Every few weeks, a wave of nostalgia for Sweden hits me. With the current cold outside, I need not be afraid to miss out on that part of a Swedish winter, but apart from temperature I cannot help but dream of revisiting Sweden, and staying there for a few more months. At such times, I prefer to turn to Astrid Lindgren. But nostalgia for Sweden is not the only reason I feel such a special fondness for her stories.
I grew up watching movies based on Lindgren’s stories on TV on Sunday morning. They told me about this wonderful world where magic and reality and heartfelt stories intertwined. Obviously I loved Pippi Longstocking, but my bigger weakness were The Brothers Lionheart, Ronia the Robber’s Daughter and the Children of Noisy Village. I read all the Lindgren books I could find in the library. I loved the characters, I cried endless tears for them, and I copied many of the games played in Noisy Village.
Combining three things: my love for Lindgren’s stories, nostalgia for Sweden, and a fondness of children’s stories, I decided to add Astrid Lindgren to the “read the complete works of..” list. I had listed only Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell there, for over a year now, but Lindgren was always going to be on that list. And inspired by Buried in Print‘s long list of authors she calls “Must Read Everything”- authors, I decided I could add a few more.*
However, when I started composing the list, I found out there is no uniform list available of Lindgren’s works in Swedish, and the ones translated to English. No fear! I thought, I own most of her works in Dutch, so I’ll look for the Dutch translations, and figure something out. I did find a list of her works in Dutch translation, I also found one that lists titles translated to English. Combining those two, I have aimed to come to a more or less complete overview, but there are lots of titles on which I have little to no information. Here’s my list. If you have any idea about what should go on any of the gaps indicated by a question mark, please let me know. Also, please comment or email if you have any other reading suggestions about Lindgren, or find a work that I have not listed yet.
As for nostalgia for Sweden, are there any other Swedish children’s authors you would recommend?
* I implemented the “Complete works of..” list before finding out Buried in Print had a feature like it, called Must Read Everything Author lists. I wouldn’t like to delete my own list, but I wanted to give credit in some form. BIP’s lists are amazing, and so many authors listed! (I hope this is okay, BIP, if you feel I “copied” you, please let me know and perhaps we could discuss about another solution?).
