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帽子小屋的孩子们：瑞典宝藏作家艾莎·贝斯蔻画给孩子的行为课，培养孩子的行动力！
Swedish
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1930
43 people want to read
About the author
Elsa Beskow
110 books173 followers"Så långt jag minns tillbaka brukade vi syskon, liksom nästan alla barn, tycka mycket om att rita. Jag var bara sex år då jag hade klart för mig, att jag helst av allt ville lära mig rita, när jag blev stor, och allra helst rita i sagoböcker. Min bror och jag brukade ofta sitta och rita tillsammans. Han ritade vikingafejder och grekiska hjältestrider, medan jag ritade barn och stugor och landskap. Hans ritningar var säkert mycket bättre än mina. Jag kommer ihåg att jag beundrade dem mycket, fast jag nog tyckte att hans hjältar hade väl korta ben." Så berättar Elsa Beskow om sin barndom "När jag var liten" publicerad första gången i Barnbiblioteket Saga nr 35 (texten ovan tagen ur Solägget 1986) I samma berättelse skriver Elsa Beskow om hur roligt det var att gå i skolan och få lära sig läsa, hennes favoritbok var en tjock Topeliusbok som hon släpade med sig överallt och läste högt ur för sina syskon.
Redan som liten satte hon ihop långa sagor som hon berättade för sin ett år äldre bror, "Vanligen gick det till så, att han släpade mig med sig till en vrå, satte sig själv i vägen för mig, så att jag ej kunde rymma, och befallde: berätta nu! Och jag pladdrade på så gott jag kunde. Ibland tappade jag alldeles tråden i berättelsen och frågade honom bekymrad: 'Vad menar jag, Hans?' 'Kanske menar Elsa så…' föreslog han helt beredvilligt, och så fortgick berättelsen."
Elsa Beskow föddes 1874 på Söder i Stockholm. Hennes familj bestod av mor och far, fyra systrar och en bror. När Elsa Beskow var 15 år dog hennes far och modern blev ensam med barnen. Familjen flyttade till moderns ogifta yngre syskon som bodde tillsammans. Mostrarna och morbrodern blev verklighetens förebilder till Tant Grön, Tant Brun, Tant Gredelin och Farbror Blå.
Under åren 1892-95 utbildade sig Elsa Beskow till teckningslärare vid Tekniska skolan, det var också då som hon började att teckna för barn. 1897 gifte hon sig med Natanael Beskow, präst och konstnär. Paret fick sex söner, vilka många gånger kom att stå modell för barnen i hennes berättelser och sagor. Deras hus och vildvuxna trädgård i Djursholm fick ge inspiration till hennes besjälade blommor och växter. Elsa Beskows stil har jämförts med sekelskifteskonstnärer som Walter Crane och Kate Greenaway, men även Ottilia Adelborg. Första gången hennes bilder, bildberättelser och verser publicerades var 1894 för barntidningen Jultomten.
Barnboksdebuten kom 1897 med bilderboken Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman, en klassiker som de flesta barn känner till ännu idag. Elsa Beskow hade fått ramsan om den lilla gumman berättad för sig av sin mormor och i den första upplagan från 1897 slutar boken abrupt med gummans "Schas katta!" I nästa upplaga tyckte förläggaren på Wahlström och Widstrand att boken skulle sluta med "och katten sprang till skogs och kom aldrig mer igen" för så mindes han ramsan.
Men femtio år senare, i en ny upplaga, skrev Elsa Beskow till raden "Men kanske[br]ändå att han kom hem till slut" då flera barn blivit ledsna över det tidigare slutet.
Beskows bilder dominerade bilderbokskonsten under närmare 50 år och säkert har många av dagens bilderbokskonstnärer påverkats av hennes konst.
1952 erhöll Elsa Beskow Nils Holgersson-plaketten för sin samlade produktion. Det finns dessutom ett pris uppkallat efter henne, Elsa Beskow-plaketten, instiftat 1958 av Sveriges allmänna biblioteksförening.
Redan som liten satte hon ihop långa sagor som hon berättade för sin ett år äldre bror, "Vanligen gick det till så, att han släpade mig med sig till en vrå, satte sig själv i vägen för mig, så att jag ej kunde rymma, och befallde: berätta nu! Och jag pladdrade på så gott jag kunde. Ibland tappade jag alldeles tråden i berättelsen och frågade honom bekymrad: 'Vad menar jag, Hans?' 'Kanske menar Elsa så…' föreslog han helt beredvilligt, och så fortgick berättelsen."
Elsa Beskow föddes 1874 på Söder i Stockholm. Hennes familj bestod av mor och far, fyra systrar och en bror. När Elsa Beskow var 15 år dog hennes far och modern blev ensam med barnen. Familjen flyttade till moderns ogifta yngre syskon som bodde tillsammans. Mostrarna och morbrodern blev verklighetens förebilder till Tant Grön, Tant Brun, Tant Gredelin och Farbror Blå.
Under åren 1892-95 utbildade sig Elsa Beskow till teckningslärare vid Tekniska skolan, det var också då som hon började att teckna för barn. 1897 gifte hon sig med Natanael Beskow, präst och konstnär. Paret fick sex söner, vilka många gånger kom att stå modell för barnen i hennes berättelser och sagor. Deras hus och vildvuxna trädgård i Djursholm fick ge inspiration till hennes besjälade blommor och växter. Elsa Beskows stil har jämförts med sekelskifteskonstnärer som Walter Crane och Kate Greenaway, men även Ottilia Adelborg. Första gången hennes bilder, bildberättelser och verser publicerades var 1894 för barntidningen Jultomten.
Barnboksdebuten kom 1897 med bilderboken Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman, en klassiker som de flesta barn känner till ännu idag. Elsa Beskow hade fått ramsan om den lilla gumman berättad för sig av sin mormor och i den första upplagan från 1897 slutar boken abrupt med gummans "Schas katta!" I nästa upplaga tyckte förläggaren på Wahlström och Widstrand att boken skulle sluta med "och katten sprang till skogs och kom aldrig mer igen" för så mindes han ramsan.
Men femtio år senare, i en ny upplaga, skrev Elsa Beskow till raden "Men kanske[br]ändå att han kom hem till slut" då flera barn blivit ledsna över det tidigare slutet.
Beskows bilder dominerade bilderbokskonsten under närmare 50 år och säkert har många av dagens bilderbokskonstnärer påverkats av hennes konst.
1952 erhöll Elsa Beskow Nils Holgersson-plaketten för sin samlade produktion. Det finns dessutom ett pris uppkallat efter henne, Elsa Beskow-plaketten, instiftat 1958 av Sveriges allmänna biblioteksförening.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 18, 2010
This is a classic Swedish children's book in rhyming couplets with an unusual feature: the rhyming word in the second line of the couplet is (nearly) always omitted, so the child has to guess it himself. It's odd that it hasn't been done more often since then. Let me try and give you the effect in translation:
And the artwork, as always in Elsa Beskow's books, is charming. But... I'm sorry. I'm really doing my best to read it in its historical context, and I don't want to come over all PC, but it's so sexist, ageist and everything-else-ist that I just can't appreciate it properly. Let me tell you the story, and you can judge for yourselves. We have a single mother tomte (sort of gnome/leprechaun very popular in Swedish mythology) and her three kids, who live in the aforementioned hat on an island. On the shore we have a male tomte who lives in a tree-stump.
One day, the mother rows over to the shore. The kids decide they'll make themselves useful and wash all the clothes. Unfortunately, the fire they start ends up burning their house down, so when Mom gets home there's just smouldering ashes and three terrified children. Things don't look too good! But the male tomte says hey, why don't we get married? You can come and live in my tree-stump, and I'll make sure I beat some sense into those bratty kids of yours. She accepts, and they live happily ever after.
Aaaaargh!
I'll bet you'll be surprised when you learn thatThe missing word, in case it isn't obvious from the cover, is "hat". It's cute.
They lived inside an old, abandoned ...
And the artwork, as always in Elsa Beskow's books, is charming. But... I'm sorry. I'm really doing my best to read it in its historical context, and I don't want to come over all PC, but it's so sexist, ageist and everything-else-ist that I just can't appreciate it properly. Let me tell you the story, and you can judge for yourselves. We have a single mother tomte (sort of gnome/leprechaun very popular in Swedish mythology) and her three kids, who live in the aforementioned hat on an island. On the shore we have a male tomte who lives in a tree-stump.
One day, the mother rows over to the shore. The kids decide they'll make themselves useful and wash all the clothes. Unfortunately, the fire they start ends up burning their house down, so when Mom gets home there's just smouldering ashes and three terrified children. Things don't look too good! But the male tomte says hey, why don't we get married? You can come and live in my tree-stump, and I'll make sure I beat some sense into those bratty kids of yours. She accepts, and they live happily ever after.
Aaaaargh!
January 6, 2022
lol vad sker. den har inte åldrats väl men vem e jag som e 26 och precis läste en barnbok
October 19, 2018
A mother and her three children live in a little cottage shaped like a hat in this original fairytale from celebrated Swedish children's author and artist Elsa Beskow, originally published in 1947 as Hattstugan. When the mother must go out one day, she makes the children promise to be good, tempting them with the honey cakes she will make, if they stay out of trouble. As is so often the case however, good intentions only get us so far, and soon the three youngsters, having made themselves filthy by cleaning the chimney, start a fire in order to boil water and clean their clothes, only to burn down the house! Fortunately, the little man who lives across the lake from them is nearby, and comes to the rescue, proposing a solution to the family's unexpected homelessness when the distraught mother returns.
I understand that the original Swedish text was written in rhyming couplets, with the second rhyming word omitted, thereby making an entertaining game out of the reading process. That formatting has not been used in this English prose version from Floris Books - I suspect it was too difficult to reproduce in another language - which seems a shame, as it sounds quite fun. Leaving that issue aside, I did enjoy The Children of Hat Cottage, although probably not in the straightforward way that its creator intended. I can't say I found the story that engaging, but the contrast between the sweet fairy-tale feeling, and the children burning down the house, proved quite amusing. The illustrations were charming, of course, as is to be expected of Beskow's work. Recommended to fans of the artist, and to readers looking for unintentionally hilarious tales.
I understand that the original Swedish text was written in rhyming couplets, with the second rhyming word omitted, thereby making an entertaining game out of the reading process. That formatting has not been used in this English prose version from Floris Books - I suspect it was too difficult to reproduce in another language - which seems a shame, as it sounds quite fun. Leaving that issue aside, I did enjoy The Children of Hat Cottage, although probably not in the straightforward way that its creator intended. I can't say I found the story that engaging, but the contrast between the sweet fairy-tale feeling, and the children burning down the house, proved quite amusing. The illustrations were charming, of course, as is to be expected of Beskow's work. Recommended to fans of the artist, and to readers looking for unintentionally hilarious tales.
March 20, 2020
Olipas ihastuttava kuvakirja! Elsa Beskowin kirjat eivät ole meidän perheessä ennestään tuttuja, vaikka osa Beskowin kuvituksesta onkin allekirjoittaneelle tuttua. Jatkossa tulemme lainaamaan huomattavasti enemmän tämän rouvan klassikkoteoksia. Ihastuin ikihyviksi riimittelyyn, kuvituksesta nyt puhumattakaan ! Lisäksi näissä tarinoissa taitaa olla yksi jos toinenkin kultainen opetus, jonka soisin jälkikasvuni oppivan. Tässä tarinassa oli myös oiva mahdollisuus vuorovaikutukselliseen lukemiseen lapsen kanssa. Mikä tärkeintä, lapsi joutui oikeasti keskittymään kuulemaansa, miettimään riimiä ja voi sitä riemua kun oivalsi riimin lopun oikein.
December 31, 2017
Elsa Beskows sagor fanns inte hemma hos oss när vi växte upp. (Sångböckerna fanns, men inte sagorna - eller så har jag glömt dem.) De blev därför något exotiskt som vi bläddrade i på biblioteket och på dagis, men det är inga berättelser jag direkt har koll på. Jag minns ju Hattstugan, jag minns att vi har läst den, men jag minns inte vad den egentligen handlar om. Nåja, nu har jag ju läst den som vuxen och måste säga att jag inte är helt förälskad. Jag vet inte riktigt varför, kanske är det en sorts besvikelse över att den inte är så värst exotisk ändå. Kanske funkar den bara inte bäst på 32-åringar...
February 9, 2021
Elsa Beskow 😍
November 13, 2023
Really liked this one! Super cute.
And for those of you reading it in English, like me, I was curious about something in the end that seemed like it didn't match the picture--the mother is holding a stick and has a frowny face, but all it says is "and when they were good they sometimes got honeycakes." with no mention of anything having to do with the picture of the mother holding the stick. So I was sure they had left something out in translation. So then I told my kids I was going to find it in Swedish and find out what it really said... And thanks to the internet and my Swedish speaking friend I really could!
Here is what my Swedish speaking friend said told me.
"So the tale ends well in every way: The mother put the chimney sweep pants (that is what sotarbyxor means) ____ And the children, of course, got birched. But afterwards they got honey ___ .
Now the confusing part is the blanks... and I found out that they are the whole point of the book. The kids reading it or having it read to them are supposed to make up whatever goes in the blanks based on the rhymes of the words. Maybe that was already clear to you?
So if I read this now, it would mean "The story ends well in every way (sätt) – the mother put the pants in the... laundry (tvätt). The next blank refers back to the word smaka, taste. Getting birched figuratively means "tasting the twigs" and I think the rhyme they are looking for to go with smaka is kaka, which means cake. So: 'The children got to taste the twigs, but after they got honey...sticks.' Kind of. I can't think of a pastry that rhymes with twigs. But that's the idea."
Which I find very interesting.
And for those of you reading it in English, like me, I was curious about something in the end that seemed like it didn't match the picture--the mother is holding a stick and has a frowny face, but all it says is "and when they were good they sometimes got honeycakes." with no mention of anything having to do with the picture of the mother holding the stick. So I was sure they had left something out in translation. So then I told my kids I was going to find it in Swedish and find out what it really said... And thanks to the internet and my Swedish speaking friend I really could!
Here is what my Swedish speaking friend said told me.
"So the tale ends well in every way: The mother put the chimney sweep pants (that is what sotarbyxor means) ____ And the children, of course, got birched. But afterwards they got honey ___ .
Now the confusing part is the blanks... and I found out that they are the whole point of the book. The kids reading it or having it read to them are supposed to make up whatever goes in the blanks based on the rhymes of the words. Maybe that was already clear to you?
So if I read this now, it would mean "The story ends well in every way (sätt) – the mother put the pants in the... laundry (tvätt). The next blank refers back to the word smaka, taste. Getting birched figuratively means "tasting the twigs" and I think the rhyme they are looking for to go with smaka is kaka, which means cake. So: 'The children got to taste the twigs, but after they got honey...sticks.' Kind of. I can't think of a pastry that rhymes with twigs. But that's the idea."
Which I find very interesting.
May 10, 2018
Contrary to what other reviewers have written, this is not in rhyming couplets!!! (I might have preferred that.)
However, I think we can all agree that the way the little man proposes to the mother of the three mischievous children when she is overwhelmed by their care is old-fashioned, condescending, dis-empowering, and BORING.
I wonder, if the reader added, "Long, long ago, in Sweden..." at the beginning of the book, would the whole thing make a little more sense? Even then, these tiny people should have been described as elves or tomten or something, so young readers would understand that this was completely unreal, even in 1930, when it was written.
The little blond children are cute, and their mischief is hugely out-of-scale and therefore deliciously terrifying -- but all in all, this seems neither as sweet nor as awe-inspiring as Beskow's other books, that convey more of a sense of her (and a young reader's) appreciation of nature.
If I have to make room on my bookshelves, this is one that I can let go. Sorry, Elsa!
However, I think we can all agree that the way the little man proposes to the mother of the three mischievous children when she is overwhelmed by their care is old-fashioned, condescending, dis-empowering, and BORING.
I wonder, if the reader added, "Long, long ago, in Sweden..." at the beginning of the book, would the whole thing make a little more sense? Even then, these tiny people should have been described as elves or tomten or something, so young readers would understand that this was completely unreal, even in 1930, when it was written.
The little blond children are cute, and their mischief is hugely out-of-scale and therefore deliciously terrifying -- but all in all, this seems neither as sweet nor as awe-inspiring as Beskow's other books, that convey more of a sense of her (and a young reader's) appreciation of nature.
If I have to make room on my bookshelves, this is one that I can let go. Sorry, Elsa!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2025
Läser denna kort efter jag läst Tomtebobarnen av samma författare. Hattstugan är jättefin den med, men jag uppfattar den som snäppet mindre bra än den andra. Främst för att illustrationerna är lite mindre rika. Fokuset har istället lagts på finurligheten att barnen (dvs läsarna) själva får komma på det rimmande ordet i slutet på varje fras. Det är ändå lite skojigt, eller hur? Men som sagt, detta sker på bekostnad av bilderna som blir lite enklare. Och visst, det blotta hotet om aga från Hattstugan omsätts i denna bok i praktiken, barnen får faktiskt “riset smaka.” Det är såklart inte så trevligt. Men därtill ska nämnas att på sista sidan berättas lite om den tid då Beskow verkade och att hon faktiskt, tro det eller ej, var väldigt progressiv för sin tid. Allt som allt, en fin bok.
August 28, 2021
I don't care for Ms. Beskow's books because the children are always described as naughty when it's always mistakes and if in a fairytale would be adventurous. However, my 3.5yo son loves them (I'm guessing the illustrations because they are really good)
October 9, 2021
A charming and beautifully illustrated children's book in Beskow's classic style. The book hasn't aged well but it still valuable as a historic document.The abrupt ending is a bit jarring and I would recommend instead The Children of the Forest.
April 7, 2018
Classic, but marked by the passing of time.
December 3, 2018
Beautiful artwork! One of my favorites!
May 5, 2019
Alla rim gick inte att gissa fram...
January 1, 2024
🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅 av 5st💜🎅
July 4, 2012
The Children of Hat Cottage by Elsa Beskow to us as one of our bedtime stories. This was read the night after the Grandbabes got in trouble for putting play dough in the microwave. (Oh my goodness I was so upset with them!) The Children of Hat Cottage have to rebuild thier home after the first on is destroyed by fire. I used this lil gem to help them understand the dangers of playing with items they are too young to use. Asking them what would they do if the microwave had caught fire and burnt down our home? Would we have to go live in a hat?
September 7, 2012
I loved the pictures, the story was...interesting. I liked it until the end when the mom married the gnome. That was weird. The story was translated from Swedish and this is the second book we have read by the author that is a little weird. I'm hoping something charming has just been lost in translation.
August 3, 2012
©1930 Sweden
Odd little story
Older style of illustration reminded be before I picked the book up of Millions of Cats and I was right when I looked at the copyright date.
Odd little story
Older style of illustration reminded be before I picked the book up of Millions of Cats and I was right when I looked at the copyright date.
May 7, 2021
Not my favourite of Beskow’s but still nice to read it again after 15-20 years
June 27, 2014
I love all the Elsa Beskow books. I guess this would teach not to play with matches. :)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews