With extraordinary strength\, independent spirit and a wild imagination\, Pippi Longstocking\, the creation of Swedi sh author Astrid Lindgren\, rocked the literary world 80 years ago with her stories of freedom and rebellion.
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You&rsq
uo\;re invited to join an esteemed panel as Swedish and American authors\,
librarians and academics discuss the literary icon who challenged the way
girls are seen and accepted and how today&rsquo\;s literature addresses t
he challenges of children and youth. \;
The DC Public Library invites you to celebrate her Swedish roots\, the literary phenomenon that grew\, and the stories she&rsquo\;s inspired over eighty years.
\n\n\n< img src="https://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/Lauri e_Halse_Anderson_r.png" width="200" height="132" alt="" style="float: left \; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" />Laurie Halse Anderson r eceived the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2023. In her richly expressi ve novels Anderson gives voice to the adolescent experience with sometimes brutal honesty. Here is resignation\, even desperation\, but also a deter mination for change kept alive by the search for meaning\, identity\, and truth. Her latest novel Rebellion 1776\, about a girl st ruggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic and the seething Revolutionar y War\, is a New York Times bestseller. Laurie Halse Anderson makes her ho me in Philadelphia. Alongside her writing\, she is powerfully committed to issues related to sexual violence\, diversity\, and book censorship.
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Å\;sa
Bergman is the head of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. This g
lobal award is given annually to a person or organization for their outsta
nding contribution to children&rsquo\;s and young adult literature. The As
trid Lindgren Memorial Award was created in 2002 by the Swedish government
to promote every child&rsquo\;s right to great stories. With a prize of 5
00\,000 USD\, it is the largest award of its kind.
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Jenny Jä\;gerfeld is a writer and a psychol
ogist that has worked with children\, teenagers\, and adults in both publi
c and private practice. She has also studied philosophy and sexology and w
orked as a writing teacher. She writes columns and is often a guest in rad
io and tv.
Jenny Jä\;gerfeld debuted as an author 2006 with&nb sp\;A Hole in the Head. Her second book\, the YA novel \;Me on the Flo or\, Bleeding \;won the August Price 2010 in the category best childre n&rsquo\;s and YA books.
\nIn her books\, Jenny Jä\;gerfeld dare s to address the big and difficult existential questions. With deep respec t for the reader &ndash\; and the topic &ndash\; she portrays mental illne ss\, ADHD\, child poverty\, gender identity\, suicide and exclusion. In al l the depictions\, humor also plays a large and redemptive role.
\nW ith the middle grade novels \;Top Bro! \;and \;Comedy Queen&nb sp\;she found new readers\, and Jenny Jä\;gerfeld´\;s books have been praised by both the readers and reviewers. \;Comedy Queen \;w as awarded Best children&rsquo\;s book 2018 (Swedish Radio&rsquo\;s Childr en Book Award)\, shortlisted for &ldquo\;Best Swedish Children&rsquo\;s an d YA&rdquo\;\, 2018 (August Prize) and shortlisted for The Nils Holgersson Plaque &ndash\; Best Swedish Children&rsquo\;s and YA novel 2018 (Swedish Library Association). In 2017 she was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Prize.< /p>\n
Jä\;gerfeld&rsquo\;s middle grade novel \;My Royal Grand G olden Life \;was nominated for the August Prize and shortlisted for th e Swedish Radio Children Book&rsquo\;s Award. The sequel \;My Royal Gr and Golden Death \;was published in 2021\, and the final part of the t rilogy with Sigge and his family and friends in Skä\;rblacka was publi shed in 2022\, \;My Royal Grand Golden Love. Just as in her previous b ooks\, Jä\;gerfeld writes an unforgettable story combining magnificent humor and important topics.
\nIt was after attending a stage adapta
tion of \;Frankenstein \;that longtime friends Jenny Jä\;gerfe
ld and Mats Strandberg finally found the spark for a project they could cr
eate together. As the curtain fell\, they began joking: what if Victor\, E
lizabeth &mdash\; and the Monster &mdash\; had simply gone to therapy? The
thought made them laugh\, but then they looked at each other and realized
&hellip\; they had a book.
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