And Then We Saw the Bag…
by Emma Adbåge
translated by Melissa Bowers
Arctis Books, 2026. First published in Sweden in 2025. 28 pages.
Review written November 5, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review
First, big thanks to Colby Sharp, a fifth grade teacher who posts about the books he reads to his class, for recommending this book. It seems to represent a universal human experience.
Here’s how the book begins:
Mom and Dad cleaned the house this weekend.
When we get home from Grandpa’s, we can tell.
The kitchen, the bathroom, the hall, the living room, and the bedroom.
And our room.
“Doesn’t it look nice?” Dad says.
“What did you throw away?” we say.“We didn’t throw anything away!” Mom says. “We just vacuumed and dusted.”
“Just tidied up a little,” Dad says.Alice looks at me.
They’re both lying. You can’t clean this much without throwing anything away.Then we saw the bag.
The rest of the book is about the treasures the two kids retrieve from the bag. It’s a hoot!
Here’s my favorite:
“WOODY!”
“You threw WOODY away?!”
We are stunned. Woody is a piece of firewood that looks a lot like a real baby. Woody was our cousin all summer. Our baby cousin! Who we loved!
“ARE YOU CRAZY?” Alice says.
I rock Woody. He looks scared, of course. Mom and Dad are so ridiculous!
“There, there …”
And it goes on from there. They even find Mom’s favorite nail polish, which Dad threw away because there was hardly any left. (“Well obviously. That’s because it’s her favorite!”)
Reading this book immediately made me think of watching a truck carry away *my own tricycle.* Okay, it had a wheel fallen off, and I hadn’t been able to ride it for a while, but it felt like such a betrayal!
Fortunately, while my marriage lasted, we had a pact not to throw away each other’s stuff. I’ve seen hurt happen without such a pact. [Admittedly, after he moved out, the years-old printed schedules from work trips seemed like fair game.]
I do think it’s more challenging for parents to determine when something is legitimately outgrown – or when what appears to be junk has perhaps been forgotten about.
I do love that this topic is so universal, the story was originally published in Sweden.
But this book will make you laugh as you have the conversation. Too fun.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/and_then_we_saw_the_bag.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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