Brown by Håkon Øvreås (Illustrated by Øyvind Torseter)

 A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Øvreås, Håkon. 2019. Brown. Ill. by Oyvind Torseter. Enchanted Lion Books. ISBN 1592702511.

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Brown is about a young boy named Rusty who, after being bullied by three boys in town, decides to create an alter ego to get his revenge. Rusty is struggling after the passing of his grandfather, but he has a good friend named Jack who he decides to build a fort in the woods with. The three boys come by one day when Rusty is alone near the fort and destroy it. Rusty is initially hurt, but he gets an idea on how to get back at the boys. He received several buckets of brown paint from his aunt, which he keeps in the back of his closet. 

One night after the boys come and mess with Rusty's family's apple tree, Rusty gets an idea to create a new superhero - Brown. He dresses up in a brown costume and sneaks out late at night with the paint. Rusty finds the three boys bicycles and decides to paint one of them brown. The next day, the three boys confront Rusty about the painted bike, but Rusty denies knowing what happened. Rusty eventually tells Jack about this new superhero, and before long, another one of the boys bikes is painted - this time black. Jack confesses that he has heard of a new superhero as well, and his name is Black. Several times Rusty sneaks out at night and sees a vision of his recently deceased grandfather, who gives him advice and regails Rusty with old stories. 

One day while Rusty and Jack are attempting to rebuild their fort, the three boys come by again and destroy it. They chase them through the woods until Jack and Rusty arrive at their friend Lou's house, where they hide inside. Rusty and Jack tell Lou about the two new superheroes before leaving her house for the day. That night, both Brown and Blue arrive at the fort, only to discover a new superhero - Blue. The three superheroes attempt to paint the bike of the third boy, but his father is home and he puts the bike in the garage to keep it safe. 

The three of them hatch a plan to finally get back at the boys, but they need some help from Rusty's grandfather. He tells Rusty where he can find some blue paint, but once the three heros arrive at Rusty's grandfather's garage, they discover that someone has already been inside to get the paint. The three heros go to the church in an attempt to paint the church tower, but once they arrive, they hear the three boys already on the scaffolding painting it with the blue paint they planned to use. The three heros see the boys bikes, which they decide to paint blue in their final act of revenge. 

The next day the police arrive at Rusty's house. Rusty thinks that he is in trouble, until the police inform Rusty's parents that three boys in town had broken into their grandfather's garage and stole the buckets of paint. The three boys were found covered in blue paint after the police received reports that someone had written several bad words all over the church. The boys are finally caught, and our three heroes have saved the town. Rusty has a final meeting with the ghost of his grandfather, where he lets Rusty know that it is now time for him to move on. Rusty is sad that he will no longer see his grandfather, but he leaves Rusty with a watch that is to remind him that his grandfather will always be there with him. 

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Brown was originally written in Norwegian before being translated to English in 2019. Despite being translated from its original language, there is little lost on English-speaking audiences. There are subtle references to Norwegian foods, words, and customs, but for the most part this was a largely universal story about friendship, imagination, and dealing with loss. The pictures often had words that were not translated into the various languages, and I thought it was neat seeing those Norwegian words on the paint can, welcome mats, and certain characters' clothes. Since this book is part of a series, I am looking forward to seeing more of these subtle inclusions of Norwegian culture scattered throughout the next books. 

When Rusty hears the news about his grandfather's passing, his initial reaction is simply to respond by saying, "Okay." He tries to bring up his death in passing with several people, but no one really wants to talk with Rusty about it. His friend Jack, when Rusty tells him that his grandfather has died, simply responds by talking about the death of his uncle years before. It is tough to discuss death with children as young as Rusty, but Øvreås does an amazing job at showing how, no matter where you come from, the loss of a family member is never easy. Children across the globe can relate with Rusty's feelings, and when he begins talking with the ghost of his grandfather, it brought me back to my childhood when I used to speak with those that had passed on as well. It's tough to let go of a loved one, but by the end of the book, Rusty is finally ready to say goodbye to his grandfather. 

The illustrations by Oyvind Torseter throughout the story were incredible, and really brought some of these characters to life. Some of the drawings were hilarious (especially the ones surrounding Rusty's grandfather's stories), while others simply helped to create a mental image of the characters and scenery of Rusty's town. The simple colors used with mainly black-and-white images highlighted important aspects in the drawings, and the usage of brown, black, and blue throughout the book really ties in nicely with our three unlikely superheroes. The final several drawings of the book include more color and a bit more detail than many that were included throughout the book, and the attention to detail in the final image was a nice close to a book unlike anything I have ever read. 

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS

2020 Batchelder Award Winner

“Brown is a warm and powerful story of friendship and courage, full of creativity and everyday magic.”—From the jury statement, Nordic Council Children's and Young People's Literature Prize

"Håkon Øvreås’s Brown is a touching, timeless story that captures the unbounded imagination and uncertain innocence of youth." -- Peter Dabbene, Foreword Reviews

E. CONNECTIONS

Readers who enjoyed this book might also enjoy: 

Raschke, Jens. Do Fish Sleep? ISBN 1592702856. 

Yang, James. Stop! Bot! ISBN 0425288811.

Pizzoli, Greg. The Book Hog. ISBN 1368036899.

Craft, Jerry. New Kid. ISBN 0062691198.