The Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature and Theater

Many people in Britain and the USA will have some familiarity with the works of Scandinavian authors. Their knowledge may have begun in childhood with Norse mythology and the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, followed perhaps by translations of the stories of Tove Jansson concerning the Moomin trolls of Moomin Valley, Selma Lagerlöf's The Adventures of Nils, and Astrid Lindgren's tales of Pippi Longstocking, all still available to children today and all covered in Sjåvik's dictionary. He points out that the “worldwide reputation” of Scandinavian children's literature is due to the popularity of these writers (p. 36).

The works...