Sweden

Materials from Sweden

Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Little Dog

Flicka, Ricka, Dicka were three little girls who lived in Sweden. They had blue eyes and yellow curls, and they looked very much alike. One rainy day, the girls found a wet little dog crying on their doorstep. They took him in and washed and fed him and wished out loud that they could keep him. But the next morning, Mother found a notice in the paper about a lost little dog. It looked as if their new friend already had an owner! The girls were very sad, but a wonderful surprise was just around corner.

Ellen’s Apple Tree

Ellen and her friend Ollie love the apple tree in Ellen’s yard. They play in the tree all year round. In the summer, it’s a perfect secret place and Ellen and Ollie can be apple tree spies. And in the fall, the apples taste delicious. But one winter night, a storm blows the tree down. Oh, how Ellen misses her wonderful apple tree! Ellen’s mama tells her that they can’t get a new tree until spring. It’s a long wait for Ellen and Ollie . . . Winsome watercolor illustrations accompany this sweet story about the natural cycle of a beloved apple tree.

Oink, Oink Benny

Benny is going out. He is tired of hanging around inside. Benny’s little brother is going out, too. He’s also sick of hanging around inside. “Stay away from the mudhole,” says Benny’s mama. “Oink, oink,” says Benny. Then Benny and his little brother head straight for the mudhole.

The Tomten and the Fox

A tomten agrees to share his porridge with a hungry fox who in turn must not disturb the farm animals.

Our Apple Tree

Here’s a whimsical and very useful look at the life cycle of the apple tree. With two helpful tree sprites as guides, readers travel from spring, when the apple tree blossoms, through summer, when the fruit grows, to fall and the harvest. Along the way, you’ll learn about the life of the tree and the animals that visit – from insects that pollinate the flowers to deer that eat the fallen fruit.

You & You & You

Anon is a twelve-year-old loner. Zarah is a beautiful seventeen-year-old caught up in a sexual relationship. Nils is a twenty-year-old college student searching for the meaning of life and death. Each character’s obsessive fantasy overwhelms their everyday lives.These three are catalysts in each others’ lives and when they finally meet, each begins to draw the others into the real world, but things are still left uncertain at the end of the novel.

The Queen’s Necklace: A Swedish Folktale

A cruel and greedy king prizes a pearl necklace above all, but the kind-hearted young woman who becomes his wife gives the pearls away one by one to help the poor.

A Bridge to the Stars

12-year-old Joel lives with his father in the cold northern part of Sweden. At night he often sneaks out of the house to look for a lonely dog he has seen from his window. On the bridge across the icy river he starts a secret society and has adventures. But one night he discovers that his father’s bed is also empty, and so he will have to come to terms with his father’s newfound love.

Shadows in the Twilight

Joel will soon be 12, and he thinks nothing is going on in the small community where he lives. But he’s wrong. One day, an incident that could easily have been a catastrophe turns into a miracle. Now Joel believes he owes the world a good deed, to prove that he deserved what might have been divine intervention. He thinks up an elaborate scheme, but it doesn’t go as anticipated. Even though his heart is in the right place, feelings are hurt. If he confesses what he’s done and why, will things be put right again?

Readers who met Joel Gustafson, his father, and their friends in A Bridge to the Stars will follow, with appreciation, Henning Mankell’s shrewd depiction, in this companion novel, of the surprising changes in Joel’s existence. Mankell deftly explores Joel’s self-discovery, his realization that lives can be altered in a single moment, and his new understanding that a choice between telling the truth and keeping silent can make all the difference.

Will Goes to the Post Office

Will’s uncle has sent him a mysterious and gigantic package! All Will’s friends help him to carry it home, and stay to find out what’s inside.