong temperament and high emotions. AdBåge’s airy and delicate illustrations depict with remarkable accurateness both setting and moods.”

“Stupid Drawing! is one of the best picture books this year creating an irritated, furious magic between text and illustrations, a hurtling intensification that is as much about creative angst as it is about the inferiority complex of a younger sibling. The finale is as artless as it is brilliant.” Dagens Nyheter