Happy Times in Noisy Village (1952)

The concluding part about Bullerbyn contains many of the episodes that were my favorites when I was little – when the climb mountains and meet the angry ram on the islet, the crayfishing, the funny chapter about babysitting Kerstin, the black snot after selling cherries by the road. I read this book especially again and again. It’s interesting to ponder why I found it so exciting. Really, everything happening here is on such a small scale. I’m sure Lindgren’s dry sarcastic humor worked on me even then, but there is also a rare balance of adventure, freedom and true security here. Hard to pinpoint, but very palpable. ( )