The Bird in Me Flies

Gracefully translated by Epstein, this illustrated biography of Swedish painter Berta Hansson (1910–1994) traces a rural childhood that twines tragedy with the burning desire to create art. Berta loves to draw, but she lives on a farm, where art is a luxury not to be thought of—especially since her mother is bedridden with tuberculosis. The family doctor recognizes Berta’s talent, but her father dismisses it. She considers her future with only scraps of inspiration—a Sistine Chapel picture from her uncle, paintings glimpsed through a window. In verse and dozens of poignant, intimate gouaches, Lundberg shows Berta’s family at their tasks, the countryside around their farm, and images of Berta drawing and molding clay, forming small bird shapes that symbolize her readiness to take flight. Lundberg’s handsome biography of self-discovery remembers an artist who came to know without a doubt who she was meant to be. Ages 9–12. (May)