Contemporary Scandinavian Writers. The best children's books by Scandinavian writers
Jo Nesbø, Karrin Fossum are just a few of the names representing the Norwegian detective. Their books are, of course, different. Someone is more inclined to go into history, someone is not ashamed of his bloodthirstiness, but they all have one thing in common: they start from an idyll.
That is, one of the writers can immediately start a novel with a murder. But the idyll - quiet, small towns, extremely low crime rate, peaceful life in a harsh climate, bright northern beauty - is always at the center of the story. These picturesque pictures seem unseen in real life (it is rather strange that these days the Vikings turned out to be perhaps the most peaceful people on the planet). And when you read about all this in a book, you immediately understand: something is not right here.
A couple of years ago, the news was circulating on the Internet. Somewhere in rural Norway, a driver, driving around an elk on a country road, crashed into a bear. The bear survived and got away, and the Norwegian police spent several days trying to find the animal and help him. The question is, how can a powerful and unlike anything crime genre be born in a country with such criminal news?
Some critics attribute the increased bloodthirstiness of the Norwegians to the fact that they are isolated from the outside world and too crushed by Protestant moralizing. Others argue that in a country with one of the highest levels of happiness in the world, people got bored and demanded something "spicy". Still others say that modern Norwegian writers are just continuing the long tradition of their ancestors and writing sagas - just in new way.
One way or another, but the Norwegian detective stands apart and bears little resemblance to either English classics or American or French noir.
Kurt Aust, for example, is a master historical detective. He is not very interested in modernity, and as a Dane who lives in Norway and writes in Norwegian, he delves into history. More precisely, in the 17th century, when the Norwegian Petter Hortten met the Danish professor Thomas Buberg. This couple first appears in Aust's Doomsday, and since then Hortten and Buberg have often been compared to Adson of Melk and William of Baskerville in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
They met at the Hortten estate, and the Danish professor not only impressed the young man with the vastness of his knowledge, but also decided to take part in the fate of Hortten. So the guy learned to read and write under the supervision of a local parish priest, and then became a student of Buberg himself.
Aust leads his story slowly, as if savoring the details. And again around - an idyllic life and kind people, despite the fact that everything happens almost four hundred years ago. In this text, one can feel the influence of the same Eco and old Norwegian fairy tales, and it seems that a lot of things can happen to the characters - even if frightening, but magical. You least of all assume that in the cozy warmth of an inn in the middle of a snowy and fabulous nowhere, Buberg and Hortten will investigate the murder.
Once, on New Year's Eve, during an ice storm, the professor and his student found shelter in an inn. A motley company of the same frozen, lost travelers had already gathered there. Before everyone had time to warm up properly, it turns out that in the middle of the courtyard, lightly powdered with snow, lies a guest frozen to death - a French count. Buberg examines the body and realizes that something is unclean here. Once locked up, fueled by his own curiosity, the professor decides to investigate the mysterious death.
We also meet the main characters of "Doomsday" in another detective novel by Kurt Aust - "Second after God".
This time, Petter, who has already received a more or less solid education, is awarded the high honor of accompanying and guarding the papal nuncio, who paid a secret visit to Lutheran Norway. With humor and in detail, Aust describes the suffering of the papal envoy from seasickness, which overtook him in the middle of the icy sea, and the torment of the young Hortten, who was forced to part with his friend and teacher for a while.
But, as we can guess, Petter's boredom won't last forever. Mysterious crimes begin to happen. Quiet, sleepy Norway, it turns out, is no less familiar with poisons than France of the era of Catherine de Medici. And Buberg and Hortten have to find the poisoner.
The beauty of Aust's novels is that, famously twisting the detective story, he also manages to acquaint the reader with the world in which the Norwegians lived. We get acquainted with the history of the country, about which, in fact, we know not so much. And Aust slightly lifts the veil of mystery over why murders take place in the middle of all this idyll.
Thomas Enger, another popular Norwegian writer, begins his most famous novel, Imaginary Death, by rejecting this idyll. His heroes seem to hate everything that happens around them, they can't stand the calmness in the air, majestic views, sympathetic people. From all this they do not expect anything good - and rightly so.
Anger's heroes are gloomy misanthropes who love to drink alone and carry all their troubles with them. They do not go to psychotherapists, do not shift their problems to friends. They are closed loners who have broken away from the common holiday of life. And they will always be.
Here, for example, Henning Yule from "Imaginary Death" - a journalist who returned to work after a serious personal drama. Inside he has "horror and darkness", but the word "depression" is not found in the text even once. (This is another feature of the Norwegian detective story. The characters do not get depressed - they just live like that.) And, in general, it is logical that the murder case becomes his first editorial assignment.
The corpse of a young woman was found in a tent on the outskirts of Oslo, apparently stoned to death. Unexpectedly, the first and only suspect is found quickly. But Yul understands that everything is not so simple, and that the case is by no means closed. In the best traditions of the Norwegian detective novel, Yul begins to investigate the case alone.
One Scandinavian actor was once asked how he relaxes. "I take a box of vodka and go to the forest." - "One?" - "One. You don't need company here. Only one can get so drunk and scream SO much. And then you return home fresh. And you love everyone." Northern drunkenness - like a high standard of living - has already become a cliché in the conversation about Scandinavia. “I also wrote essays about walks in the woods. Only no one came back alive from my walks,” said Jo Nesbø, perhaps the most famous author of detective novels in Norway. And this penchant for horror stories (as well as the protagonist's addiction to alcohol) persists in Nesbø's books to this day.
Harry Hole Nesbø invented his character back in 1997. Like Anger's Henning Juhl, Hole experienced personal drama and became a gloomy, taciturn loner. He is also an alcoholic and a heavy smoker. Hole constantly goes into binges and is able to control his drunkenness only during the next business. He is constantly on the verge of being fired - the Norwegian police do not tolerate his tricks. But it is he who manages to solve the most complicated cases.
Nesbø wrote ten novels about Harry Hole, each successively revealing different sides of the detective's personality. The writer admits that some traits were inherited by the character from him - a former stock broker who was desperately bored and decided to plunge headlong into writing.
This is another characteristic feature of the Norwegian detective story: many authors would never write detective novels if they did not realize one day that they were simply bored with doing something else. And when reading Norwegian detective stories, you are sincerely glad that the Norwegians kill only on paper out of boredom, and in their free time they live quietly in their idyll.
We have selected book options that you will like if you like to read Scandinavian noir.
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Cycle "Department Q" (5 books)
A series of detectives by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen tells about members of the special department "Q" of the Copenhagen police, created to investigate the most important and complicated cases, police vice commissioner Karl Merke and his assistant, a Syrian named Hafez Assad.
Yu Nesbø
Harry Hole detective series
Henning Mankell
Book series "Kurt Wallander"
If you like Swedish detective stories, then you must have heard of Henning Mankell, a Swedish theater director and author of detective novels about Commissioner Kurt Wallander.
Camille Lackberg
Maria Lang
Arne Dahl
Jan Arnald is a Swedish writer and literary critic who uses the pseudonym Arne Dahl when writing thrillers, and writes under own name in the fantasy genre. He is also a regular contributor to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
"Bad Blood" is the second novel by the famous Swedish master of the detective genre Arne Dahl about the investigations of "Group A". This time the action takes place in two countries - Sweden and America, where an elusive Serial killer. His books mostly deal with mafia, power, crime and scandal.
Samuel Bjork
"I travel alone"
The Norwegian writer, playwright and singer Frode Sander Øien is hiding under the name Samuel Björk (Nor. Samuel Bjørk).
The shy, self-taught artist Eyen has also released six music albums, written five theatrical plays, exhibited contemporary art and translated Shakespeare. The book "I travel alone" is a detective from which the blood runs cold.
Victoria Bergman's Weakness is a trilogy written by Swedes Jerker Eriksson and Håkan Axlander Sundqvist under the pseudonym Erik Axl Sund. All three books in the series are equally creepy and twisted.
The plot is deceptively simple: Stockholm police commissioner Jeanette Chilberg investigates a series of sophisticated murders. At the same time, she is trying to put things in order in her personal life with the help of psychotherapist Sophia Zetterlund. The latter also advises the investigation, because she knows firsthand about violence, including in the family. But who is Sophia really? This is one of the mysteries of the trilogy.
The manic nature of the villains goes off scale, and by the end of the third part, the amazement of the readers and the metamorphoses of the heroes reach their climax. Only Scandinavians can come up with this.
Think snowmen and winter fun are romantic and cute? Just not in Scandinavia. Here even the first snow kills. Of course, not without the help of a clever criminal with a bouquet. But civilians are lucky: they are guarded by the unbending Chief Inspector Harry Hole. A tall blue-eyed blond, in between solving deadly charades and pulling skeletons out of other people's closets, manages to break women's hearts.
The Snowman is one of the creepiest books in the Inspector Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbø. And how does the author know so much about human vices, cruelty and sadism?
Innocent souls suffered in the battle against evil: the bodies of six-year-old girls were found in the vicinity of the Norwegian capital. Each one looks like a pretty little doll. Only one detail spoils the idyll - a ribbon with the inscription "I travel alone" around the neck. The population is horrified, the authorities are furious.
But you can not be afraid for the life of future schoolgirls, because real geniuses work in the metropolitan police. One of them is the legendary Mia Kruger. Just yesterday, she dreamed of committing suicide, but today she is burning with the desire to find a serial maniac acting with particular cruelty. No matter how evil disguises itself and hides, it cannot escape retribution.
Can hypnosis ruin a life? Yes, if it's an experimental group session in a mental hospital. The consequences of the experiment will not appear immediately, but only after a few years, when main character relax and forget everything.
A married couple, writing under the pseudonym Lars Kepler, mercilessly shows the most unattractive side of an outwardly prosperous family life. Domestic violence, indifference of adults, desperation of children, teenage cruelty - everything is in abundance. Despite this, the book reminds of simple human values.
Is a man capable of selling his own child for the sake of literary success? Can parents tell lies for years? How to live on, knowing that you are taking someone else's place?
Karin Alvtegen, great-niece of Astrid Lindgren, does not write about good-natured fat people living on the roof. The heroes of the book are our contemporaries, successful, famous and rich. But it is better for no one to know what is behind their success and what is the price of wealth. There are no maniacs in the book, but it’s even more terrible, because evil is ourselves, our actions and.
Our actions are our children. They continue to live independently of us and our will.
Child abuse is terrible. And doubly worse when accompanied by the tacit consent of adults. It is even more disgusting when it is performed by the one who is called to lead the flock to the light.
Norwegian writer Trude Teige raises issues of tolerance and tolerance. When does delicacy and the desire not to interfere in someone else's life turn into indifference and callousness? What abominations are going on behind the facades of well-groomed houses? The writer's attempt to understand the depths of other people's souls leads readers into a labyrinth of repressed desires and hopes.
The action of the book takes place behind the high walls of St. Patricia's psychiatric hospital. The focus is not on the mentally ill, but on the piercing loneliness of "healthy" adults who forever remain children deep inside themselves. Toward the middle, it becomes unclear which of the characters is actually sick, and which is just hiding in a hospital from the outside world. What is normality? It is quite possible that we are crazy, and those who hide in such establishments are healthy.
"Shelter of Saint Patricia" is an atmospheric work, with a sad aftertaste. Readers will once again be convinced that all problems come from childhood.
Arnald Indridason - writer from. The action of his book takes place in the vicinity of Reykjavik. However, the quality and quantity of the abomination that takes place in the novel allowed us to include it in this collection.
A middle-aged but perspicacious detective Erlend Sveinsson is investigating a strange murder, the threads of which stretch into the past. Events are firmly intertwined into a ball, one crime not only broke the lives of several people, but also determined the future of completely innocent souls. Along the way, Sveinsson reflects on life and tries to mend his relationship with his daughter, a drug addict.
When you start, you think it's all nonsense, it doesn't concern you. You think you are strong, you are strong, you will endure, someone else's pain will pass you by. And here it is not. There is no "from afar", there is no armor, you are naked like a falcon, and you have strength - shish! Disgust, disgust haunts you from morning to night, until you believe: this scum, this abomination is life, and there is no other life.
Karl Mörk, an experienced investigator and head of the newly minted Q department, knows how strong the lust for life is in a person. It investigates unsolved crimes of special public interest. Among them is the case of the disappearance of a prominent politician Mereta Ljunggor. A beauty with an impeccable reputation went missing five years ago on a ferry ride. Who abducted her and why, or did the young woman commit suicide? The meticulous Inspector Mörk is sure to find out the solution to the mystery associated with the past.
A police investigation into the disappearance of student Rebecca Trolle led seasoned detectives to unexpected results. The threads stretch to the nursing home, where the infamous writer Thea Aldrin has taken refuge from the world. For thirty years, the woman kept silent, protecting her son from the tormentor-father. But she still had to speak, and the world heard terrible confessions. What happened in the glass house has affected the lives of many people in the past and present.
- We all read in childhood books by Astrid Lindgren, stories about Moomintrolls by Tove Jansson and fairy tales by Andersen. But Scandinavian literature is not limited to these names. Ekaterina Severina, book reviewer and mother of three-year-old Alice, has compiled for us a selection of Scandinavian authors translated into Russian in recent years.
Max and the car
Barbru Lindgren
illustrations by Eva Erickson
From 1.5 years
publishing house "Scooter"
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This book is part of a series of four picture books featuring 2-year-old Max, with humor and understanding. They were written by Astrid Lindgren, the winner of the Memorial Prize and the author of more than 100 books for children, the Swedish writer Barbro Lindgren.
In stories about Max, there is a minimum of text (literally, a spread sentence) and a simple and understandable plot for any kid. For example, Max wants to play with a car. But his neighbor Lisa also wants to play with the car. The machine is one. Guessing what will happen next is not difficult, but all ends well. Each book is a situation that is recognizable and close to the child with a clear cause-and-effect relationship, and amazing, telling illustrations.
mimbo jimbo,
author and illustrator Jacob Martin Strid
From 1.5 years
publishing house "Clever-Media-Group"
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The Danish political cartoonist is known in Russia as the author of the book "The Incredible Story of a Giant Pear" and the creator of a series about the baby elephant Mimbo-Jimbo. The book of the same name tells about the adventures of a blue elephant who built a house-helicopter and flew through the jungle with his best friend, Mumbo Jumbo, a hippopotamus, to save animals from different situations. This is a book about friendship, and although the plot is straightforward, it is precisely such stories that a one and a half year old child can fully understand.
Krux cleans up
Yuya and Thomas Wieslander
illustrations by Sven Nordqvist
3-6 years old
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A series of books about the life of the cheerful cow Mama Mu and her friend, the crow Kraks, were invented by the honorary member of the Swedish Academy of Children's Books, Yuja Wislander, and drawn by the famous illustrator Sven Nordqvist, who turns 70 this year. His drawings are filled with details and trifles that can be viewed endlessly.
This is a book about true friendship. The fact that the relationship may not be perfectly smooth: friends can argue and quarrel a little, but the main thing that remains behind all this is respect and love for each other.
Raven Kraks is sure that he knows everything and knows how better than others. So this time he is sure that he can clean up the dusty barn in five seconds. And he knows exactly how to paint the walls. All in all, the best cleaner in the world. Only, as is often the case, after such help, you have to get out twice as long.
Petson is sad
author and illustrator Sven Nordqvist
3-6 years old
publishing house Albus Corvus/White Crow
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The Swedish writer and illustrator Nurdqvist is best known as the creator of the Petson and Findus series, about the friendship between an eccentric old man and a mischievous kitten. The books in this series can be read in any order. One of my favorites is "Petson Is Sad" - a story about how one autumn day a kitten cheered up his sad friend.
It seemed like a very simple story. But why is it so popular with children and adults? First, amazing illustrations. Each work of Nurdqvist is a special world that expands the boundaries of the text and makes the story more voluminous and rich.
Secondly, it is the recognition of images. In Findus, the child recognizes himself. He can be naughty, get into trouble, sometimes be simply unbearable, but still infinitely loved and most wonderful. Petson is an ordinary adult who can get tired, mind his own business and even grumble a little, but he completely accepts his baby and loves him endlessly.
And thirdly, each book about Pettson and Findus is an ideal model of the relationship between an adult and a child and is always a story about what a truly happy childhood should be like.
Apple,
author and illustrator Jan Löf
3-6 years old
publishing house "Melik-Pashayev"
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Jan Löf is a well-known Swedish artist and writer (author of the Pelle series of books, My Pirate Grandpa), as well as a jazz musician. Unfortunately, in our country only one of his books is known so far - "Apple".
This is a witty story about how a dishonest seller sold a fake apple to a man, and left the real one in his garden. But so that the buyer would not suspect anything, the fraudster advised him to give the apple a little time so that it “ripened”. This event becomes a trigger that sets off a chain of coincidences that lead to a funny and fair ending. The text has a lot of intertwined lines, but it is quite concise and easy to read. And parallel - internal - stories can be developed and thought out, thanks to colorful and very detailed illustrations.
If you try to explain the meaning of the book in one sentence, then it will certainly be: “do not dig a hole for another, you yourself will fall into it.”
Mulle Mek builds a boat
Georg Johanson
illustrations by Jens Album
3-6 years old
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Swedish journalist and writer, popularizer of science for children Georg Johansson came up with a series of books about a skillful person - Mulle Meka and his dog named Buffa, who together can solve any problem, whether it is building a boat or a car. Each book is dedicated to one invention, which the characters make according to the plot, and is written in the form of a conversation-story with appeals to young readers: “Even the boat has a name - “Horizon”. What else is missing? I guessed. And you?"
The plot is complemented by large watercolor illustrations in warm colors, which were drawn by Jens Album.
Mulle Mek has been translated into many languages and given a new name in every country. For example, in Russian computer games produced by 1C, he was Petrovich, and in the USA he is known as Gary Gadget.
Ship history. Mulle Mek says
This is a series within a series - for older children, in which the story of various inventions is told from the point of view of Mulle Mek. From the book "History of Ships" you can learn about what the first ships were like and trace their evolution; learn to distinguish between modern ships, as well as get acquainted with a lot of technical facts. The detailed and vividly illustrated story is still designed specifically for preschoolers - all the information is adapted for understanding and does not at all resemble boring encyclopedias.
An interesting fact: Petson, Mama Mu, Mulle Mek and the heroes of Löf are residents of the fabulous Junibacken Museum in Stockholm, where you can get to know them firsthand.
Prostodursen. Winter from start to finish
Rune Belswick
illustrations by Barbara Tomato
From 5 years
publishing house "Scooter"
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Rune Belsvik is a modern Norwegian classic, his stories are included in the golden fund of children's literature and have been translated into many languages. He came up with an amazing world - Riverland, where fabulous creatures live and where every day is predictable and has its own order, so any event becomes "great". The inhabitants have speaking names - Prostodursen, Kovrigsen, Oktava, Sdobsen and Pronyrsen, but there is not a drop of beatenness or vulgarity in the characters, but there is touchingness, openness and charm.
The language is unusually poetic and the text just wants to be parsed into quotes: “... And it was the evening on the eve of the great marzipan feast. The sky hung garlands of gilded stars and, for greater persuasiveness, added a thin and bright silver month ... "
From the first pages, the story plunges you into an amazing atmosphere, where the simplest things are filled with special meaning and penetrate into the very heart. This is a book in which there is no place for fuss, in which one wants to return and which is absolutely necessary for everyone to wrap themselves in it in the dank and gray season.
By the summer, the Samokat publishing house should publish another book about Prostodursen and other residents of the Riverside Country, in which there will be spring and summer stories.
Old-baby-with-a-tea-spoon,
Alf Preussen
From 5 years
publishing house "Melik-Pashayev"
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The Norwegian writer and composer in our country is known for the Soviet cartoon "The Kid Who Could Count to Ten", based on the work of the same name. But the most important character in Preussen's work is an ordinary-looking old woman who has one amazing feature - for unknown reasons and without her own desire, she becomes tiny in stature. Because of this, the most incredible stories happen to her.
There are 14 stories in the book, each of which is one transformation. A small character always has a hard time, and even a tiny one, all the more so, but the old woman does not lose heart and does not feel uncomfortable at all. She skillfully uses her other qualities - quick wit and dexterity - and finds a way out of hopeless, at first glance, situations.
Alone on stage
Ulf Nilson
illustrations by Eva Erickson
From 5 years
publishing house "Scooter"
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This book brings together two masters: Ulf Nilsson, the author of children's psychological stories that gives adults the opportunity to look at the world through the eyes of a child, and Eva Erickson, an artist whose illustrations often speak even more than words.
This is the story of a boy who is afraid of public speaking. And he is not at all a timid quiet man, no - at home he likes to arrange performances for his younger brother and sing songs of his own composition. And he is terribly shy to go on stage and is afraid to the pain in his stomach. On the day of the concert, the hero hides in the wardrobe, but then (thanks to the support of his brother) he realizes how stupid it is to deprive himself of the joy of the holiday and eventually overcomes his fear.
"One on Stage" is written with humor and understanding and is able to have a real therapeutic effect on those who are afraid of performing.
Krivulya,
Fried Ingulstad
illustrations by Valentin Olshvang
From 5 years
publishing house "Melik-Pashayev"
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The Norwegian writer Fried Ingulstad is known as the author of non-fiction literature for children, but she received special love from readers. fairy tales about the characters of Scandinavian folklore - niss and trolls.
A family of nisses lives in Dülaglup and every year, on the day of the first snow, they help the Christmas nisse (analogous to our Santa Claus) to prepare gifts for human children. They live their ideal family in a warm and cozy house. In their world, everything has its own special meaning - a hedgehog gave knitting needles to an old grandmother, the family washes in the tub before Christmas, and socks, scarves and mittens are stored in the chest. Outside their world there is another - unpleasant, in which the pale dangerous people and underground inhabitants - gray thieves-trolls. Krivulya is one of these trolls, but he does not look like his relatives at all. Because of this, they are thinking of giving it to Leshy, so Krivulya runs away from home and finds shelter in a chest with a nisse. And there the troll clearly understands that more than anything he wants to become one of them and live in a cozy house, making toys.
There are no noisy intrigues or an abundance of storylines in this book, which is why it turned out to be a soothing story with a leisurely rhythm. This feeling is emphasized and enhanced by the amazing illustrations by Valentin Olshvang, a director and animator, a student of Yuri Norshtein.
"Krivulya" is a real winter fairy tale, from which a moral that is very understandable to children is extracted: those who are kind and do well should be rewarded.
Tonya Glimmerdal,
Maria Parr
illustrations by Oleg Bukharov
From 7 years old
publishing house "Scooter"
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This book was written by a young Norwegian writer - the new Astrid Lindgren, who is the winner of two awards for the Best Children's Literature in New Norwegian and is loved all over the world. Thanks to the translation of Olga Drobot, she is also known in Russia - the seventh edition of her first book "Waffle Heart" has already ended and the fourth edition of the book "Tonya Glimmerdal" is coming to an end.
This is an incredibly captivating story about the adventures of an only child in a remote Norwegian village. Tony has a best friend - a huge old man Gunvald, who is also her godfather, and life principle“Speed and self-respect.” If Tony's day was uneventful, then it was wasted. This is a book about mistakes, from which no one is immune, whether it be an adult or a child. About how to overcome life's obstacles and that you can't hide from problems - they need to be solved. About true friendship and that children are sometimes wiser than adults.
At first it seems that the author was inspired by "Pippi Longstocking" and "We are all from Bullerby" - again a lively red-haired girl, again a celebration of rural life. But after a few pages, any comparison with the legendary works of Lindgren is already forgotten and only “The Rumbler - Glimmerdal's Thunderstorm” remains. A smart, light, funny and endlessly honest book.
Glassblower's children
Maria Gripe
illustrations by Victoria Popova
From 7 years old
publishing house Albus Corvus/White Crow
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Maria Gripe is a Swedish writer, winner of many awards and prizes, such as the Andersen Medal and the Astrid Lidgren Prize, the author of many works, including a series of novels about shadows, a series of books about the Elvis boy, and a trilogy about Hugo and Yusefin.
The book is about a simple family of a glass blower, where two children grow up - a boy and a girl. Once a year, the family goes to the fair in the hope of selling goods and earning money, because the mother constantly dreams of a better life for her children. This dream comes true, but not in the way she imagined - the children are taken to him by the Ruler of the city of Enskestad - the city of desires. In an enchanted house, children receive everything except warmth and love ...
Someone will read this story as a fairy tale with an entertaining plot - there is a sorceress Flaxa, an enchanted house, a talking raven Kluke, a Ruler and a Ruler. Someone will see a philosophical work in it - a parable about desires with a slow and a little cold narration. “You can’t dream today about what you won’t be able to accept tomorrow.” And for some, this book will become a reference to mythology: a raven that lost an eye because he looked deep into the well of wisdom; the river of oblivion; two powerful opposites who are eternally doomed to maintain balance.
"Children of the Glassblower" is a beautiful story that is full of metaphors, revelations and meanings.
By the way, the publishing house "White Crow" will soon publish another story by Gripe translated by Maria Lyudkovskaya - "The dung beetle flies at dusk."
Tzatziki goes to school
Moni Nielson-Branstrom
From 10 years old
publishing house "Scooter"
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Moni Nilsson is a Swedish writer, winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize, best known for her book series about the Tzatziki boy. The adventures of a boy from an unusual family have been filmed and translated into 20 languages.
Tzatziki has the best Mom in the world, who can walk on her hands and move her toes, and she also plays in a rock band, but most importantly, she loves her son infinitely. Therefore, the boy practically does not worry that he lives without a father (He catches cuttlefish and lives in Greece).
“But tzatziki is not a Greek dish, is it?
It's just that Mom loves this dish more than anything in the world, so she called me that. And the double name is because she loves me twice as much.
Moni Nilson talks very excitingly about what the days of an ordinary child are filled with. Something may seem ordinary and does not require discussion, something indecent and “it would be better to remove such things from children's books”, but always very sincere and honest. This is an opportunity to look through the eyes of a child at non-childish problems - acceptance of real life, sympathy, tolerance, love and friendship.
Freaks and bores
Ulf Stark
From 10 years old
publishing house "Scooter"
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The award-winning Swedish writer, who is known for his directness in his writings, does not shy away from difficult topics and, like no one else, understands teenagers. Perhaps that is why he is one of the most beloved authors of our time.
There are two storylines in "Eccentrics and Bores" - the story of a 12-year-old girl, Simone, who has everything ahead, although so far she is sure that the whole world is against it. After all, her own mother got along with the unpleasant Yngve and forgets everything in the world, including her beloved dog when moving and her daughter’s birthday, and in new school Simone is mistaken for a boy. And the line of grandfather, who has everything in the past and he is already ready to accept the outcome of this life. Grandpa knows the main thing - many things in life seem strange and wonderful, but everything around is full of deep meaning. You just need to learn to recognize this meaning, do not be afraid to be an eccentric, not like others.
The author does not try to hint in a veiled way, no, he speaks honestly, openly and with humor about serious things, and also teaches you to face life boldly.
In addition, Ulf Stark writes books for younger readers. The Samokat publishing house published his book about the gnome Buku "Christmas in the Forest" and another one will soon appear - "Summer in the Big Forest".
You could also see his works in IKEA stores in the children's goods department.
Ekaterina Severina
Who among us did not read fairy tales in childhood? Personally, I loved reading them. Well, when I got to the bottom of the richest layer of literary fairy tales in the library on the shelf, what happened happened. Time stopped, and the world around me froze, I read and read!
I think that best children's books are literary fairy tales by Scandinavian writers Astrid Lindgren, Thorbjorn Enger and Tove Jansson.
The first delight I experienced when I read the trilogy "Baby and Carlson" Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. A sea of funny situations, an elegant style and a rich imagination of the author delighted and subdued. Then it's time for a fairy tale "Pippi Longstocking". But the fairy tale captivated my heart forever. I was sad and cried together with little Busse, dreamed of the same beautiful horse as Mio's and to perform feats in the name of good together with him. Astrid Lindgren has become my favorite writer. Almost all of her books are dedicated to children. “I haven’t written books for adults and I don’t think I ever will,” the writer once said resolutely. All the heroes created by her are lively, mobile and mischievous children with their talents and whims, inclinations and weaknesses. That's exactly what they are - Mio, Peppy, Kalle, Yeran, baby Cherven.
The writer speaks 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 been out of bed for a year because of a sore leg, but every evening he finds himself in the magical Land of Twilight, or as it is also called, in 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.
Children, according to Lindgren, should be happy. They must have their own Far Country, the Land of Twilight, or the island of Siltkron. Children should play, laugh, enjoy life and should never get sick and starve. Fabulous and magical in Lindgren is born from the imagination of the child himself. So the Kid from the books about "The Kid and Carlson" invents himself a cheerful friend who lives on the roof and loves jam, Pippi Longstocking from the fairy tale of the same name, considers herself a Negro princess and imagines herself a rich, strong and beloved girl.
Tale-tale "Mio, my Mio!" was born in 1954. One day, while walking around 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 transferred him to the fabulous Far Land, which he himself invented. She surrounded him with blooming roses, found him a loving father and cheerful, devoted friends, involved him in many adventures. And the adopted Busse becomes in his dreams Prince Mio, the beloved son of the king of the Far Country. And so it turned out my favorite fairy tale, full of poetry and charm.
A special phenomenon in Norwegian literature is Thorbjørn Egner. He not only wrote interesting books for children, but also translated the famous English fairy tale A.A. Milne about the teddy bear Nalla Poo (known to Russian children as Winnie the Pooh). Egner not only introduced his little compatriots to an English teddy bear, but also wrote a fairy tale for them about a living bear cub, Grumble, Mouse Morten, Climbing Mouse, Domestic Mouse, Fox Mikkel, squirrels and other inhabitants of the forest of Elka-on-Gorka. In the fairy tale, animals talk and behave like people. There are good and kind animals - the Bamse bear, his family and many small animals, there are cunning and evil ones - Mikkel-Fox and Peter-Hedgehog. Angry at the Fox and the Hedgehog attacking small animals, the inhabitants of the forest gathered together and made a promise to live in friendship and harmony. The fox does not want to eat grass and berries, but he is forced to do so and raise his hind leg as a sign of consent. The fox is gradually improving and even saves the bear cub Grumpy. The book "Adventures in the Forest of Elka-on-Gorka" is a very cheerful and life-affirming fairy tale. And its meaning is in the song of animals who have decided to live in peace and friendship:
Let's split everything in half
Joys and troubles
And delicious
delicious,
Delicious lunches.
In the fairy tale there are many songs of animals that Anger composed. And he not only writes interesting fairy tales and composes songs, but also illustrates his books.
In the summer of 1966, the Finnish writer and artist Tove Marika Jansson received the Hans Christian Andersen International Gold Medal for her books about extraordinary fairy creatures- Moomin trolls, hemules, fillyjonks, homsahs, snorks, morrahs, etc. This highest award 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 be the most valuable for her. In 1938, Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated a book "Little Trolls and a Big Flood". Then 11 more books about Moomins: "The comet is coming"(1946); "Wizard's Hat" (1949); (1950); "What happened next?"(1952); "Dangerous Summer" (1954); "Magic Winter" (1957); "Who will console the little one?" (1960); "Invisible Child"(1962); "Dad and the Sea" (1965); "In the end of November" (1970); "Cheater in the Moomin House"(1980). All these books have been translated into 25 languages, including Russian. Each work by Jansson is the embodiment of one or another aspiration of the child: passion for the mysterious and magical ("A Comet Arrives", "The Wizard's Hat"), for construction and invention ("Memoirs of Moomin's Dad"), kindness and love for the weak (" Magic Winter”, “The Invisible Child”), curiosity and a penchant for play and reincarnation (“Dangerous Summer”).
Astrit Lindgren, Thorbjorn Egner and Tove Jansson brought into the literary fairy tale a whole country of childhood with all its psychological shades, desires, aspirations and fantasies. And they did it so talentedly that they forced everyone to admit that there are children's books that belong to real literature. And many will agree with my opinion that best children's books belong to the pen of these magnificent Scandinavian writers.
Happy reading!