A little tiny bit about awards
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT AWARDS
I have received a bit of awards for my books. I got the Children´ s Choice Book Prize (chosen by children in all libraries in Iceland) in the years of ... :
2012 - for Freekick in Akureyri
2013 - for Offside in Reykjavík .... and
2015 - for My Bonkers Mum!
2016 - for Professor Dad!
2017 - for Grandma Best
2018 - Siggi sourpuss
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And ...
2015 - My Bonkers Mum! got nominated to the West Nordic Council Young Readers award on behalf of Iceland, the Booksellers Literary Award and The Reykjavík Children´s Book Award.
And then ... TAMMTAMMTAMMTAAAMMM ... In february 2016 I won the Icelandic Literary Awardfor best children´s book ... for My Bonkers Mum! (The picture is taken when I received the award at Bessastaðir, Iceland´s White House) (The President thought I was not quite formal enough so he decided not to run for office again!)
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2021 - Nominated for ALMA (Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award)
WHAT DID THE CRITICS SAY?
MY BONKERS MUM
sirkustjaldid.is
Mommy is nuts! is a magnificent children´s book, fantastically well written, entertaining, funny and wonderful. Here´s a great opportunity for parents to read for or with their kids because nobody should miss out on this book, neither kid nor grownup. I sincerly congratulate Gunnar and Forlagið on this book.
Fréttablaðið
Gunnar Helgason utterly uses the form and surprises the reader, even if the more experienced suspect all is not what it seems. The storytelling is playful, crazy funny and grips the reader so he cannot put the book away. The characters are multi-dimensional, well made and easy to love them all – every siingle one. The topic as well as the perspective is original, worthy and executed with playful geniusness. In short: Totally – and unspeakably – great story that covers worthy topics from a teen point of view. It is hard to stop reading this funny and beautiful book.
Children´s book of the year 2015!
PROFESSOR DAD!
Vikan
This is a highly amusing children´s and teenager´s book and no less brilliant than it´s predecessor, Mommy Nuts. That book got the Icelandic Literary Award for best Children´s Book. Professor Dad is not only funny and entertaining but in it there's hidden a beautiful message. The Author has this X-factor, the spark that is needed to entertain the reader. One laughs out loud, tears up a bit and has a wonderful time throughout.
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bokmenntir.is
Relationships and communication within the family are very convincing and situations and the things that happen are very familiar in many ways. Stella, as a character is extremely well shaped, she is contradictory like most people are and her emotions swing from joy to surrender according to what´s happening to her.
Stella needs to reevaluate her self-image and confront herself as well as new friends in Junior High before she can reach a decision about who she is and who she wants to be.
The tone is light and the text is full of humor and joy of life; a fun read that evokes thoughts about other people´s lives by pulling out what´s familiar and showing it in a new light.
Morgunblaðið
Children's book of the year 2016!
​Víðsjá - RÚV Radio 1
One of the things that make Gunnar´s books so good and refreshing is the fact that he seems to care first and foremost about the readers, if they are going to enjoy the books. He puts humor in the front but manages to cover different groups of people in society with sensetivity. It is uplifting to see books such as his become a regular part of the children´s book flora. Without a doubt there are many fans waiting anxiously for Professor Dad and I wish those lucky readers happy fits of laughter and a merry book-Christmas.
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GRANNY BEST
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The readers are at risk here. They can actually hurt their smiling muscels reading this book.
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SIGGI SOURPUSS
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bokmenntaborgin.is
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The playfulness and humor, along with Siggi´s sincerity and his worries for the future, make the story a very good mixture of joy and seriousness.
María Bjarkadóttir, 2018
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This was awesome!
FÓTBOLTASAGAN MIKLA
VÃti
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„Hér er einfaldlega hörkufín barnabók sem á erindi til allra krakka, og það sem meira er, fullorðnum mun ekki leiðast að lesa hana fyrir ungviðið.“
JAÓ / Morgunblaðið
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„Persónusköpun klár og málið lifandi og eðlilegt. Fín bók fyrir stráka hef ég reynt á einum níu ára sem segir þetta spennandi stöff.“
PBB / Fréttatíminn
Aukaspyrnan
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„Höfundur kann einfaldlega að búa til grípandi frásögn sem heldur vel og hreinlega togar lesandann áfram … Bókin er í stuttu máli sagt jafn ljómandi vel heppnuð og Víti í Vestmannaeyjum og stefnir í að boltabækurnar um Þróttarann Jón Jónsson komi sér fyrir á klassísku hillunni fyrir íslenskar barna- og unglingabækur.“
Jón Agnar Ólason / Morgunblaðið
„Ef þér líkaði Víti í Vestmannaeyjum þá á þér pottþétt eftir að líka Aukaspyrna á Akureyri. Jón Jónsson að verða unglingur. Það er bara fátt fyndnara en það!"
Katrín Jónsdóttir - fyrirliði kvennalandsliðsins í fótbolta
Rangstæður
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„Sagan ner einmitt í hröðum takti og æsingurinn kallast hressilega á við hormónaglæði aldursskeiðsins sem um er rætt … Hress, einlæg og bráðfyndin unglingabók. Fær lesendur til að hlæja en einnig til að velta fyrir sér alvörumálefnum.“
Halla Þórlaug Óskarsdóttir / Fréttablaðið
*****
„Fótboltabækurnar þrjár eftir Gunnar Helgason eru glæsilegt „hatt-trikk“ svo mállýska úr sportinu sé notuð, og það er til marks um hversu vel lukkast hér sem fyrr að 11 ára fótboltapeyi og pabbi hans voru jafnspenntir að klára þessa bók. Hún er framúrskarandi fín.“
Jón Agnar Ólafsson – MorgunblaðiÐ
Gula spjaldið
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„Bókin er, eins og fyrri bækurnar, brjálæðislega hress. Og bókin er mjög fyndin. Ég hló oft upphátt og það er ein sena í bókinni sem ég las upphátt fyrir alla sem vildu heyra. Og hló meðan ég las. Gunnar Helgason fjallar í bókunum um alvarleg málefni í bland við hversdagsleikann, bara eins og í lífinu, og það er vel gert … Stórskemmtileg og spennandi bók, sem tekur á stórum, mikilvægum málefnum í bland við smærri. Bók fyrir stráka og stelpur. Og gamlar frænkur.“
Halla Þórlaug Óskarsdóttir / Fréttablaðið