Book guide: Flip the ball, Linnéa!
QUESTIONS ABOUT EMOTIONS,
FRIENDSHIP AND IDENTITY
1. Flip the ball, Linnéa! is inspired by bandy pro Linnéa Larsson's upbringing. Linnéa thinks it is extremely important to show that the sport of bandy is for everyone, regardless of who you are. Why is it important that sport is for everyone? Do you like sports?
2. In Linnéa's law there is a mixture of girls, boys and hen-persons. What is good about having mixed teams? Can you think of any other sport where the teams are mixed? Can you think of sports where you play sports yourself?
3. Linnéa and Julia decide not to let go of each other when they pass the deserted house. How do you and your friends help each other when someone is scared?
4. Linnéa plays tough and doesn't want to admit to Luka that she and Julia ran away from the abandoned house because they were scared. Why do you think she does that? Is there something that scares you that you don't want to admit to others?
5. Linnéa and Julia think the abandoned house is very scary. What do you think it is due to?
What do you do when you think something is scary?
6. When Linnéa says sorry to Ali, she immediately feels better and the lump she had in her stomach disappears. Have you experienced something similar when you said sorry? Has anyone ever said sorry to you? How did it feel?
7. In the book, Linnéa stays with her teammates and plays
bandy after closing time. What do you think is fun to do with your friends? What do you think is fun to do on your own?
QUESTIONS ABOUT COMPETITION,
DREAMS AND SPORTS
1. Linnéa likes to cheer on her teammates and gets pumped up by it. What makes you excited? Is there anything you can do to make an activity feel extra fun? How do you motivate others?
2. During the practice match, Linnéa grabs Lukas' club and lifts it away from the ball, even though she knows it's not allowed. Why do you think she does that? How do you think Luka feels at that moment? What would you do if you saw someone do that to a teammate?
3. Linnéa always wants to win. Billie, on the other hand, doesn't seem that interested in winning. How are you and your friends? How can it be when someone cares a lot and someone doesn't at all? What's good about thinking differently?
4. When Linnéa accidentally shoots the ball so that there is a hole in Ali's window, the gang decides not to tell anything. Have you ever accidentally broken something? Did you tell anyone? What would you have done if you were Linnéa?
5. Linnéa's dream is to decide the ExTe cup in front of a cheering audience. What do you dream about?
ABOUT GOAL ORIENTATION
Being goal oriented is about several things. Partly it is about having the ability to formulate a goal, to be able to express either to oneself or to others what it is that you want. So to have a clear and strong will. It is also about fighting on, despite opposition and not being discouraged by adversity. There are plenty of children, young people and adults who, regardless of their gender identity, are goal-oriented - but the ingredients that make it easier are abilities that are more evident in what boys and men are more often allowed to practice, due to prevailing gender norms. These are also qualities that those who are brought up as boys and men more often get mirrored, which is why it is important to have books where girls are also portrayed as goal-oriented. Like this.
ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
Smaller children often have no problem playing across gender boundaries, but choose their play partners according to interest. But the older we get, the more girls are separated from boys by that division being made all the time. The separation between girls and boys takes place in different ways, partly by constantly pointing to gender (such as "come on, girls!") and partly by using different signals; such as different kinds of toys, clothes and attributes. Another important cornerstone of the separation of the sexes is the heteronorm, that is, the idea that girls are and will fall in love with boys and vice versa. It can make friendships difficult and important relationships end. In the books about Linnéa, we see that girls and boys spend time with each other without romanticizing or problematizing.
