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Young adult literature produced in the Scandinavian region, in particular, is distinctive because it sparks critical thinking in youth, searches for answers to existential questions, and treats contemporary issues of concern to youth--sex, ideological crises, insecurity, breakup of the traditional family, environmental destruction, nuclear war--in a frank and respectful manner. Picture books have also achieved aesthetic sophistication through experimentation with technique and form, combination of styles, and unorthodox subjects. The Nordic countries also set an example of state support for children's reading and book publishing. In Sweden, the government purchases books for public and school libraries; in Norway, the state guarantees the sale of a certain minimum number of copies of each book published; and in Denmark, initiatives have been taken to increase funding for libraries and to promote good books. Yet another contribution is the ongoing work of the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Disabled Young People (Olso) in preparing an annotated catalogue of international books for children with disabilities. Two recent traveling exhibitions, "Books Build Bridges" (Sweden) and "Trolls, Mrs. Pepperpot, and Beyond" (Norway), are further instances of international networking and how Scandinavian children's books have crossed boundaries. Bookbird started a new policy when Eva-Maria Metcalf accepted my invitation to assist with this issue as Bookbird's first guest editor. Bookbird column editor since 1996 and associate professor of German and children's literature at the University of Mississippi, Metcalf is the author of Astrid Lindgren (1995) and several articles on German and Scandinavian children's literature. I thank her and the two consultants, Maria Nikolajeva and Helene Ehriander, for bringing their expertise in Scandinavian children's literature to this issue. Yours
sincerely, Introduction Eva-Maria Metcalf The Scandinavian countries are located at the northern fringe of Europe and all except Denmark are separated from the continent. Yet their location has not resulted in provincial backwardness or peripheral importance during the twentieth century. On the contrary, these countries have served as models of the social welfare state and have become significant political players on the international scene. Of more immediate interest for students of literature for children is the fact that a sizable portion of their budgets is devoted to children's welfare and culture. Each supports stipends and prizes for authors and funds for libraries and publishers to encourage artistic development and experimentation. This financial investment has paid off handsomely. Scandinavian children's literature today is rich, varied, and daring. As many of the following articles will show, it is often outspoken and nonconformist, and, above all, of high literary and artistic quality. In her comprehensive article about recent developments in Norwegian children's literature, Karin Beate Vold points out that the lines between children's and adult literature have become less defined over the years and are now crossed with regularity and ease by many Norwegian authors. Scandinavia shares this trend with most Western nations. Helene Ehriander finds modernist and postmodern narrative patterns in recent Swedish young adult novels, such as narrative complexity, visual orientation, and a peerlike authorial position. The portraits of Danish author Louis Jensen presented by Steffen Larsen and of Swedish author Ulf Stark presented by Eva-Maria Metcalf further solidify the impression of a highly developed children's culture. Jensen's intertextual references, presupposing an informed reader, range from ancient Greek and Nordic mythology to Hans Christian Andersen and pop culture. With Stark, Jensen shares a propensity to present ethical and existential questions in adventure stories that blend fantastic elements with everyday realism. Despite their similarities, we should keep in mind that the five Scandinavian countries by no means constitute a homogeneous whole. As Maria Nikolajeva reminds us in her article, the national differences of these cooperating yet fiercely independent nations should not be overlooked. Each has its own distinct topography, history, politics, and tradition that have shaped its literature. The strident nationalism of relatively young nations comes to the fore in the children's literature of Iceland and Norway, which contrasts with the insular, inward-looking quality of Finland's Swedish-language books and the unencumbered worldview of Swedish and Danish children's books. Even the treatment of folklore and mythology differs widely in these countries. In Iceland, Norse mythology is kept alive as part of the country's past, and as Gu½laug Richter and I½unn SteinsdÙttir note in the country survey, myths may appear in a revised and urbanized version or interwoven into the fabric of the plot in a postmodern playful manner. For Norwegian author Torill Thorstad Hauger, Nordic myths provide an entry into the world of the Vikings that she portrays in her historical novels. Nina Christensen reminds us most explicitly of the political nature of children's books in her comparison of two postwar Danish picture books that teach tolerance across racial and ethnic lines. Covering a region as diverse as Scandinavia leads to difficult choices. The children’s literature of the Scandinavian minorities will have to be introduced in a later issue, and great representatives of the older generation (for example Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson, and Cecil BÝdker) have not beenincluded so that the younger and lesser-known generation of authors could be presented more fully. They carry on the torch, testing new forms of expression that will provide narratives and images for young people to make sense of their changing world. Letters To the Point: Children’s Literature Of The Nordic Countries Similar
but Separate: National Features in Scandinavian Children’s Literature Teaching
Tolerance: A Comparative Reading of Two Danish Picture Books Trends
in Swedish Youth Literature “Golden
Ages” at the Turns of a Century: Norwegian Writing for Children
and Young People Fact
and Fable: Illustrated Nonfiction Books in Finland Other
Voices Regular Features The Secret Is in the Book; the Book Is the Secret * International Children's Book Day * Andersen Awards 2000 * International Youth Library Celebrates * Biennale of Illustrations Bratislava 1999 * IBBY in Hungary and Slovakia * Regional Conference in Madison * Supporting Membership Reading
Promotion: Reading with Fingers: Braille Picture Books Country
Survey: Iceland Author
Spotlight: Louis Jensen International Children’s Books of Note Professional Literature News and Announcements Calendar |
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