Life According to Dani

by Rose Lagercrantz

Overview

It's Dani's first summer break—her best one ever! Dani is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. They play all day long. They build huts, fish, and spy on wild animals. They go swimming five, six, seven times a day. But one day visitors arrive, and Dani isn't sure her life is happy any more. Luckily she has Ella to get life back to the way it should be—life according to Dani.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781776570706
Publisher:	Gecko Press
Publication date:	08/01/2016
Series:	Gecko Press Titles Series
Pages:	108
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	460L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

Summer break has arrived and Dani is sure it will be the best one ever, but when Dani’s father is injured in a car accident and has to go to the hospital, everything changes. Because her mother died years earlier, Dani is sent to an island to spend the summer with her best friend, Ella. There are plenty of things to do on the island, and the girls play all day. They build huts, go swimming, spy on wild animals, and fish. Still, Dani misses her father and looks forward to his daily phone calls. Then one day, her father does not call; and Dani is sure something is terribly wrong. Her suspicions are confirmed when her father shows up on the island and brings an unexpected guest, his new girlfriend, Sadie. Now, Dani is sure this will be the worst break ever! Dani is angry with her father and cannot come to terms with this new person in her life. Finally, Ella announces it would be best if Dani’s father and girlfriend left the island. Later that evening Dani’s father calls to say that he and Sadie will not stay together for now, if that will make Dani happy again. This is what Dani had hoped for and is happy to have life back to the way it should be, at least according to Dani. This book deals with quite a few difficult topics, including death of a parent, single parent dating, smoking, and family conflict. Originally written in Swedish, the difficulty in exact translation may explain why the language in the story comes across as harsh and even rude in places. The topics and language in this sequel to When I Am the Happiest make it probably not a good selection for an entire class to read, but rather recommended on a case-by-case basis. Reviewer: Heather Kinard; Ages 4 to 8.

Children's Literature - Heather Kinard

09/01/2016
Gr 2–4—In this book that picks up where When I Am the Happiest left off, Dani is sent to live with her best friend, Ella, on a small island for the summer when her father is injured and recovering in a hospital. Summertime starts off carefree and idyllic, with the girls spending their days swimming (skinny-dipping while playing the violin!), baking and selling goods, and exploring. As in the previous titles, Dani's happy life has serious undertones that threaten to destroy her contentment. Dani worries she will be replaced in her father's heart when he suddenly shows up on the island with a new girlfriend. Dani behaves rudely to the girlfriend, Sadie, and both Sadie and Dani's father leave, causing turmoil for all. Sweet, charismatic drawings by Eriksson complement the spare text perfectly and will endear Dani to readers. Translated from Swedish, the story has a European feel, though many readers, especially those dealing with similar situations to those faced by the main characters, will identify strongly and compassionately. While it may seem at first that Dani is getting her way by encouraging her father not to date Sadie, the resolution is more complex, and astute readers will realize the family will likely be seeing more of Sadie in the future. VERDICT Fans of this series will enjoy this and look forward to seeing what is in store next for the spirited young girl and her small family.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

School Library Journal

★ 2016-07-02
Dani, spending the summer with her best friend, Ella, while her father recuperates from an accident, is dismayed to discover that he has a girlfriend. In this fourth collaboration between writer Lagercrantz and illustrator Eriksson, Dani is spending school summer break (her first!) at “an island in the sea” with Ella and her family. The reason for this is that Dani’s father, Gianni, was hit by a car and must stay in the hospital for several months. While the writing is fairly simple, the story is not simplistic. The central topic—Dani’s missing her father and her feelings of betrayal when she discovers he has a girlfriend—is augmented by the flexible nuclear family models presented: Gianni is Dani’s sole parent, Ella has an “extra father,” Paddy, and cousin Sven has no father. Lagercrantz’s superb writing in Marshall’s translation is touching and amusing without being saccharine, and her playful narrative cadence bounces back and forth between past and present tense. Eriksson’s black-and-white illustrations add important emotional resonance to the mostly white cast of characters (Ella’s and her mother’s kinky hair may lead some readers to see them as black). How the dilemma of reconciling Dani to her father’s girlfriend is managed is very clever, and everyone—readers included—will be satisfied. Another sterling early chapter book by this duo. (Fiction. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews