Beautiful Books: Du är inte klok Madicken

 

Madicken (or Madita as we say in my country) was my favourite children's book growing up, and is still amongst my most beloved. The plot is set around two sisters, seven year old Madita and five year old Lisabet Engström, living with their parents and a housemaid (Alva) in the 1910's in the suburbs of a Swedish town. It is one of Astrid Lindgren's most charming books, celebrating a carefree childhood.

The Engström family is middle class. They live in a manor called "June Hill", are well dressed and -mannered and have a good standing with the mayor's family (whom they don't necessarily see eye to eye with). Jonas, the father, works as senior editor at the local newspaper, has a bit of a sarcastic streak and is involved in communal charity work. Kajsa is a very elegant stay at home mum as accustomed in these days. Madita's best friend, next to her classmate (and former nemesis) Mia, is the 14 year old Abbe Nilsson who lives across the river with his parents. They are a working class family and from them, Madita learns what it is like to live without the privileges that come with having money. She enjoys the Nilsson's company and different lifestyle enormously (and secretly wishes to marry Abbe, who's taking her on adventurous undertakings every once in a while and is the best storyteller in the world.)

The story features a wide variety of people and social situations Madita is learning from. And the child-reader is learning along with her. Astrid Lindgren never shakes a monitory finger though, the "lessons" come along naturally, side by side with climbing up the woodshed roof, telling off the schoolmaster, meeting ghosts in the washhouse, hearing about trolls in the woods or welcoming a new sibling at christmas. The book is completed with illustrations by Ilon Wikland, one of the finest artists I've encountered, with great attention to detail.
If you're fortunate to have had a (mostly) easygoing childhood, you will recognize a great deal of your own story within the book. I'm very happy to say, I do. And reading it, I feel like being seven again.