The LasseMaja detective books are popular with boys and girls in Sweden. Photo: Cari Simmons

Reading campaigns, a reduction in book tax, a baby boom and a generally improved economy all have contributed to a steady increase in reading since 2003. Helping the upswing is a new Swedish detective series that is outshining even Harry Potter books on the children’s top 10 list.

Lillemor Torstensson, information manager at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books (Svenska barnboksinstitutet) says that Martin Widmark’s LasseMaja books have hit home with both boys and girls in the seven to nine year-old age group. “Widmark’s books are easy to get into, with good stories and an uncomplicated language that appeal to the target group,” Torstensson says.

Annika Lundeberg, an editor at Bonnier Carlsen, where the LasseMaja series is published, says such characteristics are necessary in order to attract young readers. “The competition is tougher now,” she says. “Books are vying for attention against computer games and TV, and we’re discovering that books need to have a faster pace too.”


Interesting illustrations are important to attract readers. Photo: Cari Simmons

Illustrations, form and design have also become increasingly important for Swedish kids, resulting in illustrated books even for older children, Lundeberg adds. Helena Willis’ illustrations in the LasseMaja books received a lot of criticism from adults, but children took to them immediately. “In the beginning, adults thought the drawings were ugly, but their black and white simplicity appeals to children,” Lundeberg says.

Hot on the trail
Popular themes among children’s books tend to follow the trends in adult literature, and detective novels are hot now. No fewer than 75 mystery books were published for children in 2006, compared with 21 in 2000.
 
But crime aside, old classics by Elsa Beskow (Peter in Blueberry Land) or Sweden’s “grand dame” of children’s literature, Astrid Lindgren, remain standard reading fare for Swedish children – especially since it’s the parents and grandparents who are buying most of the books.


Astrid Lindgren's books are still seen as rebellious by many. Photo: Cato Lein

Astrid Lindgren’s books have been translated the most – into at least 90 languages – with more than 145 million copies of Pippi Longstocking, Emil, Lotta and Karlsson books sold worldwide. In 2002, the Swedish government founded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award to honor her memory and promote children’s and youth literature around the world. The world’s largest literature award of its kind was awarded this year to Venezuelan institution Banco del Libro.

Pippi paved the way
“The Pippi Longstocking books are totally honest with children and dare to question adult authority,” Torstensson says. “I think that is why these books are still so popular, even after 60 years.”

Lundeberg says: “Children tend to be more independent in Swedish books and we also raise subjects that are taboo in many countries, like bullying, alcoholism in families, divorce, and death.”

Germans are especially keen on Swedish books, Lundeberg says. “Perhaps it has something to do with similarities between our countries when it comes to raising children and the school system.”

Some other countries appreciate Swedish books because they depict a society so different from their own, such as Asian countries, where Swedish books have an exotic appeal, Lundeberg adds.

Fine-tuned for export


Pija Lindenbaum's books take on topics that matter to children.

Swedish books are sometimes fine-tuned to better fit other cultures. Pija Lindenbaum’s highly original books, translated into English, Japanese, French, German, and many other languages, tackle subjects like fear, jealousy and loneliness. In her story about a non-conventional family, called Else-Marie and her Seven Little Daddies, American publishers replaced an illustration of seven small daddies, a mother and a child, all naked in the bath.

“Some countries like Swedish books for being a little daring and burlesque, but in other countries, where children have a stricter upbringing, our books may be considered too boisterous,” Torstensson says, citing Jujja Wieslander and Sven Nordqvist’s Mamma Moo books about a cow that likes to go down a slide, play on a swing, build tree houses and do all kinds of “un-cowlike” things with great bursts of energy.

Written from a child’s perspective, and with a twinkle in the eye, it’s hard for any child – or adult – to resist such characters.

Facts

• 1,515 children and young people’s books were published in Sweden in 2006.
• 638 were Swedish titles (42 percent) and 877 (58 percent) translated titles.
• 105 authors, illustrators and photographers made their debut in children’s books in 2006.

Children’s books recently translated into English:

• "Boo and Baa Have Company" by Lena Landström
• "When Owen’s Mom Breathed Fire" by Pija Lindenbaum
• "A Rumpus in the Garden" by Sven Nordqvist
• "Goldie at the Farm" by Martha Sandwall-Bergström
• "Mamma Moo Goes Down a Slide" by Jujja Wieslander
• "All the Dear Little Animals" by Ulf Nilsson
• "My Friend Percy's Magical Gym Shoes" by Ulf Stark

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Cari Simmons began reading Swedish children’s books when her daughter was born nine years ago. She recently got totally immersed in the LasseMaja newspaper mystery.

The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.

Classification: A196EN

© Photos 1 and 2: Cari Simmons 
© Photo 3: Cato Lein

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