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The Spettecake Holiday
Five-year-old Pelle-Göran goes unwillingly to visit grandmother while mama is recuperating from an accident. Adventures on the farm help his apprehensions to disappear and when he returns home he takes the doctor one of grandmother's fine spettecakes, promised if the doctor would make mama well.
- GenresChildrens
211 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
45 people want to read
About the author
Edith Unnerstad
46 books20 followersEdith Alice Unnerstad (née Tötterman) was a Swedish author. She is best known for her books about the Pip-Larsson family.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 12, 2025
A summer on a Swedish farm is hard to beat!
Pelle Goran is a five year old boy who goes to live with his grandmother over the summer, for his mother has been in an accident and must recover.
During the summer, he gets a cat, Tigerpaws, makes new friends, gets lost in a cave, sleeps in a barn, catches an egg thief, and has other wonderful adventures. Also, his grandmother is a delightful storyteller, so readers will hear some fairytales/Swedish folklore along the way.
Farm scenes and food scenes abound too.
I’d recommend this for a family read, then you can discuss the bad behavior/bad attitudes that show up at the beginning.
A good one for kids and adults!
Ages: 5 - 12
Content Considerations: there are some pretty naughty actions/behaviors at the beginning of the book, excused because the boy’s mother is sick. Mentions trolls. People mention telling ghost stories but they never do. A couple fairytale stories are told with magic. A young bully is smoking (not a main character) and he does bully the kids a couple times ending in a fight which the bully looses.
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Pelle Goran is a five year old boy who goes to live with his grandmother over the summer, for his mother has been in an accident and must recover.
During the summer, he gets a cat, Tigerpaws, makes new friends, gets lost in a cave, sleeps in a barn, catches an egg thief, and has other wonderful adventures. Also, his grandmother is a delightful storyteller, so readers will hear some fairytales/Swedish folklore along the way.
Farm scenes and food scenes abound too.
I’d recommend this for a family read, then you can discuss the bad behavior/bad attitudes that show up at the beginning.
A good one for kids and adults!
Ages: 5 - 12
Content Considerations: there are some pretty naughty actions/behaviors at the beginning of the book, excused because the boy’s mother is sick. Mentions trolls. People mention telling ghost stories but they never do. A couple fairytale stories are told with magic. A young bully is smoking (not a main character) and he does bully the kids a couple times ending in a fight which the bully looses.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books.
February 24, 2021
I read this book on Open Library and loved it so much! Two children end up at their grandmother's farm in Skane, Sweden during the summer, and there are beloved animals, friends to meet, a grumpy old man to help, and old stories to hear. Also an adventure in a cave! I loved the dear little Pelle-Goran who missed his convalescent mother and quickly grew to love being on the farm. I loved sweet Kaja, who had been orphaned and was so glad to find she could stay permanently at the farm. I loved the descriptions of daily life, from berry or nut picking to making the spettecake, a cake that looked like a tower almost, and from which you could cut out 'door' and 'window' pieces to eat. What a wonderful time it was escaping to Stubba Farm for a while in this story!
February 18, 2013
I finally got around to this book after a quarter century. I'm not kidding. There is a whole bit about this weird journey relating to this book here.
After such a long time, I am pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Unnerstad's book. Confused after his mother goes to the hospital, young Pelle-Göran punches the doctor and is sent away to live with his grandmother for a time on her picturesque farm. Also staying there is the older Kaja, who though Pelle-Göran is initially skeptical about, soon becomes his fast friend. A brilliant cast of supporting characters made this a very enjoyable book. I think children will really relate to the shenanigans Pelle-Göran gets into, and after saving the book for 25 years, I will definitely hang onto this one.
After such a long time, I am pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Unnerstad's book. Confused after his mother goes to the hospital, young Pelle-Göran punches the doctor and is sent away to live with his grandmother for a time on her picturesque farm. Also staying there is the older Kaja, who though Pelle-Göran is initially skeptical about, soon becomes his fast friend. A brilliant cast of supporting characters made this a very enjoyable book. I think children will really relate to the shenanigans Pelle-Göran gets into, and after saving the book for 25 years, I will definitely hang onto this one.
August 26, 2017
What a sweet story. I enjoy this so much. It was one of those comfy children's stories that just make me feel warm and fuzzy. I needed that, I especially appreciated the tales that many of the characters told. In much the same way that Farmer Boy affects my boys, I found myself getting hungry for a lot of wonderful foods as I read this one! I loved learning that the word piggy back comes from the word "pickaback". I think I shall use the old-fashioned word from now on, I like it much better. Another thought that caused me to put the book down and ponder came from the following passage, "He asked him why he had to get straw from Oskar Persson when they themselves had a big stack outside the barn. Then, he found out that Folke had threshed his straw with the machine, and that one got much stronger and better thatch from hand-threshed straw. There weren't many people who threshed by hand nowadays, so if one wanted fine roof strewn had to order a long time ahead. Soon there would not be anyone who would thresh the old way and there it's going to be hard to keep the old roofs, and they'll likely not be making any new thatched roofs at all." I realize that we have better options than thatched today, but I enjoyed this reminder that sometimes doing something the old way, without a machine, makes for a better and stronger product.
March 27, 2017
Sweden
Very much in the vein of Summer at Buckhorn, The Wonderful Year, The Golden Name Day, The Good Master, and even A Year Down Yonder and some of the Lenski regionals. The difference here is that the setting is Sweden.
We learn something about Swedish customs, but maybe not so much as in the Lindquist books - because this was originally a Swedish book, not an American one. This one emphasizes the fact that kids are kids, wherever they may be born. Pelle's confusion and anger about his current situation, his desire to be older, his misunderstandings - these are universal and it is easy for the reader to sympathize.
As in some other tales of foreign lands, we get a few interpolated folk tales. We also have some nail-biting danger. My only objection is that both these seem to be all lumped together toward the end, making the last quarter of the book rather different from the first three. But it's all very enjoyable.
The pen-and-ink illustrations are humorous and fit the text well.
Very much in the vein of Summer at Buckhorn, The Wonderful Year, The Golden Name Day, The Good Master, and even A Year Down Yonder and some of the Lenski regionals. The difference here is that the setting is Sweden.
We learn something about Swedish customs, but maybe not so much as in the Lindquist books - because this was originally a Swedish book, not an American one. This one emphasizes the fact that kids are kids, wherever they may be born. Pelle's confusion and anger about his current situation, his desire to be older, his misunderstandings - these are universal and it is easy for the reader to sympathize.
As in some other tales of foreign lands, we get a few interpolated folk tales. We also have some nail-biting danger. My only objection is that both these seem to be all lumped together toward the end, making the last quarter of the book rather different from the first three. But it's all very enjoyable.
The pen-and-ink illustrations are humorous and fit the text well.
October 10, 2018
Como he disfrutado de este libro! No os lo podéis imaginar, ha sido fantástico a pesar de ser un libro más bien infantil y muy sencillo, ¡pero me ha transportado totalmente al interior de sus páginas! La historia en sí no tiene mucho misterio y es que la madre de Pelle sufre un accidente y está bastante mal, el pequeño al verla así está sufriendo mucho así que deciden mandarlo a pasar el verano con su abuela en la granja, al menos hasta que su madre se recupere y todo vuelva a la normalidad. Pelle está realmente furioso y no quiere separarse de su madre pero una vez pise la granja, poco a poco se irá olvidando de todo y vivirá muchas aventuras junto con Kaja, una niña muy peculiar.
Vacaciones en Suecia es un clásico que tiene más de 50 años donde podremos trasladarnos al sur de Suecia y vivir el día a día en una granja rodeados de animales y con dos niños como protagonistas. La amistad es el principal ingrediente que se esconde entre sus páginas. También conoceremos a varios personajes que nos contarán historias que atrapan.
Más:
https://www.inmaswan.es/2017/07/resen...
Vacaciones en Suecia es un clásico que tiene más de 50 años donde podremos trasladarnos al sur de Suecia y vivir el día a día en una granja rodeados de animales y con dos niños como protagonistas. La amistad es el principal ingrediente que se esconde entre sus páginas. También conoceremos a varios personajes que nos contarán historias que atrapan.
Más:
https://www.inmaswan.es/2017/07/resen...
January 13, 2022
Parte de este comentario fue previamente publicado por mí en Instagram para la @Laotrapartelive, proyecto en el que participo junto a varios amigos a propósito de la belleza de la lectura y los libros . Si les interesa, aquí les dejo el enlace al proyecto: https://www.instagram.com/laotraparte....
Tras una serie de sucesos desafortunados asociados a la enfermedad de su mamá, Pelle es enviado a Sören, una zona rural de Suecia, en compañía de su abuela paterna y una prima. El niño, atribulado por el dolor de la enfermedad de su madre y la sorpresa de sus nuevos amigos y familiares, lidia con su soledad entre risas y aventuras varias.
Más allá de esto, la novela aborda el drama de la vida y la muerte para un niño, todo bajo un tono jocoso y alegre, sin subvalorar la comprensión de los mismos por un infante. Asimismo, se permite asumir la vida como una aventura en la que compartimos con otros seres, amigos animales, que constituyen nuestro mundo. De hecho, resulta curiosa la forma en que Unnerstad, si bien cuestiona la racionalidad que condena al animal como subalterno del humano, termina por reafirmarla a regañadientes. Esto resulta comprensible bajo la época y la pretensión de la literatura infantil; esto es, ayudar a los niños a comprender mejor el mundo y la cultura bajo la que viven.
Si bien conozco poco de literatura para niños, este libro me resultó memorable. En ciertos pasajes, el lirismo de la autora permite entrever una naturaleza inmensa, que antes que aterrar trae sosiego a quienes allí habitan. En ese sentido, rememora un tanto a esa "bendición de la tierra" de la que hablaba Hamsun; eso sí, sin incurrir en los delirios reaccionarios del noruego. Bello libro, la verdad.
Tras una serie de sucesos desafortunados asociados a la enfermedad de su mamá, Pelle es enviado a Sören, una zona rural de Suecia, en compañía de su abuela paterna y una prima. El niño, atribulado por el dolor de la enfermedad de su madre y la sorpresa de sus nuevos amigos y familiares, lidia con su soledad entre risas y aventuras varias.
Más allá de esto, la novela aborda el drama de la vida y la muerte para un niño, todo bajo un tono jocoso y alegre, sin subvalorar la comprensión de los mismos por un infante. Asimismo, se permite asumir la vida como una aventura en la que compartimos con otros seres, amigos animales, que constituyen nuestro mundo. De hecho, resulta curiosa la forma en que Unnerstad, si bien cuestiona la racionalidad que condena al animal como subalterno del humano, termina por reafirmarla a regañadientes. Esto resulta comprensible bajo la época y la pretensión de la literatura infantil; esto es, ayudar a los niños a comprender mejor el mundo y la cultura bajo la que viven.
Si bien conozco poco de literatura para niños, este libro me resultó memorable. En ciertos pasajes, el lirismo de la autora permite entrever una naturaleza inmensa, que antes que aterrar trae sosiego a quienes allí habitan. En ese sentido, rememora un tanto a esa "bendición de la tierra" de la que hablaba Hamsun; eso sí, sin incurrir en los delirios reaccionarios del noruego. Bello libro, la verdad.
January 4, 2023
Este libro lo leí de pequeña como mínimo 20 veces. Lo encontré en la biblioteca, y desde entonces lo pedía prestado constantemente. Hace poco, paseando por la librería, ví una caja de libros en el suelo, y un dependiente los estaba poniendo en unas estanterías. Al verlo, no pude contenerme y lo compré. Me pareció el destino, que me urgía a volver a leerlo tras tantos años.
Al principio no estaba convencida. Tenía tan buenos recuerdos de este libro que temía que al leerlo se estropeasen. Per al final mi curiosidad pudió, y lo he leído.
Este libro es extremadamente tierno y relajante. Aún y ser un libro infantil, las descripciones del lugar hacían que apareciesen imágenes ante tus ojos. Te encariñas con todos los personajes, incluso con los animales. Es un libro precioso, que personalmente evoca recuerdos de la infancia.
Al principio no estaba convencida. Tenía tan buenos recuerdos de este libro que temía que al leerlo se estropeasen. Per al final mi curiosidad pudió, y lo he leído.
Este libro es extremadamente tierno y relajante. Aún y ser un libro infantil, las descripciones del lugar hacían que apareciesen imágenes ante tus ojos. Te encariñas con todos los personajes, incluso con los animales. Es un libro precioso, que personalmente evoca recuerdos de la infancia.
July 24, 2017
Five-year-old Pelle-Göran, who is ordinarily a very well-behaved little boy, has begun acting out as a result of his mother's recent injury which has kept her confined to a hospital bed. Though his mother is expected to recover, Pelle-Göran's father thinks it will be better for everyone if Pelle-Göran goes away on a holiday to his grandmother's house. While visiting his grandmother, Pelle-Göran gets to know his cousin, Kaja, who is an orphan, as well as a variety of colorful characters who live near the farm. While his mother convalesces back home, Pelle-Göran helps to reunite an estranged grandfather with his grandchildren, discovers whether dogs can talk, and learns to make a spettecake, the gift he has promised to the doctor for curing his mother.
This novel, translated from Swedish and set in Sweden, is a charming story of the same variety as The Good Master, wherein a child steps out of his comfort zone and begins to grow up as a result of the experience. Pelle-Göran, though seemingly obnoxious at the start of the book is actually a sympathetic and sweet protagonist. His concern for his mother, as well as his innocence about farm living, make it easy to root for him, and his friendship with cousin Kaja is a strong element of the story. Because Pelle-Göran likes to hear stories, there are also a few Swedish folktales interspersed throughout the novel, which give the book a little extra cultural flavor. Though much of the story feels universal, and could happen on a farm in any country, these folktales help to give the American reader a little insight into Swedish customs.
The Spettecake Holiday wasn't exactly the kind of book I had in mind when I first chose family stories as this month's theme for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge, but it winds up being a good fit. Not only does Pelle-Göran worry for his mother, but he also grows closer in affection to his grandmother and cousin and witnesses and helps to resolve the difficulties between two of the neighborhood children and their own grandfather. The story itself is largely episodic, and sometimes I found myself wondering if anything was ever going to happen, but what seems to be at its heart is the importance of family and the value of their support in enduring childhood difficulties. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable and gentle tale, appropriate for reading aloud to kids as young as five or six. In addition to The Good Master, The Spettecake Holiday would also pair well with the 2015 novel, Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr, which is set in Norway and is also a work of translation.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
This novel, translated from Swedish and set in Sweden, is a charming story of the same variety as The Good Master, wherein a child steps out of his comfort zone and begins to grow up as a result of the experience. Pelle-Göran, though seemingly obnoxious at the start of the book is actually a sympathetic and sweet protagonist. His concern for his mother, as well as his innocence about farm living, make it easy to root for him, and his friendship with cousin Kaja is a strong element of the story. Because Pelle-Göran likes to hear stories, there are also a few Swedish folktales interspersed throughout the novel, which give the book a little extra cultural flavor. Though much of the story feels universal, and could happen on a farm in any country, these folktales help to give the American reader a little insight into Swedish customs.
The Spettecake Holiday wasn't exactly the kind of book I had in mind when I first chose family stories as this month's theme for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge, but it winds up being a good fit. Not only does Pelle-Göran worry for his mother, but he also grows closer in affection to his grandmother and cousin and witnesses and helps to resolve the difficulties between two of the neighborhood children and their own grandfather. The story itself is largely episodic, and sometimes I found myself wondering if anything was ever going to happen, but what seems to be at its heart is the importance of family and the value of their support in enduring childhood difficulties. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable and gentle tale, appropriate for reading aloud to kids as young as five or six. In addition to The Good Master, The Spettecake Holiday would also pair well with the 2015 novel, Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr, which is set in Norway and is also a work of translation.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
August 29, 2024
Tahle kniha nám s dcerou trvala docela dlouho. Zejména proto, že do ni nebyla tak zapálená, jako obvykle do pohádek bývá. Jde o tak trochu o poněkud slabší variaci na slavné Děti z Bullerbynu.
Přespříliš mnoho švédských názvů různých lokalit znepříjemňovalo čtení. Stejně tak rozličná délka kapitol, kdy někdy byla pohádka před spaním na 5 minut a některou jsme četli i na třikrát, jak byla dlouhá.
Rozhodně ne všechno bylo špatné. Pro předškoláky nebo prvňáky to je celkem fajn čtení, ale jsou i lepší knihy na výběr.
Přespříliš mnoho švédských názvů různých lokalit znepříjemňovalo čtení. Stejně tak rozličná délka kapitol, kdy někdy byla pohádka před spaním na 5 minut a některou jsme četli i na třikrát, jak byla dlouhá.
Rozhodně ne všechno bylo špatné. Pro předškoláky nebo prvňáky to je celkem fajn čtení, ale jsou i lepší knihy na výběr.
October 11, 2018
Estuve tanto tiempo deseándolo, que esperaba más. Tierno e inocente. Lo mejor, los cuentos y el ambiente. El ritmo se me queda demasiado lento.
February 4, 2021
Knížka mého dětsví, hvězdička navíc je za nostalgii :).
December 17, 2023
Muy entrañable, me ha recordado a las aventuras de los cinco. Quizá el motor de la historia no es el mejor del mundo, pero el aesthetic cottagecore es precioso
August 10, 2010
This is yet another entry in the genre of books I seem to have loved as a child--the urban child who spends a summer on a farm. Pelle-Goran is five, and on page one, his mother is run over by a truck and is hospitalized. When it becomes too difficult for his father to care for Pelle-Goran, he is sent, along with an older, orphaned cousin named Kaja, to spend the summer with Pelle-Goran's grandmother on her Swedish farm. The story is episodic, and includes many halcyon days and small adventures, and a few bigger adventures that might be a little scary for some kids (getting lost in a cave, snake bite, near-drowning). This book doesn't have the cohesiveness of my real favorites--the Jennie Lindquist books about Nancy Bruce, all of Elizabeth Enright's books--and I'm not sure why. Possibly because it lacks a plot arc from start to finish--episodic books do need something to tie them together, and this one sometimes dangles a bit. Still a good choice for a summer read, and despite the fact that the main character is five, it's aimed at older children.
August 21, 2024
Jedna z mých nejoblíbenějších knížek dětských let, četla jsem ji nejmíň 50x a vždycky jsem se k ní ráda vracela a pevně doufám, že se k ní ještě vrátím a "vnutím" ji i dceři. Je to neskutečně čtivá, roztomilá a svým způsobem i dobrodružná knížka, která má i přesah, alespoň pro mě vždy měla a naprosto mě vždy pohltila a já trávila prázdniny u babičky s hlavním hrdinou - s Pellem. No a ilustrace Heleny Zmatlíkové jsou už jen třešničkou na dortu. Za mě plný počet, skvělá věc.
November 13, 2009
If there's a book that's lodged in my memory since I was a little girl, this is it. This book is the epitome of a sweet children's book that inspires as well as captivates. The sketchings in the book are absolutely delightful. Too bad it's no longer in print. My yellowed copy is lovingly standing amongst such notaries as The Good Earth and To Kill a Mockingbird.
January 5, 2013
Own. I thought the way they made the spettecake was funny. I might like to try a spettecake.
November 22, 2016
A. children's fiction, grade 4, Sweden, boy visits grandmother's farm, mom's stash, keep
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews