Review/Recension

Reivew/Recension

Introduktion

Review/Recension

This article investigates naming practices in Italian postcolonial children’s literature. I define naming practices as a series of verbal figures that display affirmation of one’s own name. While multilingualism in children’s fiction has recently gained attention, names and naming practices are understudied, especially in contexts of migration. The aim of the article is twofold. First, it investigates how characters defy the mispronunciation of their names. Secondly, it discusses naming strategies in connection to categories of difference such as race, gender, and class in contemporary Italy. Finally, the article demonstrates that naming practices in Italian children’s literature disrupt the monolingual paradigm by representing a multilingual social texture; by doing this, I argue, they contribute to questioning racism and other forms of social oppression in contemporary Italy. This study sets the basis for future research on narrative strategies in multilingual literature in order to educate children in equality.

For Finland-Swedish Young Readers, in Their Language: The Evaluation of Literary Multilingualism in Reviews of Finland-Swedish Young Adult Novels from the Early 2000s The article is a study of the evaluation of literary multilingualism in reviews of Finland-Swedish YA novels from the early 2000s. It investigates the evaluation of multilingualism in the literary field and, furthermore, contributes to the field of research into children’s literature reviews. The material consists of reviews of Annika Luther’s Ivoria (2005) and Brev till världens ände (Letters to the end of the world, 2008), as well as of Marianne Backlén’s Kopparorm (Copper snake, 2008), in Finland-Swedish newspapers and periodicals. The novels all feature literary multilingualism, for example instances of Finnish, specific Finland-Swedish linguistic traits, and/or multilingual slang, and these features are discussed in the majority of the reviews. With a theoretical background in literary multilingualism studies, children’s literature research, and studies of literary reviews, and by using textual analysis, the article shows that classic questions regarding literary multilingualism, authenticity, and comprehensibility, as well as different readerships, feature heavily in the material. There are also new elements to the discussion regarding the temporal durability of literary multilingualism and the age gap between author and readers. The reviewers’ evaluation of literary multilingualism is mixed; however, literary multilingualism is recognized as a valuable and multifaceted literary device in Finland-Swedish YA literature of the early 2000s.

Theme: Motherhood and Mothering. Ill. ©Stina Wirsén Super-Charlie’s Mum: Public Mothers, Adult Address, and Parasocial Relationships in Contemporary Swedish Picturebooks This article examines contemporary Swedish celebrity picturebooks in which the central characters share names with the children of the authors. The focus is on the relationship between the authors’ public personas and the maternal figures depicted in the books, as well as the ways in which such publications can be understood from a book market perspective. The analysis includes Margaux Dietz’ books about Arnold (2020–2021), Marie Serneholt’s books about Nico and Phille (2020–2021), and Camilla Läckberg’s first instalment in the Super-Charlie series (2011–). The rise of celebrity-authored children’s books has been a notable trend in the Anglo-American publishing industry, with parallel developments emerging in Sweden. The symbiotic relationship between celebrities eager to publish children’s literature and publishers seeking to capitalize on public figures is key to understanding the mechanisms that drive the production of such books. By integrating theoretical frameworks from children’s literature research, motherhood studies, and sociology of literature, this article demonstrates the value of a multifaceted disciplinary approach when analyzing the contemporary Swedish children’s book market. The article explores the adult address created by references to the authors’ actual lives — visible through texts, paratexts, and illustrations — which are primarily accessible to the adult reader. This phenomenon reflects the parasocial relationships that these books utilize to engage readers. As a result, different approaches to motherhood can be discerned: as a carer, a role-model, or a playfully distant star author. These variations of the literary mother figure comment on the authors’ public personas for the benefit of the adult readers, which in turn showcase the commercial possibilities surrounding motherhood, online and on the book market.

This article explores the resurgence of contemporary Sephardic children’s literature, with a particular focus on its multilingual nature as a central feature. The study aims to demonstrate how the use of multiple languages within a book serves as a tool to keep young Sephardic readers connected to Ladino – their heritage language – which, nowadays, is considered severely endangered. The methodological approach is based on Jeffrey Shandler’s concept of post-vernacularity, positioning contemporary Judeo-Spanish children’s literature as a post-vernacular phenomenon. The selected books were published in Israel and the United States between 2010 and 2023. This research categorises these works based on the various configurations of multilingualism, which may manifest as direct translations or the use of different languages (and alphabets) in distinct sections of the text and in the pictures. The study concludes that multilingual children’s literature offers a meaningful way for young Sephardim to connect with their cultural roots and engage with Ladino culture.

Theme: Motherhood and Mothering. Ill. ©Stina Wirsén Introduktion: "Moderskap och modrande"

The article takes the form of a comparative analysis of the soundscapes in two classic Nordic novels: Astrid Lindgren’s Ronja Rövardotter (1981; Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter) and Maria Parr’s Tonje Glimmerdal (2009; Astrid the Unstoppable). The aim of the analysis is to explore the role sound plays in the novels’ place-making, and how place is conceptualized. Drawing on theory of place and topoi (Bakhtin; Cresswell; Curtius) and inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis, I analyze cyclical and linear sounds. As the study shows, we find spatial rhythms in both novels, and in both there is an interplay between the human voice, nature sounds, and music, but the sounds are orchestrated in very different ways. Overall, the soundscape in Lindgren’s novel is more cacophonic, while it comes across as harmonious in Parr’s. Furthermore, based on the analysis and academic discussions on the novels as pastorals, I argue that Lindgren constructs a more literary and static place or topos while the place-making in Parr’s novel is more dynamic and in line with current concepts of place (e.g. Cresswell).