Sweden recommends:


Astrid Lindgren – not only a famous author


Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) is best known as the uncrowned queen of children’s book with classic books  like Pippi Longstocking, Emil from Lönneberga and Karlsson on the Roof to name just a few.

Not only did she write books for children, she was also a strong voice for children’s rights and objected to parental violence being used as a means of punishing children if they had done something wrong.

In 1978, when she was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Association of Booksellers, she took the opportunity to advocate strongly against corporal punishment in her famous acceptance speech called “Niemals Gewalt”.  The Prize committee first urged her to give another, less controversial speech, but she threatened to refuse accepting the award if they didn’t let her give the speech she wanted. In the 1970s, parents in many European countries including Germany and Sweden were still allowed to beat their children, so the topic was quite controversial. But her speech began changing the attitude.

Parts of her speech can be heard here (Astrid Lindgren spoke excellent German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqnFPrQ3uyI

And here is the translation into English of the full speech: 
https://www.swedishbookreview.com/article-2007-2-never-violence.asp

More recommendations from us in the pipeline

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