NILS KARLSSON-PYSSLING (Iwanami Shoten, Publishers. 1974)
*original first published in 1949
Author: Astrid Lindgren
Illustrator: Ilon Wikland
Translator: Yuzo Otsuka
The book contains 10 short stories.
When I was a kid, I loved the short story of “Nils Karlsson, -Pyssling” and I read it over and over again with excitement and delight.
It described that used matchsticks were turned into firewood, a small meatball, bread and raisin turned into giant food, a used toothbrush became a cleaning brush, a scrap of flannel became a comforter. Perhaps it felt like magic to see the transformation of everyday human tiny items into something so valuable.
I also really liked the illustrations. The pictures of Berti bringing various things from upstairs to Nils Karlsson’s house and the two boys relaxing in the well-organized living room, the picture of the boys eating a large meatball from both ends, and the picture of the boys cleaning the floor with a toothbrush, etc., all left a deep impression on me. The illustrations thoroughly convey the world of the story.
(Finish reading: 4/20/2024)
