- delightful stories of the lives (and traditions) of several cousin friends
- based in Sweden, goes through all 4 seasons
- convo: “boyfriend, girlfriend” comment*
- convo: ghosts and goblins mentioned (just boys trying to scare girls), witches mentioned a few times in their imaginary play, Santa not being real is mentioned
- language: brats**, x2 stupid, x1 darned
Type: chapter book
Ages: 6-10
Author: Astrid Lindgren
Illustrator: Ilon Wikland
*There was only one sentence here, so it’s very minor to the story; however, it gave enough of an out-of-place feeling that I wonder what the original German said.
**I have to mention on this one–“brats” was used only in a short imaginary play by the girls. They were pretending being mean, and it was silly fun.
My kids and I happened to read the sequel before this one, but I don’t think the order matters much. Each chapter is mostly its own story, and they are all quite entertaining. We probably laughed more with the second book (see review here), but they were both good. Their various traditions (Swedish or otherwise) were delightful if not inspiring.
I particularly loved their frequent and precious interactions with their grandfather. All three families have a beautiful bond. You’ll enjoy this one!