Contra – one of the best-known Estonian poets from Urvaste, Southeastern Estonia has written this superb poetry book. It won the Annual Children’s Literature Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in 2014. He uses a lot of humorous puns and we can see masterful use of language in the poems. There are rhyming verses, that make reading very easy. Some references to literary classics offer the joy of recognition. Most of the poems are about school, teachers and classmates. My favorite poem is about Estonian wrestler Kristjan Palusalu and a boy who also wants to become a famous wrestler (page 47). Other nice poem is about sunbeams (page 38), where a boy is sitting in the classroom and dreaming to ride on a sunbeam outside.
There is a contents page and, in the end, there are some bonus bits including interview with Contra and Ulla Saar.
The illustrations of Ulla Saar give additional vibe to this book, communicating very well the message of the poetry. For example, pictures on pages 26-27 are funny and give a positive feeling.
This book is suitable for children and adults as well, because the poems are funny and improve mood. The same book is in Estonian too, so it can be used to learn both English and Estonian.
***
Published: Emma Press, 2018
Illustrated: Ulla Saar
Translated: Charlotte Geater, Kätlin Kaldmaa and Richard O’Brien
Contra “Everyone’s the smartest” in e-catalogue ESTER
Contra “Everyone’s the smartest” in e-library OverDrive
Contra „Kõik on kõige targemad“ e-kataloogis ESTER
Контра «Все мы умники» e-kataloogis ESTER
Contra „Visi ir visgudrākie“ (läti keeles) e-kataloogis ESTER
Katrin Antonenko
Liivalaia Library
