Swedish Children's Literature: Max

I realize that it is probably criminal to discuss the topic of Swedish children's literature and not to begin with Astrid Lindgren. I love Ms. Lindgren and will tackle that topic when I can give it the time and the attention it deserves. But my kid isn't quite at the Astrid Lindgren stage of development yet, so I have to stick to somewhat simpler pastures.

And so I have chosen Max. When Little Swede was born he received a few of these Max books as gifts. And since then has gotten a few more.  And slowly I began to see that the world of children's literature is somewhat different in Sweden than it is in the US. There is no poetry here. There is no 'let's learn about something' hiding in the background.

No. Max is a naughty little boy. Although the word naughty doesn't really work because he is 'busig' which is a fabulous Swedish word which means both positive and negative things.

In the books that we have Max does things like hit a duck in the face, try to sit his big dog on a tiny potty, take toys from his friends, and an assortment of not nice things to his rather large dog (this dog thing is the bit that worries me, since we have a rather large dog and I don't want Little Swede getting any ideas).

For the most part there are no real consequences for Max's bad behavior. In one instance I think he does get hit by another kid. In another one the dog kind of growls at him. But for the most part, Max gets what he wants, which is his pacifier, a cookie, a ball or a car.

The Max books are written by Barbro Lindgren and concluded with a book for grownups, which is written in a similar style, but includes Max getting married, growing old and dying.

It seems, despite his naughty nature, Max grows up to be a good little Swede. Which is really the point isn't it? Get out all the 'busig' when you are young, so you can follow the rules and understand them when you are old? Or am I missing it?

Ah well, here is a picture of Max dumping his potty on his dog's head. I hope Little Swede doesn't feel too inspired. At least the texts says 'Doggy sad.'

There Are No Pedophiles In Sweden – Or More Likely, Who Cares?

This summer, on my Ultimate Swedish Roadtrip, we've been hitting the beach. We've been hitting the beach on the 'West Side' in Bohus and south, we've been hitting the 'East Side' in Osterlen and then heading north. At the end of all this, I could write you quite a treatise on Swedish beachside towns.

But one of the things that I still sometimes makes my jaw drop a bit, beachside - but also makes me smile, because I think it is how it should be - all of those naked little kids running along the water's edge. And there are a lot of them. Little boys and little girls, diapers' stripped off, digging in the dirt.

The kids are little ones of about one, to bigger kids of about four or five.

When the girls get a little older, they run around in just a pair of bikini bottoms, no tops. Climibing in rocks, digging in the sand, kids being kids.

My first thought was, I admit, very American. 'What about all of the pedophiles?'

And then, I realized, it wasn't really a big deal at all. There was nothing here that could be exploited, the kids were just having a great time. Even if there were pedophiles lurking in the bushes, these kids were with their parents, playing and safe. They were getting a chance to be a kid and not have to worry about anything. And so, I watched as my Swede carried away my naked LO.

I watched them take a dip in the sea. And when I was done appreciating it, I also learned what a complete PITA it is to get rid of sand from all of those normally covered up areas.

Fun Swedish Names!

One of the big challenges when having a baby in a multicultural family is choosing names that aren't too hard to pronounce, don't have strange foreign meanings, and both parties seem to like.

In Sweden they have this crazy rule that you actually have to have your child's name approved by the government before it is official. While this might be good for preventing children ending up with urban legand names like Female or Shithead, the Swedish government has been a stickler, surprisingly, for things like 'gender appropriate' names (No girls named Michael or Billy – No boys named Sue).

That means fun Swedish names are not all that crazy, but they are still fun.

I still don't know why whenever I mention to a Swede my age that Kai is one of my all-time favorite Swedish male names, I get a giggle or a funny look. Whatever. Kai is an awesome name. But sadly it was not given the seal of approval by my Swede and thus there are no little Kais in our family.

My favorite baffling Swedish name is one of the few girls names on the list:

Lillemor – This name means 'Little Mother.' Now I realize it is a rather old-fashioned and outdated name that hasn't become popular again amongst all of the new little Signes and Beas and Ingas (yes, we know some baby Ingas) – but I cannot imagine anyone looking down at their brand new little baby girl and thinking 'I shall call her Little Mother.'

Other names I enjoy:

Björn: means Bear – not unheard of in the states, I met a few Björns there. My favorite moment in My Sweet Sixteen is where the boy named Björn insists on being called Bezhourn.

Knut: This means knot. I like it a lot. A boy named knot.

Karl: This means man. A strange name for a little baby – but Man? Why not? I really like the nickname for Karl – Kalle.

I know a lot of English names have fun and crazy meanings, but mostly the meanings are derived from other languages. The fun with these names is also that they are the words you use in every day language. If you have a knot in your shoelace you have a Knut in your shoelace.

It's a bit like Stone Phillips or Rock Hudson.

I'm sure there are more fun Swedish names. But I can't think of them at the moment. What are your favorites?