Lena Anderson (born 27 May 1939) is a Swedish children's book illustrator and author. Anderson was born in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1939. She first gained international success for her illustrations in the 1985 picture book '' Linnea in Monet's Garden'', which was translated into English in 1987. The book, which she made with Christina Björk, took five years to finish. She has worked on multiple other books with writer Christina Björk, including a series of children's stories with the character Linnea. Anderson mainly draws nature-based illustrations. Her work draws from traditional Swedish

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

styles, similar to that of Elsa Beskow's work.

Selected works

Illustrator

* ''Linnea Planterar'' ("Linnea's Windowsill Garden") (1978; English trans., 1988), by Christina Björk * ''Linnea in Monet's Garden'' (1985; English trans., 1987) * ''Linnea's Almanac'' (1985; English trans., 1989), by Christina Björk

Author and illustrator

* ''Majas alfabet'' ("Maja's Alphabet") (1984)Westin 1996, pg. 60 * ''Stina'' (1988; English trans., 1989) * ''Bunny Party'' (1989) * ''Stina's Visit'' (1989; English trans., 1991) * ''ABC, sa lilla t'' ("ABC, Said Little T") (1994) * ''Tea for Ten'' (1998; English trans., 2000) * ''Tick-Tock'' (1998)

Awards

In 1984, Anderson won the . She received the in 1984. In 1988, Anderson won the

Astrid Lindgren Prize The Astrid Lindgren Prize () is a Swedish literary award for children's literature named after the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. The prize was instituted by the publishing house Rabén & Sjögren in 1967 to honour Lindgren on her 60th birthda ...

along with Christina Björk. Also in 1988, ''Linnea in Monet's Garden'' received the

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

(German Children's Literature Award) in the children's book category. Anderson was awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It") is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gusta ...

medal by the

Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...

on 13 July 2023.

References

External links

Examples of Lena Anderson's illustrations from Cultivating Home
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Lena Living people Artists from Stockholm Swedish women children's writers Swedish children's writers 20th-century Swedish artists Swedish children's book illustrators Swedish women children's book illustrators 20th-century Swedish women writers 21st-century Swedish artists 21st-century Swedish women writers 1939 births Writers from Stockholm Recipients of the Astrid Lindgren Prize