books for young adults. The historical novel was revitalised by Torill Hauger (b.1943):
the Viking Age is one of her specialities. Most prominent in children’s poetry is Einar
Økland (b.1940), who has experimented with free verse. Picture books, an expanding
field in the 1980s, have equally developed a poetical kind of narrative. Books by Fam
Ekman (b.1946) and Wenche Øyen (b.1946) have won international recognition.
Children’s literature in the 1980s has been described as an area where authors can
find linguistic and generic challenges. Significantly, one of the most prominent names in
modern children’s literature has rejected the tradition of ‘crop-rotation’. Tormod Haugen
(b.1945), author of books both in the realistic and the fantastic mode, has declared that
he deliberately writes for young readers. Among the highlights are the novels Dagen som
försvann [The Lost Day] (1983) and Vinterstedet [The Winter Residence] (1984).
Haugen’s blend of different genres and his deliberate experiments with various narrative
techniques has made him a children’s postmodernist. His sensitive exploration of
childhood, Skriket fra jungelen [The Cry from the Jungle*] (1989), was awarded the
H.C.Andersen medal in 1990.
SwedenThe history of Swedish children’s books began with an adaptation of a German homily
on maidenhood for young women, En sköön och härligh jungfrw speghel [A Pretty and
Splendid Maiden’s Mirror] (1591). A children’s magazine appeared as early as 1766. The
teachers of the future Gustavus III wrote fables, and Carl Gustaf Tessin’s witty
collections of letters (1751), dedicated to the crown-prince, became important for a
literature of Swedish origin. An English version, Letters from an Old Man to a Young
Prince, was published in 1756. During the Romantic period German cultural life became
highly influential. Collections of folk-tales and songs were made in the 1830s and
1840s. The first classic is Lille Viggs äfventyr på julafton [The Adventures of Little Vigg
on Christmas Eve] (1871) by Viktor Rydberg (1828–1895), an ambiguous dream
narrative about a boy’s moral growth. The picture book began to develop in the 1880s,
partly as a reaction against the import of mass-produced illustrations. The aim was to
depict children in settings that were recognisably Swedish, and the texts were borrowed
from Swedish folklore. Female artists like Jenny Nyström (1854–1946), with
Barnkammarens bok [The Nursery Book] (1882) and Svenska barnboken [The Swedish
Children’s Book] (1886) led the way, but with the debut of Elsa Beskow (1874–1953) in
1897 a new picture book era began. Beskow wrote thirty books over fifty-five years,
which are still in print. Her texts and pictures reveal a strong affection for children and
family, but adult authority is seldom questioned. The forest became an important
setting, as in Puttes äfventyr i blåbärsskogen [Peter in Blueberry Land] (1901) and
Tomtebobarnen [The Little Elves of Elf Nook] (1910). The plots may well be fantastic,
but the depictions of nature are always botanically accurate. The five books about Aunt
Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender (1918–1947) present a collective of females and
broadens the conventional family perspective. One classic is also Kattresan [The Cat
Journey] (1909) by Ivar Arosenius.
In 1900, when Ellen Key issued her internationally influential appeal Barnets
Århundrade [The Century of the Child] the modern child-oriented era began. Teachers
698 THE WORLD OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE