At 38, Maria Parr, a girl from a large Norwegian family who told her brothers and sisters her stories at night, is a living classic of children's literature.
Maria's first book, "Waffle Heart," was published when she was 24, and literary critics immediately called her a modern-day Astrid Lindgren. Over the next ten years, the story of friends Lena and Trille from the Shchepki-Matilda farmstead captured the hearts of readers all over the world!
Since 2005, when the story of Lena and Trille was first published in Norway, Waffle Heart has been read in twenty languages, and in Russia its total circulation has exceeded 100,000 copies.
Since then, Maria has written several more excellent books, including the story of Toni Glimmerdal—a modern-day Pippi Longstocking—which also became a landmark in world literature. And a year ago, the long-awaited sequel to "Waffle Heart"—"The Goalkeeper and the Sea"—was published!
In Norway, a TV series based on "Waffle Heart" has been made, and performances are being shown in theaters.
Today, Maria is a mother of two, a primary school teacher, and the most famous Norwegian children's author in the world.
Her books have been translated into two dozen languages and are considered bestsellers and long-sellers.
Prizes and literary awards:
2005: Children's Literature Prize in New Norwegian for "Waffle Heart".
2006: Vicar Alfred Andersson-Rüsts Foundation Prize for "Waffle Heart".
2008: The prestigious Dutch Silver Stylus Award for Waffle Heart
2009: Ole Vigi Award for Waffle Heart and Tonya Glimmerdal.
2009: Brahe Prize for “Tonja Glimmerdahl”.
2009: Tesjeherringi Prize.
2010: French Prix Sorcières for "Waffle Heart"
2010: Norwegian Critics' Association Literary Prize for Children's and Young Adults for Tonya Glimmerdal.
2010: German Luchs Award for "Tonja Glimmerdal".
2010: Melsom Award for Tonya Glimmerdal
2013: Sigmund Skard Prize
2010, Grant Rasmus Løland
2017, New Norwegian Children's Literature Prize, for "The Goalkeeper and the Sea"
2017, Brahe Award for "The Goalkeeper and the Sea"
Guro Sandsdalen Literary Prize for "Tonja Glimmerdal"
In Russia alone, the total print run of "Waffle Heart" has exceeded 120,000 copies. At the beginning of 2019, the first print run of "The Goalkeeper and the Sea" (15,000 copies) sold out within a month, and the book itself won the MyShop online store award for being the most anticipated children's book of the year!
In Russia, Maria Parr's books are included in extracurricular reading programs, plays are staged, reading celebrations are held, cafes and even festivals are named for them (since 2017, the literary festival "Waffle Heart" has been held in Lipetsk).
Performances based on Maria's books in Russia:
Meyerhold Center in Moscow — "Waffle Heart," directed by Ivan Pachin.
(Participant in the Golden Mask program, the Harlequin festival, and The Little Complex Man).
Novosibirsk, First Theatre - Tonya Glimmerdal, directed by Olga Obrezanova (participant of the ArtMigration festival).
Tver, Youth Theater - "Waffle Heart", directed by Ivan Pachin.
St. Petersburg, LUSORES Theatre — “Waffle Heart,” directed by Alexander Savchuk.
Olga Drobot, translator of Maria Parr's books, received an honorary diploma from the Andersen Prize in 2019 for her outstanding work on the translations of "Waffle Heart," "The Goalkeeper and the Sea," and "Tonya Glimmerdal."
Maria visited Russia twice: in 2008 and 2019.
INTERVIEW Interview with Maria Parr on Vlog
A Pound of Raisins "Adults in general, and Russian adults in particular, are too afraid that children will get hurt physically while exploring the world. They'll climb somewhere and inevitably fall. But there's nothing terrifying about that. All children have done it, are doing it, and will do it, regardless of books."
Let's read together
