Elsa Beskow
Agent
Madelene Hovstadius
Agent
Madelene Hovstadius
Agent
Madelene Hovstadius
Agent
Madelene Hovstadius
Category: Children
Elsa Beskow
Elsa was born on February 11, 1874 in Maria Parish on Stockholm’s south side. But winter-girl Elsa was a summer child at heart. And it’s that time of year that she mainly writes about in her books. She once wrote: “Why must there always be pictures of winter? It’s much more fun to see pictures of summer during the winter.”
Her own summer paradise was called Skärfsta, a farm next to Lake Uttran in Sörmland. She spent her childhood summers there with her mother Augusta, her father Bernt, her four younger sisters and her older brother. Her father came from Norway and the family name was Maartman. Bernt Maartman was forceful and outgoing, full of good-natured pranks. He was the laughter and the fun in life and Elsa loved him dearly. When she was 15, her father came down with pneumonia died suddenly, leaving her mother alone with six children. The financial situation was in ruins and Augusta Maartman had no way of taking care of the family on her own. She therefore moved in with three unmarried younger siblings who already lived collectively on Storgatan in Stockholm.
Augusta sent her son Hans to Eskilstuna, where one of Augusta’s older brothers lived, but the five girls went with their mother. So Elsa grew up with her mother, her Aunts Amalia and Berta and her Uncle Eugene. Four adults, three women and one man, created a home for a few children. And that’s where we find the true archetypes for Aunt Green, Aunt Brown, Aunt Lavender and Uncle Blue.
Books by Elsa Beskow published by Bonnier
Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman
The Tale of the Little, Little Old Woman, 1897
Barnen på Solbacka, 1898
Puttes äventyr i blåbärsskogen
Peter in Blueberry Land, 1901
Blommornas bok (text: Jeanna Oterdahl), 1905
Gnällmåns, 1905
Olles skidfärd
Ollie’s Ski Trip, 1907
Tummelisa
Thumbelina (text: H C Andersen), 1908
Tomtebobarnen
Children of the Forest, 1910
Pelles nya kläder
Pelle’s New Suit, 1912
Blomsterfesten i täppan
The Flowers’ Festival, 1914
Sagobok, 1915
Görans bok, 1916
Tant Grön, Tant Brun och Tant Gredelin
Aunt Green Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender 1918
Muntergök, Sagobok, 1919
Lasse-liten i trädgården
Christopher’s Harvest Time, 1920
Bubbelemuck och andra sagor, Sagobok, 1921
Lillebrors segelfärd, 1921
Borgmästar Munte, 1922
Sagan om den lilla hinden, 1924
Tant Bruns födelsedag
Aunt Brown’s Birthday, 1925
Årets saga
Around the Year, 1927
Petters och Lotta på äventyr
Peter and Lotta’s Adventure, 1929
Hattstugan
Hat-house, 1930
Solägget
The Sun Egg, 1932
Landet Långthärifrån, 1932
Sagan om den nyfikna abborren, 1933
Sessalätts äventyr, 1934
Ocke, Nutta och Pillerill
Woody, Hazel and Little Pip, 1939
Duktiga Annika, 1941
Farbror Blås nya båt
Uncle Blue’s New Boat, 1942
ABC-resan, 1945
Petters och Lottas jul
Peter and Lotta’s Christmas, 1947
Herr Peter
Peter’s Old House, 1949
Röda bussen och gröna bilen, 1952
Books by Elsa Beskow
Woody, Hazel and Little Pip
Elsa Beskow
This delightful autumn story describes the woodland adventures of two acorn children who get carried away by the blustery autumn wind. Mr Squirrel and Hazel, the youngest Hazelnut child, go off in search of them and encounter a grumpy troll and the C…
Princess Sylvie
Elsa Beskow
Princess Sylvie persuades her father, the king, to leave the palace gardens and walk in the woods. The king is unsure. What might be in the woods? Then Sylvie’s dog Oskar runs off after a long-eared hare and Sylvie’s adventures begin. This is a delig…
Pelle’s New Suit
Elsa Beskow
Pelle has a lamb whose coat grows longer and longer, while Pelle’s Sunday suit grows shorter! Pelle shears the lamb, and the wool is carded, spun, dyed and woven. Finally, the tailor makes a new suit for Pelle.
