Lotta on Troublemaker Street

Lotta on Troublemaker Street (Swedish: Lotta på Bråkmakargatan; also known as The Children on Troublemaker Street) is a Swedish novel and picture book series by Rabén & Sjögren, which is written by Astrid Lindgren.

Lotta on Troublemaker Street
  • The Children on Troublemaker Street (1964)
  • Lotta on Troublemaker Street (1964)
  • Lotta’s Bike (1972)
  • Lotta’s Christmas Surprise (1978)
  • Lotta’s Easter Surprise (1991)

AuthorAstrid Lindgren
IllustratorIlon Wikland
Cover artistIlon Wikland
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish
GenreChildren
PublisherRabén & Sjögren (Sweden)
Macmillan (UK)
Aladdin Paperbacks (US)
Published1956 – 1990
Published in English1964 – 1991
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
No. of books5

Plot

Lotta is a little girl who is three years old at the beginning of the book series. She lives with her siblings Jonas and Mia Maria and her parents on Troublemaker Street. Lotta's next-door neighbor is an elderly woman who Lotta simply calls Aunt Berg. Lotta often visits her. One day, when Lotta has an argument with her mother because she does not want to wear her scratchy sweater, she even moves into Aunt Berg's attic. But she feels lonely in the attic, so she decides to come back home with her father, when he visits her. Lotta often plays with her siblings Mia Maria and Jonas, but does not always want to follow their rules, so the games often end abruptly.

Background

The stories about Lotta take place in the late 1950s.[1] The illustrations were made by Ilon Wikland.[2] The role model for her illustrations of Lotta was her own daughter Anna.[3]

Lotta's house in the theme park Astrid Lindgren's World.

In the theme park Astrid Lindgren's World, some locations of the books can be visited.[4][5]

Characters

Figure Description
LottaLotta is a three to five-year-old girl who does a lot of nonsense and is very stubborn.
Mia MariaMia Maria is Lotta's big sister. Many of the stories are narrated by her.
JonasJonas is Lotta and Mia Maria's older brother, who plays a lot with Mia Maria.
Otto "Totte"Totte is Lotta's cousin of the same age. Lotta enjoys teasing and hitting him because she says he's "so cute when he cries."
StefanStefan is Lotta's dad, whom she adores.
DorisDoris is Lotta's mother, who often has to take action when Lotta has done something wrong.
Aunt BergAunt Berg is the friendly neighbor of Lotta and her family
ScottyScotty is Aunt Berg's dog.
TeddyTeddy is Lotta's big pink stuffed pig, which she takes everywhere.
Anna KlaraAnna-Klara is the cousin of Lotta and her siblings. She is strong and adventurous.
MaikenMaiken is the maid of Lotta's grandparents.

Works

Title (Individual novel) Alternative Titles Original Title Original Release English Release Notes
The Children on Troublemaker Street Lotta, Lotta Says No!, Mischievous Martens Barnen på Bråkmakargatan 1956 1964 Novel
Lotta on Troublemaker Street Lotta Leaves Home, Lotta Makes a Mess Lotta på Bråkmakargatan 1961 1964 Novel
Lotta’s Christmas Surprise Of Course Polly Can Do Almost Anything Visst kan Lotta nästan allting 1965 1978 Picture book
Lotta’s Bike Of Course Polly Can Ride a Bike Visst kan Lotta cykla 1971 1972 Picture book
Lotta’s Easter Surprise Visst är Lotta en glad unge 1990 1991 Picture book

Films about The Children on Troublemaker Street

Year Title Director Country References
1992 Lotta på Bråkmakargatan Johanna Hald Sweden [6]
1992 Lotta flyttar hemifrån Johanna Hald Sweden [6]

In the early 1990s two films were made about the life of Lotta and her siblings.[7]

The script was written by Johanna Hald and Astrid Lindgren. Astrid Lindgren had a major influence on the script for the films. However, she was not present during the filming. The leading actress Grete Havnesköld was chosen by the director Johanna Hald. Hald had originally intended to make a movie about Lindgren's picture book The Day Adam Got Mad. She had already written the script for it, but Lindgren did not think the script was good enough and turned it down. In return, Hald was allowed to shoot the films about Lotta.[8]

Reception

Maria Hunstig of the Vogue magazine describes Lotta as her heroine. She praises Lotta’s healthy self-confidence and her 'I can do anything' attitude, which makes Lotta far ahead of the common image of girls of the late 1950s. Lotta still works as a clever role model today.[9]

Christina Steinlein from Focus praises the picture book Lotta’s Bike. She believes that the story is told with a lot of humor, is illustrated in a wonderfully non-teaching way and belongs on the children's bookshelf..[10]

Ingrid Löbner advises parents in her guidebook Gelassene Eltern-Glückliche Kinder: Mit mehr Leichtigkeit und Entspanntheit durch die ersten sechs Lebensjahre to look at Astrid Lindgren's picture book Lotta’s Christmas Surprise in order to be able to empathize with how four-year-old children feel, how they see the world, what thoughts they have and what activities they are already capable of. [11] Gabriele Cromme adds that the picture book contradicts the traditional understanding of the roles of girls and boys. Boys are perceived as "active and adventurous" and girls as "passive and immobile". Lotta is "active and adventurous".[12]

References

  1. "Auftakt mit Lotta aus der Krachmacherstraße und Lotta zieht um". volksstimme.de.
  2. Silver Tambur (5 February 2023). "Ilon Wikland is in the hearts of Estonians". estonianworld.com.
  3. Eva-Maria Magel. "Wie Lotta ihre Schleife verlor". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  4. APA. "Astrid-Lindgren-Welt legt Berufung gegen Corona-Regelauslegung ein. Schwedischer Freizeitpark hat nach knapp einer Woche wieder schließen müssen". Der Standard.
  5. Bettina Hensel (25 June 2012). "Astrid Lindgrens Schweden". Der Spiegel.
  6. Linda Skugge. "Den explosiva Lotta på Bråkmakargatan". Expressen.
  7. Katharina Kaufmann-Hirsch. "10 Astrid-Lindgren-Bücher, die jeder kennen sollte". Oberhessische Presse.
  8. Gudrun Lukasz-Aden. ""Ich fragte mich, muss es denn so niedlich sein?"". Kinder- und Jugendfilm Korrespondenz.
  9. Maria Hunstig (3 April 2020). "Die Kinder aus der Krachmacherstraße/Lotta zieht um von Astrid Lindgren". Vogue.
  10. Christina Steinlein. "Kennen Sie diese Klassiker? 10 Bücher, die Sie Ihrem Kind unbedingt vorlesen müssen". Focus.
  11. Ingrid Löbner: Gelassene Eltern-Glückliche Kinder: Mit mehr Leichtigkeit und Entspanntheit durch die ersten sechs Lebensjahre, ISBN 978-3-903072-27-5, 2016, P. 16
  12. Gabriele Cromme: Astrid Lindgren und die Autarkie der Weiblichkeit: literarische Darstellung von Frauen und Mädchen in ihrem Gesamtwerk, ISBN 9783860644089, Kovač, 1996, P. 85–88
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