People And Robbers Of Cardemon Town
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''When the Robbers Came to Cardamom Town'' () is a 1955 Norwegian
children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
written and illustrated by
Thorbjørn Egner Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children includ ...
, which tells the story of Kardemomme (Cardamom Town). It is considered one of the most important works in Norwegian
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
. The book includes many songs which are connected to the story. The story has been adapted into a play and television program. The criminologist
Nils Christie Nils Christie (24 February 1928 – 27 May 2015) was a Norwegian sociologist and criminologist. He was a professor of criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo. Considered a leading figure of his field, Christie is one of two Norw ...
considered that Egner had contributed significantly to
criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
in Norway due in part to this book.


Plot summary

The book is about the peaceful town of Kardemomme and the people there, as well as the only characters which stir up serious trouble. They are the three robbers, Casper, Jasper and Jonathan who live outside the town and regularly enter to steal the things they need. The robbers get arrested and are treated well in jail. In the end they are reformed, and in the final chapter, they become the heroes of the day when they extinguish a fire in the tower of the town. Finally, Casper becomes the town's
fireman A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...
, Jasper becomes the town's
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
manager and Jonathan becomes a
baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...
.


Characters


Main characters

* The Robbers (Casper, Jasper, and Jonathan) () — loud, prone to quarreling with each other, and live very cluttered. They live in a strange house, with a kind lion to protect them. *
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
Bastian () — the cheerful
policeman A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...
who is concerned in making sure that everyone is happy. * Aunt Sophie () — a middle-aged woman who is the aunt of Camomilla (). Sophie is extremely strict, and the only song she sings is "Aunt Sophie's angry song", where she expresses dismay over the horrid state of affairs in the town, and disdain for a number of the people. Regarding Bastian, she sings ("I know Policemen Bastian is always very kind, but conscious constables have punishment in mind"), but Sophie is also a sympathetic character, well-organized and capable of giving sympathy to those who deserve it. * Tobias — the old wise man in the tower with a long beard. His job is to give the town's weather forecast from the balcony of the tower in which he lives.


Minor characters

* Kamomilla — Aunt Sophie's young niece. She likes to play the piano. * Tommy — the young son of the merchant/ town orchestra's French horn player. * Enoksson the Tram driver — runs the city's
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
. He also plays in the city orchestra. * Simonsson the barber — the town's barber. He also plays the clarinet in the city orchestra. * The butcher, the baker and the merchant — after they eventually get tired of the robberies, they decide to stop the robbers once and for all. * Polly Parrot — a parrot who sings at the Cardemom Fair. * Camel — a camel who sings at the Cardemom Fair.


Music

The music, ''Kardemommeviser'', was released on EP in 1955 and LP in 1975.


Theme park

The setting of Kardemomme by was made into part of a
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
in
Kristiansand Zoo The Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park () is a zoological garden and amusement park situated in of Kristiansand, Norway. It is Norway's most frequently visited attraction, covering an area of . Established in 1966, it has been owned by Braganza ...
in 1991. Thorbjørn Egner lived to see the theme park under construction, but not to see it completed. File:Kardemomme by.jpg, The entrance to the Kardemomme by at Kristiansand Zoo File:Kardemomme By 03.jpg, A reenactment of the story in the Kardemomme by File:Tårnet_til_Tobias.jpg, The tower of the old wise man Tobias in the Kardemomme by File:Kardemomme By 02.jpg, The Robbers Kasper, Jesper and Jonathan in the Kardemomme by


Law

Law of Cardamom () is the only law in Cardamom Town. The law is simple and
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
:
:''You shall never bother others'', :''you shall be both fair and kind'', :''and whatever else you do I shall not mind''.


Songs

* (Constable Bastian's song) * (Song about the weather) * (The tram in Cardemom Town) * (The robbers' song) * (Little Kamomilla playing) * (The Cardamom song) * (The talking camel) * (Aunt Sophie's angry song) * (The capturing of the robber's song) * (The robbers' exploration song) * (The robber's song about Aunt Sophie) * (Sophie's angry song in the robber's house) * (The robbers' cleaning song) * (The happy robbers) * (The horse dance) * (The parrot from America) * (Hooray song for Tobias) * (Mrs. Bastian's song) * (The robbers' cleaning song in prison) * (The barber song) * (Hooray song for the robbers) Some of the songs from the book/play were issued on the EP album in 1955. The 1975 album (with Egner playing the ''Jonathan'' character) was awarded the Spellemann award.


Film adaptation

The book was made into a film in 1988, directed by
Bente Erichsen Bente Erichsen (born 7 January 1949) is a Norwegian culture director and the current (and inaugural) Director of the Nobel Peace Center. A former journalist and commercials producer, Erichsen started her career as feature film producer in 1979. B ...
.


Publication history

* First introduced in radio programs for children (''Barnetimen for de minste'') in 1955 * 1955, Norway, ? (ISBN NA), pub date ? ? 1955, hardback (first edition) * 1956, play version * 1976, US, Anchorage Press (), pub date ? December 1976, paperback (first US English ed.) (as ''People and Robbers of Cardemon Town'' - translators L. Berg & E. Ramsden) * 1993, Norway, J W Cappelens Forlag AS (), pub date ? ? 1993, paperback (as
When the Robbers came to Cardamom Town
' - translator Anthony Barnett)


References


External links


IMDB entry for the film

Theme park site
(in Norwegian) {{Authority control 1955 children's books Children's theatre 20th-century Norwegian novels Norwegian plays Utopian novels J.W. Cappelens Forlag books Norwegian children's novels Novels adapted into plays 1955 novels