We children from Bullerbü
Wir Kinder aus Bullerbü is a series of children's books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren , which describes the idyllic life in the country from the perspective of a seven-year-old girl.
Books
| characters | |
|---|---|
| Central courtyard | |
| father | |
| mother | |
| Lasse, 9 years | |
| Bosses, 8 years | |
| Lisa, 7 years | |
| Agda, maid | |
| Oskar, servant | |
| Südhof | |
| Ole, 8 years | |
| Kerstin, baby | |
| Lisa, mother | |
| Nils, father | |
| North courtyard | |
| Anders Johann Andersson, grandfather | |
| Erik, father | |
| Greta, mother | |
| Britta, 9 years | |
| Inga, 7 years | |
| Kalle, servant |
The experiences in Bullerbü are presented in three books:
- Wir Kinder aus Bullerbü , original Swedish title: Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn (1947; translated 1955 by Else von Hollander-Lossow )
- More from us children from Bullerbü , original Swedish title: Mera om oss barn i Bullerbyn (1949; translated 1955 by Karl Kurt Peters)
- Always funny in Bullerbü , original Swedish title: Bara roligt i Bullerbyn (1952; translated 1956 by Karl Kurt Peters)
Three picture books are also located in Bullerbü:
- Christmas in Bullerbü , original Swedish title: Jul i Bullerbyn (1963; translated 1963 by Silke von Hacht)
- Funny Bullerbü , Swedish original title: Vår i Bullerbyn (literally "Spring in Bullerbü", 1965; translated in 1965 by Silke von Hacht)
- Children's day in Bullerbü , original Swedish title: Barnens dag i Bullerbyn (1966; translated 1967 by Silke von Hacht)
content
The narrator, seven-year-old Lisa, describes her life and adventures in the fictional little village of Bullerbü (Swedish: Bullerbyn ). In Lindgren's stories, the village consists of only three farms , in which a total of seven children live with their parents, their servants and a grandfather: Lisa with her older brothers Lasse and Bosse, who live in the middle courtyard; the two sisters Britta and Inga (the latter is called Anna in the Swedish original) from the Nordhof as well as Ole (in the original Olle) and little Kerstin from the Südhof. The different stories take place in a child-like, transfigured world, in which life on a farm is presented in an idyllic way, which is also expressed linguistically by phrases such as “Oh, how beautiful it was”. Nevertheless, the presentation is realistic and it is not embellished; poverty, as expressed by tramps and rag collectors, is also mentioned. The stories are more or less about "everyday adventures" such as birthdays, Christmas, excursions into nature. Apart from minor conflicts between the boys and the girls that are typical of their age, the children play with each other in a harmonious and natural way. The period of action should roughly coincide with the author's youth, which would result in 1915. The village school, a teacher who lives in the school building, and the lack of automobiles indicate this. (An exception is the posh city dweller, who appears briefly in a car at the three courtyards at the beginning of Always funny in Bullerbü with her daughter Monika). At the same time, the figure of the blind grandfather occasionally evokes an even harder earlier period.
Characters
Lisa: Lisa is seven years old and lives in the middle courtyard. She tells the story from a first-person perspective. When the children aren't all doing something together, she usually plays with Britta and Inga or just with Inga alone. She has no sisters, which she finds a shame. As the only girl with two older brothers in the middle courtyard, she has mixed feelings about them. On the one hand, she likes to play with her brothers, on the other hand, they also tease Lisa and are often mean to her. She loves her life in Bullerbü, while she feels sorry for all people who do not live there. Later in the act, she is given her own lamb, which she calls Pontus, after its mother couldn't feed it properly
Lasse: Lasse is nine years old and lives in the middle courtyard. He and Britta are the oldest children in Bullerbü. Lasse often does something with his brother Bosse and Ole while he is dismissive of the girls. Most of the time, they play together at the end of the respective plot. Due to his physical superiority, he is almost always the leader of the respective group and determines what is done. Often these are his own ideas, but he also allows other children's ideas if he likes them. He loves to play pranks on the other children, especially the girls, or to scare them, which doesn't always work. It is not uncommon for him to come up with quite creative and sophisticated ideas. He also likes to tell (supposedly true) stories, although it is not clear whether he is aware of the untruth of some of these narratives. However, he also tends to be arrogant and careless towards girls, which occasionally puts himself and others in serious danger.
Bosse is eight years old and Lasse's younger brother. The two share a room in the central courtyard. They do almost everything together. He seems a little more reserved towards Lasse and is therefore often based on his older brother. He loves birds and has a collection of various bird eggs. He also has his own hen called Albertina.
Ole: Ole is eight years old and initially lives as an only child on the Südhof. Later in the story, his sister Kerstin is born. He usually does something with Lasse and Bosse, but is less dismissive towards the girls. He loves his sister more than anything and takes sides for her in every situation. He is also very fond of animals and has a dog named Swipp, which he bought from the shoemaker after he was injured.
Kerstin: Kerstin is born in the later part of the plot. In the book she is consistently in toddler age and cannot yet speak, which is why she is sometimes referred to as the six and a half child of Bullerbü.
Inga: Like Lisa, Inga is seven years old and lives on the Nordhof. She is Lisa's best friend, which is why they do almost everything together. She and her sister Britta have a grandfather who also lives on the Nordhof. He is called that by all children.
Britta: Britta lives with Inga on the north courtyard. Like Lasse, she is nine years old. She seems to be the most mature of all the children in Bullerbü. She's also the only one who regularly equals Lasse, both verbally and mentally, so she occasionally sees through his pranks.
background
Bullerbyn is drawn from the Swedish town of Sevedstorp (located near Vimmerby , in whose district of Näs Astrid Lindgren was born). In Sevedstorp, where her father's family comes from, the three houses that provided the archetype for the three farms still stand today.
Much of the books are inspired by Lindgren's own childhood. For example, the rat farm that Lasse once built from an old barrel was also set up by Lindgren's older brother Gunnar. And it didn't last a night in the real original either. In general, Lindgren's older brother was a role model for the character of Lasse.
Impact history
The idyllic (Swedish) image of Bullerbü, especially in Germany, was also reflected in the term Bullerbü syndrome , which, through Astrid Lindgren's novels and stories, romanticized perception of Sweden as an idealized country of intact nature and a carefree childhood.
Film adaptations
- 1960: The children of Bullerbü , TV series; Director: Olle Hellbom (later edited into two films A reunion on Bullerbü The children of Bullerbü )
- 1986/1987: We children from Bullerbü , film; Director: Lasse Hallström , with Linda Bergström (Lisa), Anna Sahlin (Anna / Inga), Ellen Demérus (Britta), Henrik Larsson (Bosse), Harald Lönnbro (Ole), Crispin Dickson (Lasse) and Tove Edfeldt (Kerstin) / Ingwar Svensson (Mittelhof-Anders)
- 1987: News from us children from Bullerbü
Audio books
- Stories from Bullerbü , read by Manfred Steffen. Contains the stories: Children's Day in Bullerbü; Funny Bullerby; Christmas in Bullerbü. 1 CD. Oetinger Audio. Unabridged reading. ISBN 9783837304244
- We children from Bullerbü , read by Laura Maire. 2 CDs. Oetinger Audio. Unabridged reading. ISBN 9783837309188
- More of us children from Bullerbü , read by Laura Maire. 2 CDs. Oetinger Audio. Unabridged reading. ISBN 9783837311051