Marta smarta

by Gerður Kristný

Marta er ósköp venjuleg tíu ára stelpa sem býr hjá mömmu sinni, hittir pabba sinn um helgar, á bestuvinkonu og lífið gengur sinn vanagang. En eftir jólafríið er allt í lausu lofti. Mamman stefnir til útlanda í nám, Hekla vinkona gufar upp á enn dularfyllri hátt og pabbinn … ja, eitthvað hrjáir hann líka. Hvað gerir stelpa þá? Marta kemst að því að tilveran getur aftur orðið bærileg með því að blanda saman furðulegustu hlutum. Í slíka blöndu þarf til að mynda hlauporma, kökuskraut, kúrekahatta, söl, súra froska, svið, dagatal, Egils sögu, lamb að leika sér við, konseptlist og – það sem skiptir allra mestu máli – hugrekki. Nóg af hugrekki. Marta smarta er fyrsta barnabók Gerðar Kristnýjar sem áður hefur sent frá sér skáldsögu, smásögur, einleik og ljóð. Halldór Baldursson skreytir söguna líflegum myndum.

116 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Gerður Kristný graduated in French and comparative literature from the University of Iceland in 1992. Her B.A. dissertation was on Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal. After a course in media studies at the University of Iceland from 1992-1993 she trained at Danish Radio TV. She was editor of the magazine Mannlíf from 1998 - 2004, but is now a full time writer.

Awards for her work include 1st prize in the National Broadcasting Service short story competition 1986, 1st prize in a TV culture programme poetry competition 1992, the Children's Choice Book Prize in 2003 for her book Marta Smarta, the Halldór Laxness Literary Award in 2004, for her novel Bátur með segli og allt (A Boat With a Sail and All) and the Icelandic Journalist's Award for Myndin af pabba - Saga Thelmu (A Picture of Dad - Thelma's Story) in 2005. Her poetry book, Höggstaður, was nominated for The Icelandic Literary Award in 2007. Her poetry and short stories have been included in school textbooks at the elementary- and secondary level, as well as in anthologies published in Iceland and overseas.

Gerður Kristný has published poetry books, short stories, novels and a book for children, as well as a book about the Westman Islands Festival in 2002.