Barbro Lindgren’s The Story of the Little Old Man now as a theatre play

Cover of The story of the Little Old Man

On Saturday December 13th theatre play The story of the little gentleman opens at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, U.S. It’s based on Barbro Lindgren’s story The Story of the Little Old Man.

“We’re thrilled to bring to our community this quiet alternative to traditional holiday fare,” says director Mark Sutton in an interview. “It’s a challenge and a great privilege as theatre artists to get the opportunity to tell such a story with so little dialogue.

The story of the Little Old Man (first published in Sweden by Rabén & Sjögren in 1979, distributed in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992) marked the beginning of Barbro Lindgren’s long-lived co-operation with illustrator Eva Eriksson. The book was also her first of many for the very young. In it, we meet two figures to whom Barbro Lindgren would frequently return – a lonely human and a friendly dog. In this poignant tale of friendship, it is the dog, placing a cold nose in the old man’s hand, which assuages the man’s feelings of abandonment.

The theatre describe the play as a “delightful story about the true meaning of friendship. Nobody seems to have time for the little gentleman, which makes him sad. But he soon discovers a wonderful new friend who changes his life forever. This beautiful, funny and moving tale features live musicians and a uniquely intimate style all its own.”

Barbro Lindgren. Photo: Stefan Tell

Persistency and Courage – theme for reading promotion competition among the Stockholm schools

Distribution of prizes to the winning school classes at Skansen outdoor museum 2011. Photo: Stefan Tell

Now is the time for teachers in Stockholm’s schools to sign up for the competition En bok i världsklass (A world of books). The competition aims to promote reading by encouraging reading of books from different parts of the world.

The Stockholm schools have until March to read books from different parts of the world and then create entries to the competition. The entries will interpret the books read by the pupils in the light of this year’s theme, “Persistency and Courage”, and they need to consist of both drawings and a reflective text.

A representative from the award office is every year part of the jury that evaluates the entries, and it is always so amazing to see the effort, time and creativeness put into each contribution to the competition.

Below you can see one of the winning entries from the previous year, when the theme was “New worlds”.

The competition En bok i världsklass is part of the reading promotion activity Barn och böcker (Children and books), a co-operation between the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Stockholm City Library, the Education Administration of Stockholm and Skansen open-air museum.

This is a video (in Swedish) from the Award ceremony 2011 which was performed during the ALMA Award week. The Australian illustrator Shaun Tan who was is Stockholm to be presented to the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award,  presented prizes to the winning school classes.

Photo: Stefan Tell

The Visit from Little Death

Sissela Benn as the girl Elsewise in The Visit from Little Death. Photo: Johan Sjövall

 

Lars H Gustafsson

Author, paediatrician and former member of the ALMA-jury Lars H. Gustafsson went to see Unga Teatern’s play The Visit from Little Death this week. We asked Lars if we could translate his blog post (published in Swedish here) for the ALMA blog, which he gladly approved of:

Today I’ve been to the theater. The renascent theatre Unga teatern in Malmö gives as its first production La Visite de la Petite Mort (approx. The visit from Little Death), based on Kitty Crowther’s picture book with the same title.

Kitty Crowther received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2010, and La Visite de la Petite Mort is one of her finest books. Talking to children about death can be an experience, enriching for both the child and the adult. Kitty Crowther does it in a tender, playful and surprising way. She really takes children seriously, and I too, as an adult, get warm inside by this story. I have previously written about the book here on my blog, as well as in my book Leka för livet (approx. Playing for life).

The theatre’s version is close to the original but has at the same time, with simple means, been given a free theatrical form that rather enhance both the depth and the playfulness in the story. The three actresses Sissela Benn, Susanne Karlsson and Ellen Norlund portray the girl, the lady and the Little Death accurately and with feeling. I saw the play together with a group of six year olds from Rosengård, who clearly were engaged in what took place on stage. I also want to mention scenographer Erika Magnusson, who found a way to take advantage of the room in an unusually clever way. As well as the thrifty but effective music features autographed Stefan Johansson.

I almost wish that Kitty Crowther could see this show! I think she’d be happy. For director Ada Berger has really captured both the message and the atmosphere of the story. On October 20, at 7 pm, Ada Berger and I will talk about the play and the issues it raises (location: The Studio Hipp, more information here). How can adults help children to grasp ideas that are both staggeringly huge and quite menacing? How do we talk to children and to each other about all this and how can literature, art and theatre be a help on the way?

Cover of Lilla döden hälsar på. Berghs förlag.

Kitty Crowther.

Photo shoot with the new jury

September usually means a photo session with the new jury, and this year is no exception. Brilliant photographer Stefan Tell caught the jury members this morning, before their meeting. The result will be published on the ALMA web and in our press room later this week.

Opening of Lava Library and Workshop

The new area at Lava.

Managing Director Benny Fredriksson and Madeleine Sjöstedt, Stockholm County, open Lava Library and Workshop.

This week the Lava Library and Workshop at Kulturhuset (House of Cultre) Stadsteatern opened – a brand new library dedicated for young people aged 14-25, containing space for creative workshops and a brand new library with 6,000 new volumes. So apart from reading and borrowing books you can submit project proposals, seek cultural fundings, listen to your favorite author, test the 3D printer, go to a concert or make your own podcast in an audio workshop, screen printing or produce exhibitions for the Lava Gallery. In a press release earlier this week Managing Director at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Benny Fredriksson, stated:

– This is one of the most important initiatives that Kulturhuset Stadsteatern does. Reading is a priority for the entire community.

Photos from Kulturhuset Stadsteatern.

Detail from the Lava Library.

“Tove Jansson was a universal genius”

Astrid Lindgren and Tove Jansson 1958.

Not so many have missed that Finish artist, author and illustrator Tove Jansson would have celebrated 100 years last Saturday, August 9^th. Seven years younger than Astrid Lindgren, they both were considered to be two of the Swedish-speaking children’s literature’s biggest names.

Boel Westin, new Chairman of the ALMA jury, is internationally well known for her studies of Tove Jansson, and is fascinated by Tove Jansson’s aesthetic diversity:

– Tove Jansson was a universal genius with a sumptuous expression longing and she worked in a lot of different genres as a writer and artist, she told the ALMA blog a few weeks ago. In her works, there is both passion and emotion, politics and ideology, and through the Moomin world she has developed a philosophy and various attitudes to life. We can recognize ourselves and not the least our surroundings in the stories. They can interpret the world around us.

Tove Jansson in her studio.

Tove Jansson died in June 2001 at age of 86, but her works is a great inspiration still today. In an interview for Swedish Television Boel Westin point out her feministic attitude:

– When I was going through her ​​letters I found out that she actually formulate feminist positions for herself during the 1940s. It’s about her role as a woman in relation to love and in relation with men.

– She wants to live independently and create art. Work was the most important thing, says Boel Westin.

The Tove Jansson 100 year’s celebration will go on during the entire 2014. More information on the anniversary web “Tove 100”, and for further reading the BBC’s Tove Jansson feature, made earlier this year and this article from the British Library.

The Moomins. ©Moomin Characters

Original illustrations by Shaun Tan exhibited at museum Bror Hjorths Hus

Photo: Bror Hjorths hus

Original illustrations by 2011 ALMA laureate Shaun Tan are now exhibited at artist’s museum Bror Hjorths Hus in Uppsala. The exhibition area is inspired by Shaun Tan’s pictorial worlds, with a combination of photo walls and original illustrations along with space for creative children and adults. Some 50 original illustrations are displayed, including three large oil paintings from Shaun Tan’s latest book Rules of Summer. The idea behind the selection of art pieces is that the audience can follow the story for a better context. Maria Malmberg-Wallin is museum curator and responsible for the exhibition:

How come you choose to exhibit works by Shaun Tan?

Bror Hjorths hus has a tradition of exhibiting children’s book illustrations each spring. Shaun Tan is an amazing artist making picture books for people of all ages, and it really is a dream to showcase his illustrations.

What’s so special about his work, do you think?

He is such a multilateral storyteller working in so many ways with so many different techniques. It is exciting to see how he uses the picture book as a medium for his art. The subjects of his books are universal.

Has Shaun Tan himself influenced the contents?

We´ve have had a very good dialogue concerning the selection of illustrations. He’s an amazingly friendly person and has helped in the best way. We came with suggestions on which illustrations would be displayed, and then we talked further about the matter.

Has Shaun Tan himself influenced the contents?

We´ve have had a very good dialogue concerning the selection of illustrations. He’s an amazing friendly person and has helped in the best way. We came with suggestions on which illustrations would be out, and then we talked further about the matter.

What’s the reactions from the public?

Great reactions, we are very happy. There have been lots of visitors since the exhibition opened on April 5, many more than usual.

The exhibition is open until June 1^st.

Photo: Bror Hjorths hus

Photo: Bror Hjorths hus

Photo: Bror Hjorts hus

Shaun Tan. Photo: Stefan Tell.

Students working with books by ALMA laureates

Children make their own stories inspired by 2010 ALMA laureate Kitty Crowther’s “The Visit of Little Death”.

This week we asked representatives from two public schools working with our laureates to write a few lines about their work:

Two public schools in Stockholm, -Hjulsta Elementary School and Östra Real High School – have started a project on the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, ALMA. The website www.världensalma.se is our forum for presenting the wide variety of ideas, goals and achievements we have.

Both schools constantly focus on language and literacy which this spring semester revolves mainly around ALMA. We study Astrid Lindgren and her authorship as well as the ALMA laureates. Students and mentors read, discuss and write together, inspired by the brilliant authors and illustrators.

”One day I found a duck on our street.” “I´m playing basketball with the duck.” A student draws his own story inspired by 2013 ALMA laureate Isol’s book “It’s useful to have a duck.”

Is it possible for young children, adolescents and even adults to benefit from exploring the same books? We believe so, especially when a book is filled with so much beauty and various meanings as for example Shaun Tan´s ”The Red Tree”, one of many books chosen in different grades. At an evening occasion some of the staff at Hjulsta Elementary School gathered to interpret Kitty Crowthers works which resulted in quite vivid discussions. Pupils of all ages are thrilled with Isol´s ”It´s useful to have a duck”, spurring them to create similar books of their own.

All around Sweden there is an ongoing and intense progress of developing education in reading comprehension at all levels in the school system. Many are disappointed by the poor results in international surveys. Swedish students have not achieved as well as in previous years. Teachers from primary schools through university confirm decreasing abilities in literacy.

Besides supplementary training as well as teaching, many mentors participate in discussing and sharing ideas online. We hope that our project on the ALMA prize , published on our website, can be a part of the movement in improving the education tutoring required by Swedish students. By choosing and using ALMA literature we see a possibility to spread the word of these literary riches to other schools. We find the laureates somewhat neglected , not earning the attention they deserve, despite being awarded the world´s second largest literature prize.

Hopefully, our first year with the ALMA project is nothing but a first step towards a new tradition!

Cilla Dalén and Ulrika Lindmarker, Hjulsta grundskola
Katarina Lycken Rüter, Östra Reals gymnasium

2003 ALMA laureate Christine Nöstlinger’s protagonist Mini.

Books on loneliness and alienation huge trend

The Swedish Institute for Children’s Books state in a press release today that the gap between the number of Swedish and translated books has increased significantly, according to statistics for published books for children and young adults in Sweden 2013.

The publication of books by Swedish authors increases noticeably at the expense of the translated books, 59% were Swedish originals and only 41 % were translations.
Furthermore, the most noticeable trend for books published in Sweden during 2013 is loneliness and alienation. Åsa Warnqvist, researcher at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books:

Photo: SBI

– We were quite surprised when we noticed how many children and young people depicted as lonely and excluded. These are common themes, but in 2013 it seems to have exploded. It may have to do with the authors knowing what goes on in the public debates. Society is becoming more and more individualistic, whereas many reports are published about children who are doing poorly, social inequality and child poverty. (our transl.)

The Swedish Institute for Children’s Books is a public research library collecting and making literature for children and young people accessible. More about the institute here.

Conference on Children’s Culture

Workshop for Children during the 2011 Award week. Photo: Stefan Tell

Coming up on April 3-4: conference on Children’s Culture arranged by the Swedish Arts Council and centres for children’s culture in Sweden. For two days discussions on topics on children’s and youth culture of today are highlighted. Is the greatness of children’s culture a myth? What does it mean working strategically with children’s culture?

Among the speakers are Patrice Baldwin, former Director of the International Drama Theatre and Education Association, IDEA, Prof. Johan Söderman  from Malmö University and Prof. Karin Helander, Director of the Center of the Studies for Children’s Culture at Stockholm University.

The location is Umeå, this year’s European capital of culture. More information will follow shortly at the Swedish Arts Council’s web, link here.

Photo: Stefan Tell