My heart leaps and laughs

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My heart leaps and laughs
Title of the original edition Mitt hhjärta hoppar och skrattar
author Rose Lagercrantz
illustrator Eva Eriksson
translator Angelika Kutsch
country Sweden
language Swedish
genre Children's book
Publication date 2012 (Hardcover Sweden)

2013 (Hardcover Germany)

pages 123
publishing company Bonnier Verlag (Hardcover Sweden)

Moritz Verlag (Hardcover Germany)

ISBN 978-3-89565-269-1 (Hardcover Germany)
Awards Children's Book Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , first reader of the month (Borromäusverein)
Website Bonnier Verlag (Hardcover Sweden)

Moritz Verlag (Hardcover Germany)

My heart skips and laughs (original title: Mitt hjärta hoppar och skrattar ) is a children's book by the Swedish writer Rose Lagercrantz and the Swedish illustrator Eva Eriksson . In the second of six volumes in the (Dunne) series, Dunne reports on her visit to her best friend Ella Frida in Norrköping, where she is spending a happy Easter break. Her situation at school is less fortunate because her friends Micki and Vicki ignore Dunne and are mean to her, until Dunne finally sprinkles her with ketchup and accidentally meets the teacher.

My heart hops and laughs was published in Swedish by Bonnier Verlag in 2012 and in German by Moritz Verlag in 2013 . It was translated into German by Angelika Kutsch and was awarded the Children's Book Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2014.

content

The book looks back on Dunne's visit to Ella Frida in Norrköping. Norrköping is one of the most beautiful places she knows because there is a park with a tree that is particularly difficult to climb. Dunne and Ella Frida conquer this tree and play monkey there. On these excursions, they lose some of the kitchen chairs they need to reach the first branch and then keep forgetting them in the park. When Ella Frida's mother forbids this, they play with the guinea pigs or cuddly toys at home. The two try to escape when Dunne is supposed to be picked up by her papa. However, this fails.

Dunne remembers this happy memory as she sits alone in the dining room, because her friends Micki and Vicki want nothing more to do with her since Knubbel, a classmate who ignores the two girls' declarations of love and instead shows an interest in Dunne.

Dunne's teacher wants to integrate Dunne into the group when she sees Dunne sitting alone and places her between Micki and Vicki, of all places. The two of them are mean to Dunne and pinch her until Dunne splatters Micki with ketchup in anger. She also aims at Vicki, but instead meets her teacher. Horrified, Dunne runs home, where she breaks a vase to top it all off, and locks herself in her room, from which her papa can only lure her out with a pancake meal. He wants Dunne to apologize, but when she shows him her bruises, he gets very angry and storms with her to school. There Micki and Vicki are confronted with the bruises, but cannot bring themselves to apologize, which is why Dunne generously renounces them.

The event is interrupted by a visit. It's Ella Frida, who hid in her extra dad's (her mother's husband) car to see Dunne. Fortunately, she always kept the space next to her free for Ella Frida and the two friends feel transported back to their time together for a day.

characters

main characters

Dunne

Dunne lives with her dad, the cat and the guinea pigs Snow and Flocke on Hummelweg in Stockholm. Her mother died when Dunne was very young, which is why she has few memories of her. Dunne has a lot of fun at school and gets along well with all of her classmates. Her only really good friend, however, is Ella Frida, who she is allowed to visit during the Easter holidays. Although she is very forgetful, she knows that she could never forget Ella Frida. Dunne lives a happy life because "she doesn't count the times she's been unhappy" (121).

Minor characters

Ella Frida

Ella Frida is Dunne's best friend. She lives in Norrköping with her mom, her sister, her guinea pig and her extra dad Ulf, whom she calls Uffe. She never speaks of her real dad. She misses Dunne so much that she hides in Uffe's car to visit Dunne when he drives to Stockholm.

father

Dunne's dad is a single parent and comes from Rome, where his family still lives. He and Dunne visit them regularly. He is a very sensitive father and calms his daughter down with pancakes instead of scolding her when she splashes ketchup at school.

Knob

Knubbel is Micki and Vicki's current crush. However, he is more interested in Dunne and even gives her a piece of chewing gum. But most of all he is interested in football and practices diligently during the break, because his father gets in trouble if his team loses.

Micki and Vicki

Micki and Vicki are best friends. Vicki is always brushing her teeth because her mom is a dentist. They both fall in love with guys from the class all the time. They are currently in love with Knubbel. Actually, Dunne is also friends with them, but since Knubbel rejected them and instead likes Dunne, they are mean to her former friend. They are also sometimes mean to other children in the class.

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