The Swing

by Britta Teckentrup

Britta Teckentrup’s latest book for children of every age is a poetic masterpiece about the passage of time.

A swing on a hill overlooking the water is at the center of this lovely meditation on childhood, growing older, friendship and loss.

“The swing has always been in this place—ever since I can remember,” declares the narrator. “Here we stood together, looking out to sea, waiting for something to change. . . for something new, something exciting. But every day was the same.”

But as seasons change and years pass, things do change. Friends come and go, lovers meet and kiss, spring turns to autumn, and the swing set grows creaky with age.

All of these changes are gorgeously communicated by Teckentrup’s signature collage paintings that employ soft, radiant colors and simple yet powerful compositions. With its equally compelling text, readers of every age will experience time as a gentle but inescapable force, bringing about new experiences.

And as the narrator grows older and wiser, readers themselves will understand that life’s most important memories can never disappear.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Grief, Friendship, Emotion, Young Adult

160 pages, Hardcover

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

Britta Teckentrup was born in Germany and moved to England in 1988. She is the author and illustrator of many books for children. She now lives in Berlin with her husband and young son.

Reviews

[Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dank je vosje, voor dit mooie geschenk.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another children's book that makes me want to cry, in a good way.

[Julie J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW
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Ich kann es nicht anders ausdrücken als „ganz viel Liebe für dieses Buch“. Wie wunderschön, emotional und anrührend kann ein einzelnes Buch sein? Ein Buch mit wenig Text und einem ganz besonders Illustrationsstil, den manche vielleicht schon von Britta Teckenrups Bilderbüchern kennen.

Das Buch ist ein Geschenkbuch - bitte verschenkt es oder schenkt es euch selbst.
Es ist ein poetisches Kunstwerk über das Vergehen der Zeit. Im Mittelpunkt des Geschehens sowie der Illustrationen eine Schaukel am Rande einer Klippe, welche von den unterschiedlichsten Personen zu den unterschiedlichsten Zeiten besucht wird. Die Schaukel ist ein Ort der Freude, des Trostes, der Freundschaft, des Spaßes, des Zusammenhalts, des Älterwerdens, des Verlustes.
Die Schaukel war schon immer da, zu ihr kommen Kinder, Erwachsene und Alte. Freunde lachen gemeinsam, Verliebte treffen sich dort, das Meer unter der Klippe und der Sternenhimmel über der Schaukel spenden Trost bei Verlust, Angst und Trauer. Die Jahreszeiten wechseln und die Jahre vergehen und wir verfolgen unterschiedliche Personen, die immer wieder zur Schaukel kommen, eingerahmt von der Geschichte des Erzählers.
Und die Schaukel erinnert sich an alle Begegnungen.

Britta Teckentrups Collagenstil weckt viele Emotionen. Sie verwendet sanfte Farben, die dennoch leuchten und hat hier wahrlich ein Meisterwerk eines Buches erschaffen.

Schon nach wenigen Seiten wurde das Buch zu einem all-time-favorit und ich werde es sicherlich noch viele, viele Male zur Hand nehmen und mir anschauen.

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I can't express it any other way than "a lot of love for this book". How beautiful, emotional and touching can a single book be? A book with little text and a very special illustration style, which some may already know from Britta Teckentrup's picture books.

The book is a gift book - please give it as a present or give it to yourself.
It is a poetic work of art about the passing of time. At the centre of the action as well as the illustrations is a swing on the edge of a cliff, which is visited by all sorts of people at all sorts of times. The swing is a place of joy, comfort, friendship, fun, cohesion, growing old, loss.
The swing has always been there, children, adults and old people come to it. Friends laugh together, lovers meet there, the sea under the cliff and the starry sky above the swing provide comfort in loss, fear and grief. The seasons change and the years pass and we follow different people who come to the swing again and again, framed by the narrator's story.
And the swing remembers all the encounters.

Britta Teckentrup's collage style evokes many emotions. She uses soft colours that nevertheless shine and has truly created a masterpiece of a book here.

After just a few pages, the book became an all-time favourite and I will certainly pick it up and look at it many many more times.

[Stefania De Fiore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letto, guardato, riletto, riguardato, in loop.

[Eulalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duizendmaal mooi

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY HEEEAAARRRRT



Like Here, this story focuses on a permanent place and the impermanence that surrounds it and the importance of a swingset.

When I was a kid, we got a swingset for Christmas. We put it up the following spring and while we played on it regularly, it was not our favorite toy. The outdoor kids preferred trees and alleyways, the indoor kids preferred whatever they did inside.
That doesn't mean it didn't create memories, though.
I loved swinging and singing at the top of my lungs, especially during my first and second grade years.
When I got a bit older, I loved sneaking out after dark and swinging quietly, listening to the crickets and the night air moving in the trees. The most magical thing about night swinging, though, was, once I got above fenceline, I could see the city down the hill, all those glistening, twinkling lights where there was hustle and bustle, so different from my quiet, green backyard where the roses perfumed the evening and little bugs sang so I didn't have to.
It was enchanting and I feel the swingset in this story gave several of the people who loved it similar feelings.

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provoked eyes sweats, ha. I can’t believe how much the author knew about me and my relationship to swings. I’ll add one more anecdote. I remember soaring high on the swings in 5th grade when I decided to try out my first cuss word ever. A peer, whom I despised, heard the glorious sound and snitched to the teacher. My teacher actually sent me to the principal’s office, an action I even to this day find an overreaction, to be disciplined. I lied about saying the magnificent word or perhaps string of words and was let off the hook with a warning. I never forgot how scared I was of being punished by the principal, saddened that I might possibly had let my teacher down, utter hate for my tattling classmate and sheer delight for having tasted such delicious expression.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a little back and forth on a swing, please do yourself a favor and read this book.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I selected several books to read from a NYT article about picture books to help young readers cope with grief. I had already read and reviewed A Walk in the Woods and if any of these were as good, I wanted to experience them.

This might be the best of them and it’s about more than grief. It charts the human events (celebrations, shared secrets, breakups, lives remembered, friendships cemented, etc.) that occur at the neighborhood swing set overlooking the ocean.

The artwork is a sort of watercolor that beautifully captures the seasons and weathers that change the look through a year. No individuals are discernible but the emphasis is on the overall feel on the swing set’s location.

[TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian |Mrs. Ferraris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief summary: A swing sits by the sea and is shared by many people. Seasons come and go. The narrator shares the many reasons people visit the swing: to make big decisions, to just play, for reflection, and so on. These people grow older, and sometimes, some new people discover the swing. The swing was deserted for a while, and vegetation covered it until a group came and repainted and cut away the weeds so that others could enjoy it again.

Comments: Beautiful illustrations that calmly examine the passing of time. Some things change; some do not.

Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗

[Vanessa Ya Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend sent me a newspaper article featuring this book.

A stunning depiction of lives well lived. Swings make me nostalgic always and this book was a beautiful depiction of how things change yet stay the same simultaneously.

A book about loss and a book about new beginnings.

The author uses A swing set as a metaphor of life and it’s honestly brilliant. Each illustration is a masterpiece in and of itself and I can’t wait to read it over and over again.

[Barbara Band · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much in this wonderful book - where to start. The illustrations are sublime and make great use of the square format, the text is sparse with some pages have only a few words or even none and yet it is so impactful covering a myriad of topics that could be explored and discussed; friendship, love, family, anger, grief, awe, wonder, dreams, the passage of time.

[Lauren Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

So whimsical, and can be read in one large sitting. Beautifully evokes nostalgia for time’s passage. I want more books from this author now. Worth a second read to learn transportive writing, and yet with so many interesting books out there, I may donate mine to the library in hopes this super expensive book will be shared with others instead.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated, poetic book and one to for children and adults of all ages to read slowly, share and savour together.

Here’s my full review:

https://justimagine.co.uk/review/the-...

[Kirstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful, unique contribution to children's literature. It's gentle and thought-provoking. The vocabulary is rich and a mix of sparse and lengthy writing. It is a thick book with lovely texture to the cover and pages.

[Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforgettable. Beautiful, seasonal illustrations and a story about a swing, it's many uses and ways to bring people together, the stories of the people who loved it and gathered around it, and those who eventually bring it back to life.

[Lucia Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would suggest this be Caldecott worthy, but it was published in Slovakia. The illustrations are just incredible. The one sentence per page speaks volumes.

thank you for sharing it with the world, Britta Teckentrup

[Patricia Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story and the illustrations.

[Ana Calabresi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great design. Conteplative.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful idea and pictures but I didn’t like the disconnect of a story. It was difficult for my three year old to follow and some pages had words and some were only pictures.

[Katie Reilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning collage paintings illustrate this heartprint story about the passage of time through childhood, friendship, and loss.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving picture book that transcends the typical age range for this genre; it speaks to many generations beautifully. A 2024 Caldecott contender.

[Ioannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Από τα καλύτερα εικονογραφημένα παραμύθια που έχω διαβάσει!
Πανέμορφες εικόνες πλαισιωμένες από πανέμορφες λέξεις..

[Rania T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book was emotional and well written. Beautiful illustrations to match. For fans of Jennie Baker.

[Sean Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, filled with beautiful art, and a beautiful message. Perfect to share with someone you'd like to go visit a set of swings with.

[Megan Pendleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetic and beautifully illustrated. A gem.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book about the passage of time, but it lacked a sense of cohesion, at least for me.

[Pwyllugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herzergreifend mit wunderschönen Illustrationen.

[KhiN’Millie Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

That book was a long one with lots of people and pictures. The swing got broken and forgotten. then they came together and fixed it. I like swings too. -Khi 4

[Deborah V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A volte sull’altalena calava la tristezza…”