Missing Page type: KR - Artikelsida

"I've never been so happy as when I was I child, but never so unhappy either," said Christine Nöstlinger when she received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial award in Stockholm 2003.

She was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1936, troubled times. The fascists ruled and Hitler invaded the country when Christine was 2 years old. Her mother was a nursery school teacher and her father an unemployed watchmaker who took care of Christine until he was forced to leave the family home to become a soldier. The most important person in Christine's life, he was away for six years, and his absence left a deep impression on her. The family often had to take shelter down in the cellar to wait for the all-clear siren and the enemy planes to fly off. Twice their building was hit by bombs, and on one occasion they had to be dug out of the rubble.

Vienna was liberated when Christine Nöstlinger was 9, and her father came back from the war. She has written about this period in two books, Fly Away Home and Two Weeks in May. When she left school she went to art college, but didn't think she was good enough to be an artist. She left, got a job in an office, then got married, had two children and became a housewife. It was then that she began to write children's books. Her first, Fiery Frederica, was an instant hit, and since then she has written lots of books in different styles: easy readers for children who have just started to read, picture books (such as the wonderful life of Toman), humorous chapter books (such as The Cucumber King), and novels for young adults. All of them are funny and cutting, and her children are often as smart as their parents or teachers, something she has been criticised for in her home country.

She herself has said that the story is not the most important part of any book:
"…it's the language! Language can drive you to laughter or tears, language can comfort, can caress,
can give the feeling of security, can make you feel free as if you are in a balloon."
Fortunately for all of us, her own stories also happen to be very good indeed.

Books to read by Christine Nöstlinger

Books about Franz

Franz is six years old and small for his age. He also has curly hair and a high-pitched voice, and everyone thinks he's a girl. Once when a boy of his own age doesn't believe he's a boy, Franz pulls down his trousers to prove it. Just at that moment a neighbour comes out of her house and gets very angry. People often get mad with Franz for the silly things he does, but he never means to be naughty. He's simply full of energy and ideas.
There are more than ten books about Franz. The storylines include him falling in love, learning to read and getting a dog.
All of them are in large print, have lots of pictures and are easy and fun to read.

Mini is best

Mini has just started school and is the tallest in her class. Her best friend Maxi is the shortest, and they're a little envious of each other. Mini would like to be best at something, but she's not best at singing, swimming, playing the piano or painting. She tries to be best at counting, but nobody seems to notice.
Finally she finds something that everyone admires her for.
Mini has a brother who can be quite hopeless and parents who are like most parents, sometimes useless, sometimes understanding. It's fun to read about their family life.

There are several books about Mini. They have lots of pictures drawn by Christine Nöstlinger herself and are all easy to read.

The Factory Made Boy

Mrs Bartolotti loves to buy things via mail order, and when she gets a jam jar through the post, she's not as surprised as you might think to find that it contains a living child. His name is Conrad, and it says on the label that as well as normal care and attention, he also need appreciation.
Mrs Bartolotti is a very bohemian woman whose life and house are rather muddled. And Conrad is an extremely sensible child who has learnt everything about how to behave. This role reversal produces lots of amusing incidents. But the two of them learn to like each other and to live together, so much so that when a letter arrives saying that Conrad had been sent to the wrong address, they are both very upset. How will they ever manage to sort out such a tricky situation?