Contemporary Scandinavian literature. The best Swedish writers for children and adults Scandinavian children's writers and their works

The name Astrid Lindgren is, of course, familiar to everyone. In her homeland, Sweden, the writer is considered a national hero. Think about it: Sweden is the country where there is a children's writer recognized as a national hero. When Astrid Lindgren died in 2002, the whole of Sweden mourned inconsolably. As you understand, people don’t become national heroes that easily. What role did she play in children's literature and culture in general?

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN SWEDEN IN THE EARLY XX CENTURY

Astrid Lindgren was born in 1907, that is, she lived for almost a hundred years. It is believed that children's literature in Sweden begins with her name. However, this is not at all true: in Sweden, even at the time of Astrid Lidgren’s birth, there were already accomplished children’s writers and excellent children’s literature. For example, the wonderful book “Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” by Selma Lagerlöf. This is a pedagogical work, a classic of children's literature: it quite clearly illustrates why and why writers began to create something special for children. This was necessary, first of all, for adults - as a way to explain something important to a child. Selma Lagerlöf was a teacher, and it was for her “official” purposes that she came up with interesting texts. Through the aforementioned fairy tale, she, no less, wanted to tell an entertaining story about the geography of her region. While the geese are flying from place to place, one could tell what cities there are in this region, what nature is, what animals.

In addition to the educational idea, this book also contained an educational one, and it was no less important. Nils at the beginning and at the end of the fairy tale are two different children. Selma Lagerlöf says honestly: people don’t just magically become different. They become different when they experience something, when they pass some tests. Only personal experience gives a person the opportunity to change. And this, in fact, was an advanced thought for that time - and for ours too. You and I still think that if you tell a child that this is good and this is bad, then he will change. But that's not true. Until a child has experienced something personally, he has no reason to change.

THE MAIN IDEA OF ASTRID LINDGREN

What has Astrid Lindgren changed? As you know, she began writing for children not at the age of 16, but when her daughter was born. Before that, she was a journalist, a typist, and made a living as best she could - her talent was not immediately revealed. Before Astrid - and this was the golden age of Swedish literature - any writer writing for adults considered it necessary to write for children at the same time. Astrid Lindgren was the first to write only for children. This does not mean that she excluded adults from the focus of her attention - on the contrary, adults interested her very much. The most important book for Swedes associated with the name of their national heroine is not our beloved “Carlson”, but “Pippi Longstocking”. In second place in importance is “Emil from Lönneberga”. The Swedes don’t like “Carlson” as much as we do. Moreover, there is an opinion that they do not like him at all. No matter how much we would like to imagine Sweden as free and daring, Swedish parents do not like this bully and troublemaker.

"Pippi Longstocking" is a story about an unusual, super-strong girl who breaks all the rules. She dresses incorrectly, lives alone, without parents. The main phrase in this tale is contained, in my opinion, in this passage:

"Pippi walked along the street, with one foot on the sidewalk, the other on the pavement. Tommy and Annika did not take their eyes off her, but she disappeared around the bend. However, the girl soon returned, but now she was already walking backwards. And she only walked like that because she was too lazy to turn around when she decided to return home. When she reached Tommy and Annika's gate, she stopped. The children looked at each other silently for a minute. Finally Tommy said:

Why are you backing away like a cancer?

Why am I sticking out like a lobster? - asked Pippi. - It's like we live in a free country, right? Can't every person walk as he pleases? And in general, if you want to know, everyone walks like this in Egypt, and it doesn’t surprise anyone at all.”

Actually, this could be the end of the lecture. Astrid Lindgren did just that with children's literature: she made it a manifesto for children's rights to do what they want. What follows can only illustrate what children want, what Astrid felt it necessary to defend, and how this manifested itself in children’s literature.

PERSONAL TRAUMA

Astrid was born into a peasant family, and her life was very difficult. While Astrid was growing up, the family had to overcome some pretty difficult times. There were many children, everyone had to be fed. Being very poor at first, the family was able to strengthen its financial situation so much that over time it managed to feed not only the children, but also all the hired workers who by that time lived in the house.

Astrid was born in Sweden, which was starving, but which was able to pull itself together and, thanks to prayer and the enormous hard work of the Swedes, turned into a prosperous country. It was a very religious country (in general, it is still very religious now) with very strict foundations, orders, traditions, the cult of family and amazing, incredible hard work and determination.

At the age of 16, Astrid becomes a journalist for a local newspaper. Her literary talent and ability to write, of course, was natural. But, uprooted, working in a completely different world than the one where her parents worked, she experienced what young girls sometimes experience: she became pregnant while unmarried. For me personally, this is a key fact in Astrid’s biography, which, apparently, turned her life around in many ways.

What happened then? Astrid was forced to leave home, where she could not give birth to an illegitimate child. She goes to Stockholm, rents an apartment there, and works part-time as a typist. A young girl is unable to provide for her life. At a certain point, the question arises: where and how will this child live? Astrid meets a woman from Copenhagen who helps her find a Danish family (there are no such families in Sweden yet) who are ready to accept this child for a while, feed and raise him until his mother gets back on her feet. This is not a foster family, this is not child abandonment, but this is real help to a woman who finds herself in a very difficult situation.

Astrid did not endure the separation from the baby for long. When he turns 3 years old, she takes him from this family and returns with him to the village to his parents. And she absolutely boldly walks the streets with him. During these 3 years, she was able to get on her feet so that she could provide for herself and her child. Of course, the trauma was colossal: separation from her child was the same tragedy for her as for any other woman, and she fought not to give the child away, to find a way to be with him.

There is a photo of Astrid where she climbed a tree. It shows her to be about 70 years old. It was very important for her to show that even at an advanced age she was quite capable of climbing trees, that her rural childhood remained with her. There is a monograph by I. Ya. Novitskaya “The Formation of the Artistic World of Astrid Lindgren” (if you want to know about the biography of the writer, then you should read it), which very convincingly proves that all the hooligan heroes of Astrid Lindgren are copied from her own childhood. This is probably true, because what else can a writer copy from, if not from his own experience?

BOOKS

So, let's remember her creations. Astrid's most famous book is, of course, “Carlson, who lives on the roof.” Her other works are also familiar to Russian readers: “Roni, the Robber’s Daughter”, “Emil from Lenneberga”, “Rasmus the Tramp”, “Mio, My Mio!”. These are the most widely circulated books by the writer in Russia.

Astrid wrote a lot, being fantastically prolific. But what was her main theme? Take the books “Little Nils Carlson” and “No Robbers in the Forest.” These books are about very young children whose childhood is spent in forced solitude. Relatively speaking, these are stories about Lars, her own son.

“Little Nils Carlson” (in Sweden the surname Carlson is as popular as in Russia - Ivanov) appears long before our beloved “Carlson, who lives on the roof.” This is a story about a boy who is forced to spend all the time at home alone while his parents work. His sister died. And he sits locked up at home all day and cannot go anywhere, but, nevertheless, he must somehow occupy himself. This is how he gets a magical friend. The friend is very small and lives behind a small door. Therefore, he gets all the furniture for dolls that was left over from his sister.

The book is amazing. On the one hand, she is imbued with the desire to show adults how difficult it is for a child to live in such conditions, what the life of a lonely child is like. On the other hand, it is entirely woven from conversations with the child about what his life consists of. The boy and his magical friend first clean this small room, then arrange it, that is, this is a slow, almost plotless, conflict-free story about what a child’s life consists of. Moreover, the child is not from a rich family, but from the same family in which Astrid herself lived. The book “No Robber in the Forest” is about the same thing, only there is a girl as the main character.

But the most interesting books for me personally were “We are all from Bullerby” and “On the Island of Saltkrok”. Here the theme of family appears: the focus shifts from the child to the relationship between children and parents, to how a family is built, to how older and younger people interact with each other. These books are still very unctuous, absolutely problem-free, calm, measured. If something happens, it does not go beyond everyday problems: the light went out, a wasp bitten. The most dangerous thing that happens is that the children sail away on a boat and cannot return for some time, but, naturally, in the same chapter everything ends well. These are books in which there is a basic confidence that the world is in a good mood towards me. Parents, even if they make mistakes and missteps, do so only slightly and are not terrible.

Thanks to these books in Swedish literature, an understanding arises that a child is not Rasmus the tramp walking on his own, not Oliver Twist, but this is a family. Do you want to help a child? Help the family. This is a family thought. I will not say that this is why Sweden has such deep respect for family, but it seems to me that Astrid undoubtedly played a role in the development and support of this value in society.

Astrid also wrote books for teenagers, and from this side we know her less well. She has a series of books about Katya, who is no longer a child, but a fairly independent young girl. Katie travels around the world, visiting Paris, Italy, America. In this book, through a geographical plot and the experience of new encounters, Astrid manages to talk with teenagers about what worries them. How to communicate with young men? How to go on a date? How do you generally react to what is happening to you?

This book already contains a number of scenes about which you begin to doubt: is it worth reading about this to a child? Maybe it's too early? But excuse me, when should we talk about what will happen to you at 18, 19, 20 years old? Definitely not at 18. Such a book cannot be marked 18+. It should be addressed to 13-year-olds - when teenagers are starting to think about it. And this is the idea that subsequently greatly influenced the development of Swedish literature.

HONEST TALK ABOUT HARD TOPICS

What else should we know about Astrid Lindgren? In parallel with writing books, she participates in filming films based on her works, without missing out on any of the formats of communication with children, the opportunity to talk about her books, her thoughts.

In general, she gave herself to people very generously, this bright, wise, although tough person in her own way. If you look through her biography, you will see that she suffered more than one war. During World War II, she works - no more, no less - in censorship. In other words, she actually works for the intelligence services, and through her passes what usually passes through such institutions. Astrid had a very tough attitude towards fascism, very clear ideas about what is good and what is bad in this world. And this is precisely what led to the fact that, already a very authoritative, accomplished and mature person, she enters into a debate with the Minister of Economy regarding taxes, and thereby takes upon herself the responsibility of protecting her fellow citizens, those who read her books, who shares life in the country with her. Such an active position for a children's writer was rare at that time and certainly deserves respect.

The book “Brothers Lionheart” has been translated into Russian, but it is poorly known. She caused a huge scandal in Sweden. This book is the first honest and open conversation with a child about what death is. That death is a part of life. The book is quite unique. Death there is represented as Nangiyale, a certain country into which you will end up. The phrase "Meet me in Nangiyala" is an epitaph used by the Swedes to inscribe on gravestones. Astrid, who grew up in a religious family, called herself an agnostic. According to the plot, one of the two brothers is terminally ill, and the second, the eldest, consoles him all the time, trying to make the life of the younger brother as bright as possible. Everything seems to indicate that the older one will then have to cry for the younger one. But life has a different order: the eldest brother dies first. They meet in another country. And in another country new trials await them, no longer illness or accident, but others. Having passed these tests, they again encounter what is called death - the departure from this world.

Thus, Astrid introduced the topic of death in children's literature as a possible topic for conversation with children. This does not mean that children did not know or read anything about death before, no. But this is the conversation that can take place if a child comes to us and pins us to the wall with the question: “Mom, am I going to die?” What and how should I answer him in this case? Astrid says: there are no topics that we won’t talk about with our child. We are obliged to answer the child to any of his questions. This is the responsibility of adults to children. And each generation must find its own answers - we cannot be content with the answers that were found 100 or 50 years ago, although we can rely on them. This is eternal socialization: not only children are socialized - parents are also socialized. And this was also Astrid Lindgren's thought.

MODERN SWEDISH CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

The Swedes turned out to be grateful readers. They are now quite successfully managing to develop the direction of children's literature. The first of the modern Swedish children's writers to continue the ideas that Astrid Lindgren spoke about is Sven Nordqvist.

His most important book is that there are no children who don’t love it! - these are stories about Petson and his kitten Findus. Petson is an old man who lives alone in the village, and Findus is his kitten. The kitten always finds himself in situations that, unlike, for example, the adventures of Carlson or Uncle Fyodor and the cat Matroskin, “break the pattern.” For example, one of the stories is called “Petson is sad.” Throughout the book, Petson, who, as you understand, personifies the parent, is in a bad mood. He's moping, doesn't want to do anything, doesn't want to go to work. The kitten tries in every possible way to cheer up Petson, makes a million attempts to achieve this, but in vain. There are two thoughts in this story: 1) it’s actually normal to be sad; 2) adults do not always console little ones; it happens the other way around. These stories are a book series, and Sven Nordqvist is both the author of the text and the artist (in fact, he is an artist by training). One of my favorite fairy tales of his is “Christmas Porridge”, a very kind and beautiful story.

The next writer is very difficult - Annika Thor. She writes for teenagers. Her four-part book “Island in the Sea,” a story about four Jewish teenage girls who were miraculously rescued from the ghetto with the help of the Red Cross and transported from Austria to Sweden, has so far been translated into Russian. This is the story of their life in Sweden with foster families. She also has a very tough teen story, Truth or Consequences. This is a very mature writer, but she very consciously chooses plots and topics to talk about with teenagers.

The next Swedish author is the absolutely phenomenal and fantastic Ulf Stark. He sometimes comes to Russia, which he loves very much, and even tried to translate “Ruslan and Lyudmila” into Swedish. He continued Astrid Lindgren's idea that you need to talk to children about literally everything. “My Sister is an Angel”, “A Star Named Ajax”, “Little Asmodeus”, “The Black Violin” - these are books for young children, in which he somehow talks about the finitude of life, that death is a part of life . He does not say this directly, but this idea can be read from the text.

The book “A Star Called Ajax,” according to Ulf himself, was given out from Happy Mill at McDonald’s. This is a tiny, 16-page book about the death of a dog. A boy was born into one family, and the family already had a dog, and it became his best friend. When the boy was 7 years old, the time came for the dog Ajax to leave this world. The boy was very sad, and then he had a dream about how he was traveling on a magic horse to a star named Ajax. It is impossible to read this without a lump in your throat, without tears, but this is exactly what you need to experience with your children. It’s sad, but it’s right to grieve for your friend, it’s right for the memory of those who have passed to remain.

Ulf Stark has absolutely amazing teen novels - Let the Polar Bears Dance and Freaks and Geeks. These are complex stories about how families fall apart, but lives do not fall apart. About the fact that if parents can no longer live together, life still retains its charms, that it doesn’t end there. But parental divorce is a difficult period, it changes people, and you need to get through it.

The wonderful Swedish writer Stefan Kasta is a unique author who sets himself the task of writing a book in a new genre every time. He created educational books "Sophie in the World of Trees" and "Sophie in the World of Herbs" to introduce children to nature, the utopia "The Green Circle", a very complex story "Playing Dead", where a child from Vietnam, adopted by a Swedish family, falls in love with a girl and For her sake, he begins to communicate with her company. One day they go to the forest to listen to birds to do their homework. In this forest, our hero is abandoned, in fact, he risks death due to teenage cruelty. But the book doesn’t end there: he not only saves himself, but also forgives his offenders. This is essentially a Christian idea. Other works by Stefan Casta convey a different worldview, that is, he experiments all the time. His picture book “What Color is Mr. Fox?” has also been translated into Russian. It is about the fact that you may not be like others, but this does not in any way affect whether others accept you or not.

Finally, there are now two wonderful Swedish writers working in the country - Pernilla Stalfelt, who creates hand-drawn encyclopedias about a variety of things - for example, about love, about death, about tolerance, and Tove Appelgren (this writer lives in Finland) with her book “Vesta- Linnea and the capricious mother." This is a story about a mother going to a hairdresser with her two children. While getting ready to go there, mother and eldest daughter quarreled - as we often quarrel when, for example, we are getting our children ready for kindergarten. The writer describes what came of it. And the main idea of ​​this book – “I don’t always like what you do, but I always love you” – is perhaps not a worthy continuation, but a development of Astrid Lindgren’s idea.

What did the wonderful old lady Astrid Lindgren do with children's literature? She contributed to the spread of ideas among children's writers that children's literature: 1) should be very different and intended for everyone; 2) must protect the rights of children, show adults who children are; 3) must protect the rights of parents, living ones, who make mistakes. And the most important thing is that children's literature can help a parent talk with a child about very complex topics. Because it is unlikely that you will be able to hide from these topics.

I don't know what I lovemore- read books or give advice? Not having figured out this issue, I decided to combine them - to write a post with advice on what books to read.

There are only a few days a year without reading books. We read in the car, on the plane, before bed, in a tent and other non-boring places. The books in our two bookcases, to put it mildly, do not fit into any cabinets, and my lists of deferred books in the website baskets are so long - just like my husband’s nerves and calmness when paying for orders.

Historically, I live far from bookstores and publishing houses in my native language. There would be no happiness, but misfortune would help. Do you know how much delivery to Europe costs, even for small and thin books? Almost the same as the product itself, in general the price per book doubles. Therefore, I choose each copy so as to be sure. If it's "Thumbelina", so that the mole and frogs there are downright disgusting, the main character - with all the notes of drama on her face. So that the illustrations in the book are like art, and not a miscarriage of unsuccessful Photoshop. If this is "The Tin Soldier", then the Soldier at the end does not burn in the fireplace, turning into an incomprehensible squiggle that spoils the whole moral of the tale, but having melted a little with Ballerina (either from fire, or from ardent love) - united into one figurine of eternal love. In general, you understand, I’m also a book shopaholic. .

And so, in my first book review, I took on the Scandinavians and their fairy-tale worlds. Somehow in my life there are more and more “meetings” with these northern European countries. Either they localize more coffee than anyone else in the world, then they started playing football well, then so much has been written about their schools that only the laziest have not read. In general, all the threads lead there - to the North.

About "Scandinavianness"

The very concept of “Scandinavian countries” today is quite confusing - it definitely includes: Sweden, Norway and Denmark, united by a common historical past and ethnic affinity. Finland is often added to them. Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands are also connected to Scandinavia. Hand on heart, there is no particular desire to figure out who is right and who does not bother with the composition of the countries on this list.

Therefore, you will definitely meet Finns in the post!

Scandinavian countries are quite small. 9 million people live in Sweden, 5 million each in Denmark, Norway and Finland, and 300 thousand in Iceland. E There are, in fact, no technical problems there, all states are extremely homogeneous, there is the most advanced social protection of the population and per capita income continues to grow. Of course, this does not mean that there are no problems, they exist everywhere and always, but against the backdrop of general difficulties and conflicts, Scandinavia looks like a kind of oasis of well-being.

It’s easy and pleasant to admire the northerners - about 4/5 of the education budget in most Scandinavian countries goes to pay teachers (that is, they fund people), and the rest goes to the improvement of school buildings and educational equipment.Finland and Iceland have the world's largest number of books published per capita. These are people living in rather harsh natural circumstances, where the average temperature in summer is +17, the winter daylight hours are only 7-8 hours, and there is precipitation 180 days a year.

Therefore, the world of a Scandinavian is the world of his farm, his village, his country and his home. And he sincerely loves this world. And a Scandinavian writer can squeeze everything possible out of it, take advantage of all historical experience, all legends and rumors. The place of power in such conditions can only be the house, its fire and warmth. And, of course, magic - trolls, elves, Vikings, magic of water and forests.

Well, pronouncing the Scandinavian names of writers and naming the heroes of their books - you will develop your speech apparatus like never before: Bjornstjerne Bjornson, Marcus Majaluoma,Tumas Tranströmer.... In general, more than one evening of laughter with the child...

Let's start with the classics

It’s nice to realize that there are so many northern books in your library that they couldn’t fit into one post. I had to divide it into two posts: the classics of Scandinavian writers that are familiar to us - and contemporaries.

Another working point - I order books from different sites, buy them at different book exhibitions and forums. But I compile my wish-list, which is a must-read, using the Labyrinth website. It is very conveniently organized in terms of searching and analyzing books (a huge number of reviews and ratings, you can “look through” the book, the most extensive catalogue, etc.). Therefore, I will provide links to this site, and you will choose where, how and how much.

Lagerlöf Selma

"Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese" (in the Labyrinth)

I decided to start fimenistically with a woman. By the way, the FIRST woman in the world to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature (and the third woman in the world generally worthy of it). By the way, she donated her gold medal to the Swedish National Fund for Relief of Finland for the war with the USSR.The writer's portrait has been featured on the 20 Swedish krona banknote since 1991.

The idea of ​​the book was actually to create a textbook on the history and geography of Sweden. The best way to captivate a young reader, Lagerlöf believed, would be to create a traveling character. That's what Nilsson became. Great idea, right?

Contemporaries, of course, understood that the value of a book for children lies not in geographical names, but in the adventures, danger, mischief, and courage of Nils and his friends. Therefore, look for translations in a free retelling (for example, we had A. Lyubarskaya, Z. Zadunaiskaya), was satisfied. I strongly do not recommend the translationBraude L. Yu. because of its complexity and similarity of the book to a real textbook, although its translation is considered to be a classic.

I love this book for the descriptions! Here, for example, about the stork:

“The stork is a very awkward bird. Its neck and body are slightly larger than those of an ordinary domestic goose, and for some reason its wings are huge, like those of an eagle. And what kind of legs the stork has! Like two thin poles painted red. And what a beak! It’s very long, thick, and attached to a very small head. The beak pulls the head down. That’s why the stork always walks with its nose hanging down, as if it’s always preoccupied and dissatisfied with something.”

Or the introduction of wood grouse:
"The wood grouse sat on a tree - in shiny black plumage, with bright red eyebrows, important, pouty. The first to start his song was the wood grouse sitting on the topmost branch. He raised his tail, revealing a white lining under the black feathers, stretched his neck, rolled his eyes and spoke, whistled, and began to shout:
- Zis! Zis! So-so! So!
<....>
<....>
While the animals were taking revenge on the Fox, the wood grouse and black grouse continued their song. This is the nature of these forest birds - when they start a song, they don’t see, don’t hear, don’t understand anything.”

Well, just like what is written about some people!

There are a huge number of animals in the book and each has its own role in Nils’ life. At home we have a whole collection of naturalistic animals (Schleich, Papo, Bullyland, Collecta...) in the form of figures, but in the right proportions and in the right color. And with the appearance of each new character in the book, we took his figurine out of the box onto the table, compared it with the description and continued reading in company. So we collected: geese, ducklings, bears, a stork, a domestic cat, a seagull, and a squirrel. It turned out to be an excellent company of listeners and the child develops memory and associative thinking wonderfully.

Reader age: probably 6+. There are quite a lot of illustrations in this book, including in the form of a spread decoration. But there are also many pages with only text. Therefore, if your child cannot sit through long but fascinating texts without illustrations, then it is better to put the book aside for now. It is absolutely impossible to read quickly about Nils; pauses and awareness of all the beauty of nature shown are important.

There is also a cartoon based on the book. A great way to consolidate a book (and also compare what you saw with what you heard) immediately after reading it.

Hans Christian Andersen

The monument to Andersen was erected during his lifetime; he himself approved the project, where he had to sit in a chair, surrounded by children, and this outraged Andersen. “I couldn’t say a word in that atmosphere,” he said. Now there is a monument on the square in Copenhagen: a storyteller in a chair with a book in his hand - and alone.

Every year on April 2, the writer’s birthday, International Children’s Book Day is celebrated all over the world. And also - the Hans Christian Andersen Gold Medal is awarded - the highest international award in modern literature.

I really like choosing Andersen based on translations. There are simply so many variations that even change the outcome of the stories, that for me it becomes a priority when choosing a book.

In Soviet Russia, Andersen's fairy tales were published in retellings, and instead of thick collections of his works, thin collections were published. The works were published by Soviet translators, who were forced to either soften or remove any mention of God, quotations from the Bible, or reflections on religious topics. For example, in the Soviet translation of his fairy tale there is a phrase: “Everything was in this house: wealth and arrogant gentlemen, but there was no owner in the house.” Although the original says: “but it was not in the house of the Lord.” And take “The Snow Queen” - sDo you know that Gerda, when she is scared, prays and reads psalms, which, of course, the Soviet reader had no idea about?

I’ll also give an example of “The Tin Soldier”. I have read at least 3 versions: in one, the Little Soldier burns almost to ashes in the fireplace (the maid throws him along with the ashes into the trash can), in the second, the fire turns the figurine into a heart, and in the third, the flame (like love) connects them with the ballerina and now they stand united together and nothing will separate them. A curtain. Everyone is crying. Which ending is the most life-affirming for children? I chose the latter interpretation.

The second thing I pay attention to is the illustrations. I love pictures in books! My favorite drawings are from Robert Ingpen, Boris Diodorov and, of course, Anton Lomaev.

The Danish writer worked fruitfully and left our children a magical legacy: “The Little Mermaid”, “ Ugly duck", "Thumbelina", "The Snow Queen", "Wild Swans", "Red Shoes", "Flint" and a huge number of other works.




Andersen's world is populated not only by wizards and fantastic creatures. Here, any animal, toy or household utensil can find itself in the center of incredible adventures and experience rebirth. This is very close to children, for whom the whole world is still a collection of unprecedented stories and miracles.

I also recommend introducing children to the “behind-the-scenes life” of writing - the story book “The Tale of My Life” (in the Labyrinth), written by Anderson about himself and drawn by artist Nika Goltz.

Astrid Lindgren

Another hardworking Swede Astrid, who and in her life she wrote more than 80 books.I adore her. She's probably the #1 writer for me. All her stories alive, they, in the literal sense of the word, begin to move, fool around and play pranks. Just like children...
I cried and laughed over her books... also, by the way, to tears... That's what she can do talk truthfully and seriously with children. Yes, the world is not simple, there are diseases, poverty, hunger, grief and suffering in the world. And right there on the pages there is “healing medicine” - humor, spontaneity, home and love.

Astrid's books can be safely given to a newborn, because they are almost the basis of a children's home library.

Here is our list on Lindgren, which is constantly updated:

1. "Pippi Longstocking" - 3 books, 3 parts. I chose a non-standard size, with glossy pages and oil illustrations by Bugoslavskaya with the absence of any borders or contours. It seemed to me that this approach to the images in the book is the whole essence of Pippi. Publishing house - "Astrel". Children can safely start reading at the age of 5+.

More details: http://www.labirint.ru/books/384154/

More details: http://www.labirint.ru/books/293700/

"Pippi Philosophy" is a special pleasure, learn it by heart:

Just think how stubborn cows can be, just like bulls,” said Pippi, jumping over the fence. - What will this lead to? Moreover, it is clear that the bulls will become cow-like. Indeed! It's creepy to even think about.

I know an awful lot of letters. And if I don’t have enough letters, then there are also numbers.

A real well-mannered lady picks her nose when no one is looking at her!

Can you eat with your hands? As you wish. I personally prefer to eat with my mouth.

Keep in mind that remaining silent for a long time is simply dangerous. If the tongue does not move, it quickly withers.

It takes a lot of practice to play the piano without a piano.

If you don't eat such delicious porridge, you won't grow big and strong. And if you don’t grow up big and strong, you won’t be able to force your children, when you have them, to eat such delicious porridge.

Pippi took the scissors and, without thinking twice, cut off her dress above the knees. “Well, now everything is in order,” she said with a satisfied look, “now I’m even more elegant: I change my toilet twice a day.”

When I grow up big, I will be a sea robber... What about you?

2. Another masterpiece from Astrid Lindgren - The Adventures of Emil from Lönneberg (on the Labyrinth). About a family living in a farm. The book is written in the form of a diary, which Emil’s mother keeps: he stuck his head in a tureen, hung his little sister on a flagpole, eats green branches of a Christmas tree (as long as it’s not stewed beans), saves an unconscious lady with jelly in the face, and other antics. And then we find out that the bully Emil will become the mayor of his city.

I like that the author conducts a dialogue with the little reader - explains the meaning of certain words or actions, asks questions. When I read such passages, I always add Ulyana’s name and my daughter is incredibly happy at the thought that her name is printed in the book =)

We must warn you that There are spreads without illustrations, but there are still a lot of full-page drawings. Be prepared to receive a hefty, oversized 200-page book. We started reading Emil when he was 5 years old.



There is this passage in the book, my favorite:

“But Emil achieved his goal: he did what he wanted - and this was most important to him.”

3. Well, who doesn’t know Carlson? And again, Astrid hints to her parents that it is normal to be cheerful and naughty - even for an intelligent, handsome, moderately well-fed and elderly man. So you need to read not so much to children, but TOGETHER with children. By the way, Carlson, who is so popular in our country, is not so loved in other countries, so the author’s words that this hero “has something"about Russian" cannot but raise alarm bells.In the United States, due to the bad character of this character, the work was excluded from the school curriculum.

" From the roof, of course, the stars are visible better than from the windows, and therefore one can only be surprised that so few people live on roofs."

4. "We are all from Bullerby" (on the Labyrinth) - oh a very popular book today. There are no difficult to read sentences. The chapters are short.
Each has its own little story. Children live in the village, go to school, rescue lambs and dogs, communicate and fool around. There are only three houses on the Bullerby farm, which are so close that you can climb into the window of the neighboring tree growing nearby. People living on the farm manage to live without squabbles and discord, as if they were a single family, and even the grandfather of one of the families is like a grandfather for all the children.

5. "Ronnie - the daughter of a robber" (on the Labyrinth) - inspired by nostalgia. I read this book in my childhood, I remember eating the letters with my eyes. Therefore, this is a mandatory history for our library. There is a forest, gnomes, robbers, castles, changing seasons, and the most important thing for the little person is the independent life of Ronnie and her friend (at least attempts at independent life). A book with real adventures and teenage love. The multi-layered nature of the story is amazing: first you see magic in the book, then you find themes of finding yourself in this world, moments of growing up and relationships between children and parents. Reader age 6+.

Have you noticed how much nature and freedom there is in Astrid Lingren’s books? How much freedom of action do children have? Relevance is through the roof, don’t even go to a fortune teller.

Elsa Beskow

Sometimes you pick up a book and have absolutely no idea what awaits you in it. It’s the same with Elsa Beskow - I bought her works “without looking”, on a good recommendation.

And I’ll tell you honestly, it’s a great pleasure to read without expectations or knowledge of the plot. It just so happened that the writer and artist (!!!) Elsa Beskow can be called - blown away by the wind, oh, excuse me, by time. In fact, her books are a hundred years old. How interesting is it for modern children to read such “ancient” literature? After all, you must admit, only Anderson and the Brothers Grimm have retained their popularity (and then only in modern interpretations and retellings).

In general, my doubts about the time relevance were absolutely not confirmed! The Beskov's fairy tales were "swallowed" literally in 2 evenings and the children are asking for more. But a strange thing is that her books began to be published in Russian only in 2012 at the Ripol-Classic publishing house. Until this time - only briefly, and only in collections of Scandinavian writers, and even without the author’s signature. In 2012, only 2 books by Elsa Beskov were published, but in 2016, the world saw a whole collection of books from the Azbuka publishing house.

So I came across a couple of books from the latest edition (and, by the way, it’s kind of modest - 5,000 per book). The series is simply amazing - from the performance to the text and the smile on the children’s faces.

So far we have 2 copies in our library:

What did you like?
1. Execution. Thick cover with glossy images on it, fabric spine. Inside there are very thick snow-white pages, offset printing. Non-standard elongated size - 26*21 cm. As you unfold the book, one part of the spread will fall on your lap, and the second - on the child. In general, a high-quality and solid book.

2. Illustrations. Elsa Beskow not only wrote wonderfully, but as it turned out, she also drew (and illustrated not only her books). Almost every spread contains 2 different types: silhouette drawings in black and white and retro illustrations made using watercolor technique. The latest ones look very light, incredibly touching, and there are so many details in them that the children don’t have time to look enough while I’m reading text from this spread, you have to stay on the pages longer (can you imagine the pain!?).

By the way, it was Elsa who created the original layout of the picture book: landscape format; on one side there is a full-page color illustration, on the other there is text in a thin black frame with several graphic drawings.

3. Content. I will not retell the text of the books. I’ll just say that you won’t find an action-packed action movie with an intricate, multi-layered line of heroes there. Fairy tales have enough simple stories.

But! There is something that unites these books - so to speak, the author's style of Beskov.First of all, the books are full of fantasy, play and magic. They are not aggressive at all, there are practically no overtly evil or negative characters in them, which in itself is a rarity in modern popular culture. Her fairy tales teach us to notice the wonderful and unusual in everyday life, to live in harmony with nature and ourselves, and to be kinder to each other.

And here are some photos from the spreads of retro books.

They say that income from the sale of products exploiting the image of the Moomins makes up the same part of the Finnish state budget as the tax deductions from the Nokia corporation.

Well, for me, Tove Jansson’s fairy tales are a children’s caricature of the adult world. We have a rather simple and old book about the Moomins, which a friend lent me three years ago (Anya, hello!), printed in 1989. Of course, now only a lazy publisher does not publish fairy tales from a Finnish woman known throughout the world. Therefore, choose your version - thin or collection, b/w or color version, hard or soft cover. Just when choosing a book, remember that the illustrations in it must be by Tove Jansson!
Moomin rules of life:

1. It is equally important to know two things: how to be alone and how to be with others.
2. Even the strangest people can come in handy someday.

3. Moomintroll must know how to properly compliment Miss Snork.

4.

In fact, many more wonderful writers with unpronounceable names were born there, on the edge of the world, inhabited by trolls, Vikings and IKEA workers. It would just be stupid to cram them all into one post.
Therefore, wait - in a week the birth of the second part - about contemporaries who are writing the history of Scandinavian literature in a new handwriting. In the meantime, you have time to write questions, share your experiences and like this post.

A lyrical digression that has nothing to do with the fabulous heritage of the northern countries.

More details: http://www.labirint.ru/books/399240/ Why do I choose books so carefully and why is it important for me to have a truly worthwhile copy in my library?

Well, first of all, I do this not only for my little children, but also for Little Christina, who continues to live inside and “feed” on the magic from fairy tales.

Secondly, it’s cool to collect a whole collection of books not only for your inner child, not only for your children, but also for your grandchildren. I will be glad to remember them not only for the eccentric senile hikes with tents and false jaws, but also for the creation of a good home library with a children's Chekhov and illustrations by Robert Ingpen, the best copy of "The Snow Maiden" of all the Snow Maidens in our country and wonderful books by modern Europeans on which in the future make cartoons...

And I don’t know what country my children will live in and what language my grandchildren will speak, but I am firmly confident that they will read the books in our family library in my native language.

P.S.: many thanks to my friends for helping me show the books in photographs.

So, the first eight children's writers who come to mind when we say “Scandinavia”. I don’t think Hans Christian Andersen :)

Of course, number one will be Astrid Lindgren. I think no one needs to introduce her :)
By the way, Carlson, who is so popular in our country, is not so loved in other countries. Even in his homeland he is considered an eccentric, selfish liar, so the author’s words that there is “something Russian” in this hero cannot but cause alarm.

Shall we go further through Sweden?
Selma Ottilie Luvisa Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature and the third woman ever to receive it, is best known to us as the author of Nils's Amazing Journey with the Wild Geese. By the way, she donated her gold medal to the Swedish National Fund for Relief of Finland for the war with the USSR.
The writer's portrait has been featured on the 20 Swedish krona banknote since 1991:

Jan Olaf Ekholm, known to us for the fairy tale “Tutta Karlsson the First and Only, Ludwig the Fourteenth and Others.” , which became the basis for the Soviet film “Red Honest Lover,” he mainly wrote detective stories. In 1975 he was elected chairman of the Swedish Detective Academy, and two years later he became one of the founders of the Stockholm Crime Writers Association.

Another Swede, Sven Nordkvist, a writer and artist, is famous for his series about the old farmer Petson and his smart kitten Findus. At the very beginning of his career, Sven decided to take part in an illustrator competition, but he did not want to draw pictures for other people’s works and wrote a book himself.

Annika Thor, whose tetralogy about Jewish sisters who fled from Nazi Vienna to the Gothenburg skerries, was only recently (and not completely - there is no last book yet) translated into Russian, rightfully takes a place among Swedish writers, authors of the best books for children and youth . Her works tell about life in wartime Europe without excessive sentimentality, but at the same time touching and objective.

Let's turn our gaze a little further north, to Norway.
Its native Anne-Katrina Westley not only wrote books (56 works that were translated into 16 languages), but also acted in films. By the way, she played a grandmother in the film adaptation of her own series “Mom, Dad, Eight Children and a Truck,” after which she received the affectionate nickname “grandmother of all Norwegians.”

Sweden's other neighbor, Finland, was once part of the Russian Empire. Therefore, the next author is a little, but ours :)
It would be too long to list the awards received by the creator of the Moomins, Tove Jansson, but one cannot help but say that she always emphasized that she was an artist and took writing rather frivolously. However, the place of the graduate of the Swedish Academy of Arts in history was aptly defined at her funeral (due to which national mourning was declared) by the president of the country: “The work of Tove Jansson is Finland’s greatest contribution to the world treasury of culture after Kalevala and Sibelius.”

They say that income from the sale of products exploiting the image of the Moomins makes up the same part of the Finnish state budget as the tax deductions from the Nokia corporation.

Jansson's compatriot Marcus Majaluoma, a UNICEF award winner, is less known among us. He is also not only a writer, but also an illustrator.

Of his works for children, the best known is a series of books about his father, Pentti Rozoholmainen, and his three children, Ossi, Veino and Anna-Marie. Two of them (“Papa, when will Santa Claus come?” and “Papa, let’s go pick mushrooms!”) were translated into Russian.

Is someone missing? We are waiting for your options!

1. 1. Authors: Bubenshchikov family Bubenshchikova Anfisa Student of MKOU secondary school No. 23 10 “B” class of the City of Sysert
2. 2. Scandinavian writers in children's literature Biographies, creativity
3. 3. ASTRID LINDGREN Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (1907-2002), née Eriksson, is a world-famous children's writer. Born in Sweden, into a farming family. Lindgren's work and her worldview were influenced by her parents and the atmosphere of love that reigned in the family. Astrid Lindgren's literary talent manifested itself already at school; she began a career as a journalist and wrote for magazines, honing her stylistic skills. The birth of his own child stimulated the development of the gift of writing. The famous book "Pippi Longstocking" appeared thanks to her daughter Karin, to whom she told stories about the red-haired girl.
4. 4. And the 40s-50s became the heyday of the storyteller’s creative activity. She wrote down stories about Pippi - and the Pippi Longstocking trilogy was born. Children, according to Lindgren, should be happy. They should have their own Far Country, the Country of Twilight or the island of Siltkrona. Children should play, laugh, enjoy life and should never get sick or go hungry. For Lindgren, the fabulous and magical is born from the imagination of the child himself. So the Kid from the books about “The Kid and Carlson” comes up with a cheerful friend who lives on the roof and loves jam, Pippi Longstocking considers herself a black princess and imagines herself to be a rich, strong and beloved girl.
5. 5. All the heroes she created are lively, active and mischievous children with their own talents and whims, inclinations and weaknesses. This is exactly what they are - Mio, Pippi, Kalle, Yeran, little Cherven. The writer talks truthfully and seriously with children. Yes, the world is not simple, there are diseases, poverty, hunger, grief and suffering in the world. In her fairy tale “In the Land Between Light and Darkness,” the boy Yeran has not gotten out of bed for a year because of a sore leg, but every evening he finds himself in the magical Land of Twilight - the Land Between Light and Darkness. Unusual people live in this country. Anything can be in it - caramels grow on trees, and trams run on water. And most importantly, neither illness nor suffering “have the slightest meaning” in it. Almost all of her books are dedicated to children. “I have not written books for adults and I think that I will never do so,” the writer once said decisively.
6. 6. In 1954, Astrid Lindgren wrote the fairy tale “Mio, my Mio,” where she touched on the topic of lonely and abandoned children. One day, while walking through the square, the writer noticed a little sad boy sitting alone and sadly on a bench. This turned out to be enough. He sat and was sad, and Lindgren had already transported him to the fabulous Far Land, which he himself had invented. She surrounded him with blooming roses, found him a loving father and cheerful, devoted friends, and involved him in many adventures. And Busse’s adopted son becomes in his dreams Prince Mio, the beloved son of the king of the Far Country. This is how another child became happy.
7. 7. But my favorite book was created in 1955 - the trilogy “Carlson, who lives on the roof” about the adventures of an unusual little man with a motor on his back. What delight I felt listening to my mother read! We had this book in an excellent edition: three simply huge volumes, I could fit in them completely (I was three years old), the text was on color pages with illustrations. After re-reading it on my own, I fell in love with it even more. A sea of ​​funny situations, elegant style and rich imagination of the author delighted and captivated forever. My mother and I still sometimes re-read it together and laugh merrily. This is simply a cure for all diseases!
8. 8. Another amazing fairy tale is “Ronnie the Robber’s Daughter.” An ancient castle, robbers, and all this - in a magical forest where gnomes, droods and other mythological characters live. The story tells about the children of two warring gangs of robbers - the girl Roni and the boy Birka, about their adventures, friendship and love. It instills a love of nature, talks about true friendship, and the relationship between children and parents. The narration is told in third person, the language is rich, light, colorful. I would really like to see this fairy tale on screen, with special effects, because many of Astrid Lindgren’s works were filmed a long time ago, when cinema could not convey the riot of imagination of the author on the screen. Nowadays there is such an opportunity, I really love fairy tale films, and I hope that I will see Roni on the screen.
9. 9. In addition to creativity, Astrid Lindgren was also involved in social activities, exposing the ineffective government of the Social Democrats and advocating for animal rights. Lindgren's works have been translated into 70 languages ​​and published in 100 countries. In the Soviet Union, her works became known thanks to the translations of Liliana Lungina. In 1958, Lindgren was awarded the International Gold Medal by H. C. Andersen for the humanistic nature of her creativity. In 1967, Rabén & Sjögren, the publisher of the writer's first book, established The Astrid Lindgren Prize (ALP) in honor of Astrid Lindgren's 60th birthday. The prize is awarded annually for outstanding achievements in Swedish children's and youth literature. The name of the laureate is announced on November 14 - the birthday of the great Swedish storyteller. Astrid Lindgren died on January 28, 2002.
10. 10. TOVE JANSSON The brightest representative of Scandinavian children's literature, Tove Marika Jansson, was born on August 9, 1914 into a bohemian family: her mother is a prominent artist Signe Hammarsten, a book illustrator who came to Finland from Sweden; father - recognized sculptor Viktor Jansson. Tove was the first child in the family. Her younger brother Per-Olof later became a photographer, and her other brother Lars became an artist. As a child, Tove spent every summer in Sweden with her grandmother, in the town of Blido, not far from Stockholm. “The most beautiful thing was that the sea was very close. And although he was not visible from the lawn near the house where my friends and I played, if suddenly during the games we suddenly became quiet, the sound of the surf reached us,” Tove recalled.
11. 11. Having completed his studies abroad, Tove returns home and begins illustrating books and drawing cartoons commissioned by various publications. Tove herself considered herself more an artist than a writer; she drew comics, illustrated books by Lewis Carroll and John R.R. Tolkien, but her saga about the Moomins: charming creatures living in the idyllic Moomin Valley brought her worldwide fame. These books, for which Jansson did the illustrations herself, broke all records for popularity in the 1950s and 60s. They sold millions of copies and were published all over the world. For example, The Wizard's Hat alone has been translated into 34 languages, including Japanese, Thai and Farsi.
12. 12. In total, Jansson wrote 8 stories about the Moomins (“Little Trolls and the Great Flood”, “Moomintroll and the Comet”, “The Wizard’s Hat”, “Dangerous Summer”, “Memoirs of Moominpappa”, “Magic Winter”, “Daddy and the Sea”, “At the End of November”), one collection of stories “The Invisible Child”, 4 picture books (“Dangerous Journey”, “What Then”, “Who Will Comfort the Baby”, “The Fraudster in the Mumming House” trolls"). Almost all of them are somehow connected with the sea. But the sea is a symbol of romance and adventure, i.e. something that all children love. These are also stories about relatives and friends. The books are permeated with the atmosphere of a warm home, a good, proper family. They are very cozy. Moominpappa is like a human dad, Moominmama is the same busy housewife, she is like my mother: she takes care of everyone, does many things at the same time and does not get lost with her bag. And I also met Hemulen, Snusmumrik, Uncle Muskrat, Tofsla and Vifsla in reality.
13. 13. When little Tove Marika Jansson drew a strange hippopotamus on the wall to tease her younger brother, she did not yet know that she would become a famous writer, and her drawing would become the most famous character. She remembered him during the war in 1939. The young artist, noticing how “the colors were dying,” wanted, in the midst of this gloom, to recreate what reminded her of her happy and safe childhood. This is how “Little Trolls and the Great Flood” appeared. The big-nosed Moomintroll is more of a comic image, since, according to Jansson, it is impossible to tell a beautiful or romantic fairy tale in the middle of a war.
14. 14. In general, this story seems to me to be something of an introduction to more interesting and fascinating fairy tales. There are a lot of adventures in it though. Searches for Moominpappa, floods and encounters with strange animals. In general, you definitely won’t get bored reading this story. And what wonderful illustrations! I just want to dive into a fairy tale to chat with these delightful Moomins! So illustrations complement fairy tales very well, and without them these stories are simply impossible to imagine. In "The Great Flood" it all started when Moomintroll and his mother went looking for a house. Then it turns out that Moomintroll's dad left to discover uncharted shores with the Hatifnatts, because he could not sit still. As a result, they found both dad and the house, which itself sailed into the valley, later called Moominvalley. The characters begin to acquire their own qualities: Sniff already loves shiny things, Moomintroll is a loyal and sympathetic friend, and Moominmama is already the kindest in the world.
15. 15. Moomin Valley is a place where anything can happen. But when the Wizard's hat appeared there, all the people were confused. Nobody knew what to expect from her. Neither Sniff, nor Moomintroll, nor Snufkin could figure out what to do with this hat. She turned Moomintroll into a big-eared monster on thin legs, egg shells turned into soft elastic clouds, and what Muskrat’s false teeth turned into is just scary to watch. And only when the terrible Morra came to the Moomin Valley for her suitcase, the Wizard’s hat immediately found a real job. As you can easily guess from the title, all events begin with an unusual find - the Wizard's Hat, which he accidentally lost in his fruitless search for the Royal Ruby. This ordinary-looking Hat had one most unpleasant property - it could transform everything that came into it.
16. 16. Moomintroll’s mother had a difficult morning. This is how "Dangerous Summer" begins. First, she needed to make a birch bark boat for her son, and this was not a joke at all. Then little My got into the box with threads and needles, and we had to be careful that the fidget wouldn’t prick herself. And to top it all off, flakes of soot from the Fire-Breathing Mountain began to swirl in the air again. And then the grumpy and always dissatisfied Hemulus locked Miss Snork, Moomintroll and his friend Fillyjonk in prison. But the troubles didn't end there. Moominpappa decided to write a play, and the inhabitants of the valley face another test - a dress rehearsal on a floating theater and the premiere of the play. You can learn a lot more interesting things from this book. For example, how to dive to get breakfast, and why it is dangerous to spend the night in a tree. In general, the book is so eventful that it would be enough for a large series. This is probably my favorite Moomin book.
17. 17. Another favorite fairy tale of mine. Everyone knows that in winter the Moomins are supposed to sleep. For a long, long time, filling our bellies with pine needles, until spring arrives. But what to do if you suddenly wake up, and everyone around you is snoring sweetly and does not want to wake up either after the alarm clock rings or after the persistent requests of Moomintroll?! The only friend who is awake in winter - Snusmumrik - makes another journey in search of adventure, and the Moomin House is also covered with snow. Lonely and sad... All that remains is to go out into the winter cold and try to find something interesting. But you just have to want it, and new acquaintances, even if a little mysterious and strange, will find you themselves! And the mischievous Little My, awakened by the stupid little squirrel, will not let anyone get bored! And even severe cold, a blizzard, an invasion of hungry creatures can open the door to a miracle - winter is magical, you just need to learn to see its charm! And spring is just around the corner, awakening and new, but pleasant chores!
18. 18. One day in August, Moominpappa realized that most of all he wanted to live not in the Valley, but on an island with a lighthouse, among the raging sea. When the boat with the Moomin family sailed to the island, it turned out that no one was waiting for them there, the lighthouse was closed, the only neighbors were the gloomy Fisherman, and in general a more boring place could not be found. But it soon became clear that the island kept so many secrets, mysteries and surprises that there would actually be enough adventure for a whole year. In this fairy tale there is almost none of the comfort, warmth, and well-being that filled the pages of previous books. It is probably written more for adults than for children. She talks about how important it is to appreciate each other, not to forget about each other. She says that some people become evil only because no one pays attention to them, that external beauty is completely insufficient for love, that even cold people will dance if they feel that they care about someone. And yet, despite the apparent gloom
19. I love this book. And here miracles happen. Perhaps, without miracles, stories about Moomins would no longer be stories about Moomins. These are the sea horses that Moomintroll admires so much and with which he dreams of playing. This is Morra, who is getting closer and closer to Moomintroll, who is holding a lantern in his hands, although this behavior is not usually characteristic of Morra. This book is, in a sense, a reminder that not everything will always be fine. Even in the Moomin family there are quarrels, and despite the fact that everyone is together, everyone is lonely in their own way. But “The Pope and the Sea” also does not let us forget that with joint efforts all this can be overcome. After all, didn’t some of us in childhood dream of going on an adventure, living in a lighthouse, studying something, finding our secret places and wonderful creatures that no one knows about... And even if Moominpappa and Moominmama are depressed, Moomintroll doesn’t know what to do with himself; he’s probably starting to grow up. But this was written by Tove Jansson, which means the non-working beacon will light up again.
20. 20. Although many perceive Tove Jansson exclusively as a children's author, I learned that Jansson created several brilliant “adult” works, which were included in the collections “The Sculptor’s Daughter”, “The Boat and I”. The book "The Sculptor's Daughter" consists of Jansson's most famous stories, such as "The Summer Book", "An Honest Deception", "Stone Field", as well as the autobiographical story "The Sculptor's Daughter". I will definitely read these books.
21. 21. In the summer of 1966, Finnish writer and artist Tove Marika Jansson received the International Hans Christian Andersen Gold Medal for her books about the Moomins. This highest honor is given to writers and artists who write and draw for children. Tove Jansson will later have many awards and prizes, but this medal will become the most valuable for her. The last book in the Moomin series, At the End of November, appeared in 1970. Throughout her life, Tove Jansson painted professionally, mainly adhering to the principles of figurative art, and also held her own solo exhibitions, despite the fact that Moomin drawings took up a lot of her time. In 2014, the 100th anniversary of Jansson's birth was celebrated. Tove Marika Jansson died on June 27, 2001.
22. 22. SELMA LAGERLÖF Selma Ottilie Luvisa Lagerlöf was born on November 20, 1858 in the family estate of Morbakka (Värmland County). Father - Eric Gustav Lagerlöf (1819-1885), retired military man, mother - Elisabeth Lovisa Wallroth (1827-1915), teacher. The greatest influence on the development of Lagerlöf's poetic talent was the environment of her childhood, spent in one of the most picturesque regions of central Sweden - Värmland. The Morbakka estate itself is one of the vivid memories of the writer’s childhood; she never tired of describing it in her works, especially in the autobiographical books “Morbakka” (1922), “Memoirs of a Child” (1930), “Diary” (1932).
23. 23. attempts at children's creativity. But, having gotten back on her feet, Selma had to think about how to make a living. The family by that time was completely poor. In 1881, Lagerlöf entered the Lyceum in Stockholm, in 1882 she entered the Higher Teachers' Seminary, from which she graduated in 1884. That same year she became a teacher at a girls' school in Landskrona in southern Sweden. In 1885, his father died, and in 1888, his beloved Morbakka was sold for debts, and strangers settled in the estate. . In the autobiographical short story “The Tale of a Tale” (1908), Lagerlöf described her At the age of 3, the future writer became seriously ill. She was paralyzed and bedridden. The girl became very attached to her grandmother and aunt Nana, who entertained her with many folk tales, local legends and family chronicles. After the death of my grandmother, it seemed that the door to the fairy-tale world had slammed shut. And when the ability to move was restored to her in a special clinic in Stockholm, she was already cherishing the idea of ​​her own literary work. She was 9 years old.
24. 24. The central work of Selma Lagerlöf - the fairy-tale book “The Wonderful Journey of Nils Holgersson through Sweden” (1906-1907) was initially conceived as an educational book. She had to tell children about Sweden, its geography and history, legends and cultural traditions in a fun way. The book is based on folk tales and legends. Together with a flock of geese, led by the wise old Akka Knebekaise, Martina Nils travels all over Sweden on the back of a goose. But this is not just a journey, it is also personal development. Thanks to meetings and events during the trip, kindness awakens in Nils Holgersson, he begins to worry about other people's misfortunes, rejoice at the successes of others, and experience someone else's fate as his own. The boy gains the ability to empathize, without which a person is not a person. While protecting and saving his fairy-tale companions, Nils fell in love with people, understood the grief of his parents, the suffering of the orphans Oosa and Mats, and the difficult life of the poor. Nils returns from his journey as a real man.
25. 25. The Nobel Prize allowed Lagerlöf to buy out her native Morbakka, where she moved and lived until the end of her life. So the boy Nils helped the girl Selma realize her dream and return home. Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, received this award primarily as the author of Nils's Amazing Journey with the Wild Geese. By the way, she donated her gold medal to the Swedish National Fund for Relief of Finland for the war with the USSR.
26. 26. The writer’s portrait has been featured on the 20 Swedish krona banknote since 1991. Selma Lagerlöf died on March 16, 1940. Monuments to her and her heroes stand in the cities of Scandinavia: Karlstad, Landskrona, Oslo, etc.
27. 27. The famous Norwegian writer and playwright Thorbjorn Egner was born on December 12, 1912 THORBJORN EGNER. in Christiania in the family of the merchant Magnus Egner and was the youngest of his three children. Magnus Egner owned a grocery store, and his family was considered quite wealthy. However, in addition to trade, the father of the future writer had other hobbies related to music and theater. He and his eldest son played the violin, and Thorbjörn's mother Anna and his sister played the piano.
28. 28. The writer himself later recalled that from the moment he could remember, his greatest desire was to write poetry, play music, stage plays and draw. As befits the son of a merchant, he worked as a messenger from childhood, and spent his summer holidays on his father’s farm in Romerik. It was childhood memories that formed the basis of his subsequent work. From a young age, theater became an important hobby for Egner. While still a student, Thorbjörn wrote and staged short skits. Subsequently, Egner staged many of his works for children on the theater stage. At first he only illustrated the works of famous writers. But gradually this work fades into the background, giving way to children's literature, which becomes his main, although far from the only, occupation.
29. 29. Egner created a new, synthetic genre of stories for children, when text, illustrations and songs become one. This again demonstrates the versatility of his talent. After all, based on his most famous book, the writer wrote a play that has been running non-stop (!!!) since 1965 (!!!) at the National Theater in Oslo. This is the longest-running performance in the history of Norwegian theatre. We are talking, of course, about the most famous and beloved work by readers from different countries: the lyrical fantasy “People and Robbers from Cardamom.” The tale is still regularly republished. Cardamom is a tiny town, and it is so far away that only grandparents, and maybe even mom and dad, know about it. Probably, as a child, they also dreamed of living in a city where they bake fragrant gingerbreads, all the residents are polite, polite, sing songs and ride on an old double-decker tram, where the tram driver gives out these same gingerbreads for free..
30. 30. The whole life of this city with its holidays, established by the most humane guardian of order Bastian, is like a fairy tale, although nothing fantastic or fabulous happens. But not in every town you can find a tame lion or a talking camel, and the kindest police chief probably lives only in Cardamom. True, sometimes robbers visit Cardamom, but this only makes life there more interesting! The robbers Kasper, Esper and Yukotan are only happy to go to prison in Cardamom, where they will create a real orchestra. The jailer's wife works all day to better feed the prisoners, and the jailer worries whether the robbers are living well in his prison. Robbers, having lived in such a prison, do not leave it. And they themselves are more like naughty children.
31. 31. The Norwegians loved cardamom so much that they built it life-size - with a tower, a tram and a post office. It enjoys the same success as Moominvalley in Finland and Hobbiton in New Zealand, where the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were filmed. This “Cardamom Park” is a monument to a good storyteller. But, of course, the real monument is his works. In our country, four fairy tales by Thorbjörn Egner were published at different times: “Adventures in the Elki-na-Gorka forest”, “How Ole Jakop visited the city”, “People and robbers from the city of Cardamom” and “Carius and Bacterius” (in different editions – “The Troll’s Gift”).
32. 32. In each of his books, Egner creates a new fairy-tale world: a forest, a city, a farm. These “worlds” are inhabited by quite recognizable characters, which, it would seem, have been written about more than once: mice, foxes, and bears live in the forest; in the city we meet the conductor, the policeman and other ordinary citizens; on the farm we see ducks, horses, dogs... But Egner easily and imperceptibly breaks reader stereotypes. There are no good or bad heroes in his books. Each character is described with unfailing love. But the kind and hardworking sometimes experience anger, fear and helplessness. The mischievous and capricious turn out to be dexterous and brave, and in case of danger they are the first to come to the rescue. Thieves and robbers turn into talented musicians, and the predatory Fox... into a vegetarian! And you gradually get used to the fact that there are no “black” and “white” heroes, that you can correct your mistakes and accept the shortcomings of others.
33. 33. In the forest of Elki-na-Gorka there live many animals: the polite and hardworking Mouse Morten, the slacker and singer Climbing Mouse (very similar to the author of the song “What a Wonderful Day!”), the Baker Bunny, the wise old Raven Per, the cunning Fox Mikkel . A variety of stories happen to them, funny and sad, animals quarrel and make peace, learn to respect and not interfere with each other, and come up with forest laws. But suddenly a real disaster happens: Grumpy Bear falls into the hands of people who want to sell him to the circus. And then all the forest people rush to the rescue: having drawn up a rescue plan and overcoming many dangers, they free Grumpy. The fairy tale “Adventures in the Elki-on-Gorka Forest” has become very famous in our country.
34. 34. 2012 in Norway was declared the year of Egner. Events dedicated to his 100th anniversary, life and work have been and are still taking place throughout the country. A new major monograph by Anders Heger has been published, revealing in a new way the personality and talent of the hero of the day. Egner's work has truly become a golden page in the history of Norwegian children's literature, and his cheerful pathos and optimism are much needed in our era. He was and remains in the hearts of children and adults a kind wizard, ready to take them into a fairy-tale world, encourage, console and amuse, and moreover, teach an important lesson. The storyteller Egner lived a long and happy life, his four children were also happy, living in a fairy tale that their father, a writer, poet, composer, playwright and artist, created every day. Thorbjörn Egner died on December 24, 1990
35. 35. JAN EKHOLM Swedish writer Jan Olof Ekholm was born on October 20, 1931 in Avesta. Ekholm is best known as an author of detective novels. His books have been translated into many languages. Unfortunately, he enriched children's literature with a small number of works. He was made famous by the fairy tale “Tutta Carlson the First and Only, Ludwig the Fourteenth, etc.”), which formed the basis of the Soviet film “Red, Honest, in Love”, as well as the cartoons “How Foxes and Chickens Became Friends” and “Little Ginger”.
36. This book is amazing! There is good and evil, cunning, and a cautionary tale. She teaches you to be fair, choose your friends, tell you what gossip is and why gossip is bad. And it will also reveal the whole topic of friendship with people who are not like us. From the book you can learn how important it is to have your own opinion, especially when choosing friends. How important it is to listen not to others, but to your heart. “Do you know the Larssons? No, not those Larssons who sometimes come to visit the Perssons. I'm talking about the cunning Larssons. And if I also add that these cunning Larssons live in a hole, then you will immediately guess that I want to tell you about the largest and most cunning family in the entire forest.” Thus begins a wonderful fairy tale about a little fox who did not want to be cunning, but wanted to be friends with those with whom he was not supposed to be friends at all!
37. 37. I just want to crawl into this hole, so comfortable and cozy, and sit at the table with the Larssons. It’s even interesting how Jan Ekholm knows how the fox hole works, no less, he visited there and met the whole family. And it is not small: mom, dad, started Laban, Leopold, Lage, Lasse Sr., Lasse Jr., Louise, Lilia, Lotta, etc. etc., and finally, Ludwig the Fourteenth. The main character meets the chicken Tutta Karlsson, and they become fast friends. Together with the chickens, they save a family of foxes in a chicken coop, repaying them with good for evil. The chain of evil has been broken - long live goodness! You shouldn’t ask yourself whether to read this fairy tale or not. Every parent should, simply must, read a story about foxes and chickens to their child. And maybe the world will become a better place.
38. 38. Despite the enormous success of the fairy tale about the friendship of foxes and chickens, which went through several reprints in Sweden and other countries, Ekholm for a long time worked only in the detective genre. In recent years, the writer has again turned to children's literature. In 2005-2008, he published a series of stories for schoolchildren about the adventures of the boy Lasse, who helps his policeman father investigate crimes. In 1979, the writer received the award for the best non-fiction book from the Swedish Academy of Detective Writers for the book “Mälarmördaren”. In 2000, he received the Ture Swanton Prize in the field of detective literature for children and teenagers for the book “Tomten till salu”.

On this day 110 years ago, Henrik Ibsen died. And we remember the most prominent Scandinavian writers and their books.

Henrik Ibsen, Peer Gynt
Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and founder of the new European drama. One of his most famous plays is Peer Gynt. The main character wants to restore his reputation and position in society, lost by his drunken father. However, he commits something stupid, as a result of which he is forced to leave his native place. He spent a lot of time wandering, was a slave trader in the United States, made shady deals in Moroccan ports, wandered the desert, was a Bedouin leader and even tried to seduce the daughter of a former leader. And he ended his journey in a madhouse in Cairo, becoming an emperor. And when he finally comes to his senses, he goes home, where his things are sold at auction, and he himself tries, with the help of rather strange subjects, to understand when in a past life he was himself? Was there even one? And so, when Peer Gynt was already completely desperate, in his old house he sees Solveig - the girl who loved him before his flight from his native place, who reports that she has been waiting for him here ever since, and that he remained for her all these years yourself. Lars Soby Christensen, Half Brother
This gritty Norwegian saga of three women's destinies begins with the rape of a granddaughter in the attic. And there will be little good in the further plot. As a result of the violence, Fred was born - sullen and distant, who constantly disappeared and was looking for something. His brother Barnum was a short man with a lot of complexes who hated his childhood. The great-grandmother lived in the past and with hopes that were not destined to come true, the grandmother was more than strange, and the imprint of suffering and sorrow remained on the mother’s face forever. It seems like one family under a common roof, but everyone lives as a hermit in their own complex world, where no one will ever reach until the very last day. Singrid Undset, Christine, daughter of Lavrans
A family saga that brought its author the Nobel Prize in 1928. This is a trilogy covering events from 1310 to 1349. Its main character is the fictional character Christine, the daughter of Lavrans, the respected and wealthy owner of the Jorundgaard estate in the Gudbrandsdal valley. The first part will tell about the girl’s childhood, adolescence and marriage, which happened after a series of tragic events. In the second, she becomes the mistress of a huge estate, raises children and loses all her property after her husband took part in a conspiracy against the king. And in the third, her family is haunted by continuous troubles, her husband dies, one after another, her sons leave after him. And Christine herself, saving a child who was about to be sacrificed, becomes infected with the plague and dies, surrounded by all her children and loved ones who appeared to her in her dying delirium. Peter Hegh, Smila and her sense of snow
If you are still not familiar with the concepts of sludge, ice lard or pack ice, Miss Smilla will enlighten you. Because this girl has an extraordinary feeling for snow and everything connected with it. On a simple piece of frozen water, she is able to discern secrets that should have remained forever hidden from human eyes. And then you will go on a risky expedition together on a nuclear icebreaker, during which you will survive more than one storm under the monotonous hum of the engines and will be painfully cold while Smilla investigates the monstrous murder of a little boy. And, of course, this Scandinavian snow will also seem almost real. Knut Hamsun, Hunger
This was the first novel created by Hamsun, and brought him European fame. Although he received the Nobel Prize in 1920 for the book Juices of the earth. The hero of the book is an unnamed young man. He writes articles for newspapers and wants to work, but the topics he chooses are so specific that no one reads them. And the money earned is only enough for a few days. He sells all his meager possessions and wanders around the city all day, shocking passers-by with his behavior inappropriate from hunger. He is constantly haunted by an erotic fantasy about the beautiful Ilayali living in the castle, with whom he identifies all women. And when he completely despairs, he accidentally ends up on a pier and sets off on a long journey on a Russian ship. Stieg Larsson, Millennium series
This is exactly the trilogy, the first part of which was the sensational not so long ago The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The next two are called The girl who played with fire And The girl who blew up castles in the air. One day, while unraveling a complex case about a mysterious disappearance that happened 40 years ago, detective and journalist Mikael Blomkvist meets hacker Lisbeth Salander - another young lady with a difficult fate. The investigation they have begun will lead to the trail of a serial killer. And for a long time they themselves will try to understand whether there is something else between them besides sex. Jo Nesbø, Snowman
One of the books in the series dedicated to detective Khari Holla, which, in fact, brought popularity to the author. He works for the Oslo police, suffers from alcoholism, the struggle with which wanders with him from book to book, and at the same time investigates the most complicated cases of serial killers. IN Snowman We are talking about just such a maniac. He kills women, leaving a snowman at each crime scene. Having studied all the materials of the latest cases, Harry comes to the conclusion that all the victims disappear with the first snow. And this chain of monstrous crimes dates back a quarter of a century ago. Johan Borgen, Little Lord
This trilogy tells the story of the life of Wilfred Sagen, who was born at the beginning of the 20th century into a wealthy bourgeois family. In the first book, he appears as a little angel, whom everyone around him idolizes, without even realizing his hypocrisy and duplicity. He is very smart, so he has no friends, he is not interested in school, and he runs away from home. However, outside his parents' home he gets into all sorts of trouble and almost dies. Second and third parts Dark Waters And Now he can't leave will tell about further events in the life of the main character, and at the same time Norway against the backdrop of the First and then the Second World War. Johan Theorin, Night Storm
Scandinavian literature is famous for its dark atmosphere, but there is something about it that makes you return to it again and again. So, on a distant northern island, washed by storms, a farm has been built from logs washed ashore after shipwrecks, where a young family moves to live. Soon, under mysterious circumstances, the icy sea takes Catherine away. Her husband knows that the house is full of ghosts and fears they will come for Christmas, even if Kat will be with them. However, it is not the dead that he should fear. Selma Lagerlöf, Löwenskiöld Ring
And again a trilogy from the 1909 Nobel Prize laureate. By the way, Selma was the first woman to receive it. The first book is about the cursed Levenskiold ring and the misfortunes that the ring brought to its owners. It passed from hand to hand, and gradually ended up on the Levenskiold estate, in which the ghost of the former owner, the old baron, tortured all the residents, trying to return it to his tomb. Which soon happened thanks to the quick thinking of one of the workers. In the second part, the family curse continues to haunt the heirs, as a result of which only the wife of one of them, not related by blood, will live happily ever after. And from the third we learn about the difficult female fate of Anna Sverd, who got married full of hope. And in the end she found herself the mistress of a modest house, where she was destined for the role of a lifelong servant.