 | |
| Author | Astrid Lindgren |
|---|---|
| Original title | I Skymningslandet |
| Illustrator | Marit Törnqvist |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Genre | Children's literature, fantasy |
| Publisher | Rabén & Sjögren |
Publication date | 1994 |
Published in English | 2012 |
In the Land of Twilight (original title: I Skymningslandet) is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren.
Göran has a sick leg. Since a year, he has to stay in bed. One night he hears that his parents say that he will never be able to walk again. Göran is desperate, but that very evening he is visited by Mr. Lilyvale from the land of twilight. Mr. Lilyvale flies with Göran to his land. There Göran eats candy that grows on trees, drives a tram, visits the king, dances and sings. Then Mr. Lilyvale brings Göran home. Göran is no longer sad about his sick leg. Because every evening at dawn Mr. Lilyvale comes back and brings Göran to the land of twilight where Göran is able to fly.
Mr. Lilyvale (Swedish: Herr Liljonkvast) was a fantasy friend of Lindgren's daughter Karin. As a small flying old man, he visited her in her room in the evening. Lindgren's daughter explained that Mr. Lilyvale could not be seen by anyone else because he flew away and hid as soon as someone entered the room. Mr. Lilyvale is a more pleasant and friendly predecessor of Karlsson-on-the-Roof, [1] into whom Mr. Lilyvale later turned, according to Astrid Lindgren. [2]
The story takes place in locations near Astrid Lindgren's apartment at Dalagatan 46 in Stockholm. In front of the Odenplan metro station on the north side of Odengatan there is a row of houses in which the fairy tale begins. From there, the protagonists move across Stockholm. They can see the old town including the entertainment island of Djurgården, the Klara quarters, the Kronobergsparken, the museum Skansen, and they visit the island of Stadsholmen with the royal castle. [3]
Although it is never mentioned directly, the Land of Twilight has all features of the afterlife world: it is inhabited by elderly people, or people wearing old-fashioned costumes; only rarely can Göran see children, including a girl with a kind face who he knew in the primary school, but Mr. Lilyvale mentions that she has long been in the Land of Twilight.
In the Land of Twilight was first published in 1948 in the Swedish magazine Vi. Later it was published in the fairy tale collection Nils Karlsson Pyssling in 1949. In 1950 Astrid Lindgren was awarded the Nils Holgersson Plaque for this book. [4] In 1994 it was published in Sweden as a picture book. In 2012 this picture book was translated into English.
Silke Schnettler from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praises book. She believes that text and images complement each other in a unique way. Schnettler thinks that the story is deeply sad on the one hand. On the other hand, it gives consolation. With the power of his imagination, the boy can free himself from the oppressive reality. [5]
The Focus lists In the Land of Twilight among the best seven books for young readers. The magazine describes the book as one of the most beautiful dream stories of Astrid Lindgren, also calling it enchanting. [6]
When Lindgren biographer Birgit Dankert was asked by Die Zeit about her favorite scene in Lindgren's books, she mentioned a scene from In the Land of Twilight. In this scene, Mr. Lilyvale replies to all of Göran's fears and concerns with the soothing sentence ".. does not matter in the land of twilight". Even when both fly over Stockholm and Göran is afraid because he thinks that he is not able to do anything at all, the reassuring sentence "Nothing matters" was mentioned. Then Dankert takes a deep breath. [7]
The book is recommended by organizations of nursing help (Superhands of the Johanniter [8] ), palliative medicine or hospices (Palliativzentrum Unna, [9] Kinder- und Jugendhospiz Regenbogenland [10] ).
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children, and for the children's fantasy novels Mio, My Son; Ronia the Robber's Daughter; and The Brothers Lionheart. Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author. Lindgren had by 2010 sold roughly 167 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality." Her opposition to corporal punishment of children resulted in the world's first law on the matter in 1979, while her campaigning for animal welfare led to a new law, Lex Lindgren, in time for her 80th birthday.
Karlsson-on-the-Roof is a character who features in a series of children's books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Lindgren may have borrowed the idea for the series from a similar story about Mr. O'Malley in the comic strip Barnaby (1942) by Crockett Johnson.
Most Beloved Sister is a 1949 children's book by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. It was originally included in the collection Nils Karlsson-Pyssling: sagor, then re-released in 1973 with illustrations by Hans Arnold.
Wolf Erlbruch was a German illustrator and writer of children's books, who became professor at several universities. He combined various techniques for the artwork in his books, including cutting and pasting, drawing, and painting. His style was sometimes surrealist and is widely copied inside and outside Germany. Some of his storybooks have challenging themes such as death and the meaning of life. They won many awards, including the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1993 and 2003. Erlbruch received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2006 for his "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator. In 2017, he was the first German to win the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Per Staffan Götestam is a Swedish actor, director, theatre chief, playwright and founder of Junibacken. He is best known as Jonatan in The Brothers Lionheart. He is brother to Birgitta Götestam. Götestam started playing amateur theatre with Örebro Student Theatre. He was educated at Skara skolscen and Statens scenskola, Stockholm. He played a role in the musical Godspell, in 1974.
Anna Riwkin-Brick or just Anna Riwkin was a Russian-born Swedish photographer.
"Traum durch die Dämmerung", is both a German poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum and a Lied by Richard Strauss, his Op. 29/1. The opening line is "Weite Wiesen im Dämmergrau". It is the first of three songs by Strauss based on love poems by Bierbaum, composed and published in Munich in 1895, and dedicated to Eugen Gura. The works were scored for medium voice and piano, and published by Universal Edition as 3 Lieder mit Klavierbegleitung, later with English versions and orchestral arrangements.
Kati is a Swedish novel series by Astrid Lindgren. It tells the story of Kati, who travels, first to America, then to Italy and Paris. The novels were translated into many languages including English, German, Spanish, French and Russian.
Marit Törnqvist is a Swedish-Dutch author, artist and illustrator. She was best known for her illustrations in the books of Astrid Lindgren.
The following is a list of books published by Astrid Lindgren, a Swedish author of children's fiction.
My Swedish Cousins is the title of a book by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren, with photos by Anna Riwkin-Brick. In 1959 the book was published by Rabén & Sjögren.
War Diaries, 1939–1945 is a book written by Astrid Lindgren. It contains the diary entries that Lindgren made during the Second World War. The book has been translated into many different languages including German and English.
The Red Bird is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren.
Mirabelle is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren.
If I were God is a poem written by Astrid Lindgren.
Min ko vill ha roligt is a book written by Astrid Lindgren and Kristina Forslund. It contains all articles concerning animal protection and mass production that Lindgren and Forslund wrote in the Swedish magazines Expressen and Dagens Nyheter from 1985 to 1989. Their activities led to a new Swedish law which was later called Lex Lindgren and was announced at Lindgren's 80th birthday.
Astrid Lindgren's plays are a number of theater plays written by Astrid Lindgren in the 1940s to 1970s. Part of the plays are based on her books, other stories were only written for theater. Since almost all of Astrid Lindgren's works have been staged for theater, this page only deals with the plays, whose scripts were written by Astrid Lindgren. Many of these works were published in the Swedish books Sex Pjäser för barn och ungdom (1950), Serverat, Ers Majestät! (1955) and Praeser för barn och ungdom. Other Samlingen (1968). Most of these works have not been translated into English. These include stories about well-known characters such as Kalle Blomquist or Pippi Longstocking, which were only written for the theater and were not published as prose.
Now That Night Is Near is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren and illustrated by Marit Törnqvist. It includes Lindgren's song of the same name.
Teacher's First Born is a 1950 Swedish comedy film directed by Schamyl Bauman and starring Sickan Carlsson, Edvin Adolphson and Viveca Serlachius. It was shot at the Centrumateljéerna Studios in Stockholm. The film's sets were designed by the art director Bibi Lindström.
