In an occasional series, we consider what is worth reading. While many works considered fall under the category of children’s literature, it’s worth noting that anything worth reading to children is worth reading. Poetic, beautiful, and worthwhile books are not beyond the reach of adults and excellent books can be enjoyed at any age.
For our first installment in the series, we will look at Elsa Beskow’s Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender. The book, originally published in Swedish in 1918 as Tant Grön, Tant Brun och Tant Gredelin, was translated into English and continues to be republished.
The first of five books following the characters Peter and Lotta, this book tells the story of how the children came to live with the maiden aunts. Defined by their monochromatic attire and differing domestic duties, the eccentric aunts take in the children, rescuing them from an unhappy home, after a misadventure with their beloved black poodle, Dot.
Depicting rural life in Sweden around the turn of the century, the illustrations capture the Scandinavian esthetic (think old-fashioned Ikea) in exquisite detail. Beskow renders the daily life of the aunts, their neighbors, and travelers passing through the town with minute detail. As different as their colors, the aunts’ personalities enhance the unlikely story of the dog who went missing and brought two children home to live.
Demonstrating the best of Beskow’s storytelling, the tale takes unexpected turns but remains engaging and coherent. Unlike many of Beskow’s other popular works, the story of the aunts stays in the realm of realism without fairies, magic, or fantasy. Even so, there is a strong sense of whimsy in the story that lends a fantastical element to the ordinary happenings of people in everyday life.
One reviewer aptly wrote, “I was amused by the way in which Beskow takes the figure of the demure 19th-century maiden spinster – so proper! so prim! – and places her in seemingly incongruous situations. Beskow is not afraid to put adults in awkward places – stranded in a barn loft in the hay, or barefoot in the forest – that the young reader might not expect.”
Another reader, who experienced the text in its original language in childhood, noted that liberties were taken in the English translation that detract from the nuances in the story. She explains, “We never learn, in the English translation, why Dot wears a black rosette on Sundays (his mama died on a Sunday), or that the old washerwoman beats the children.” The review continues, “I can understand wanting to spare a young reader’s feelings, but I think these emendations are misguided.” Without the disturbing revelation of Peter and Lotta suffering beatings at the hands of Washerwoman Wendy, the reader may not understand why they are compelled to seek another home. Without understanding the somber import of the black rosette, children are not able to contrast the life of the aunts and their dog before the children with the joy they experience upon becoming a family.
According to some sources, part of Beskow’s inspiration for the series was the deprivations of the First World War. Faced with rations and scarcity in real life amid the trauma of war, the overabundant aunts with their candy, gingerbread, fruits trees, and jam, perhaps offered escapism for Swedish readers. The work continues to offer a fun adventure with a happy ending.
In their spinsterhood, the aunts maintain a child-like innocence that charms the story and seems to revitalized the traumatized children who come into their home. Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavender is a good fit for the preschool set and a fun story for any age.
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