Brothers Lionheart

What happens when I die? Will I be all alone? Where will mom and dad be when I die? Will they be sad? What will happen to me after I die? These are questions children wonder about. When my daughter was about 5-6 years old she kept talking about "the mysterious beyond" where you go after you die. We have no idea where she got this idea from.In this book, Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish author who also wrote the Pippi Longstocking books, the Emil books and the "Children of Noisy Village" books, address these difficult questions. She does this without giving any definite answers and still she succeeds to give comfort to children via this exciting and beautiful "after death adventure". Astrid Lindgren's writing is very much in tuned with the feelings of children and the story is spell binding and well paced.Briefly, Scotty (Skorpan in the Swedish version) is a ten year old boy who is very sick. Everyone knows that he is dying except himself. Then one day he finds out in a cruel but accidental turn of events that he is going to die. To comfort him his older brother Jonathan tells him a story about Nangiyala, the land of adventures that lies beyond the stars, where you go after you die. As it turns out Scotty will not be going to Nangiyala alone. In fact the tragic and short life of Scotty and Jonathan and the love they developed for each other during their earthly lives enabled them to be the heroes that Nangiyala needs upon their arrival. The adventures in Nangiyala are much like many other good fantasy stories like the Chronicles of Narnia or the Lord of the Rings, but they also have a deeper meaning to them.My teacher read this book to the entire class when I was about 9 years old (the Swedish version). All the kids in the class loved the book and we listened intently while our teacher struggled to read it. The death of your child is a parent's worst fear and having to deal with it head on like you do when reading this book is, I think, emotionally harder on the parent then on the child. I and my wife started reading this book to our daughter (8-years old) but she ended up reading the whole book to herself and she loved it.It should be noted that the story is not tied to a specific set of religious beliefs about life after death, so if you have strong beliefs in what exactly will happen after death (religious beliefs or atheistic beliefs) you may have a problem with this fantasy version. In my opinion this book is Astrid Lindgren's greatest book. However, it is also her most potentially problematic book, so I advise that you read the first third of the book yourself before you read it to your child. This would help you to prepare answers to difficult questions and to verify that you really want to read it to your child. The writing is very sensitive, peaceful, and thoughtful but it deals with difficult questions. Some people have a problem with the ending so check out the ending too (I did not have a problem with the ending). I loved it as a child and so did my daughter but it may not be true for you, so find out.

I read this book when I was about 8 years old and I fell in love with it. I read it several times during my childhood and decided to read it again as an adult. It still has the magical hold that it once held so many decades ago. I loved Astrid Lindgren’s other books as well, especially Pippi Longstocking.

The book arrived quickly and in tact. I wish I had read this book as a kid, but I'm so happy to have found it as an adult. It's the kind of book where there is adventure and drama you are invested in, without any unnecessary conflict between characters. The problems are real, and the people care about one another and their cause and face everything together. It's a kind and cozy book that deals with difficult themes like death, authoritarianism, and social resistance through a lens that is generous to both the heroes and villains of the story. It recognizes the humanity in everyone without sugar coating the difficulties of life. An absolute joy to read.

I just finished reading, for the first time in about 30 years, the Brothers Lionheart. I ordered it on Amazon last week after discovering it has recently been reprinted. It brought back a lot of memories and fond feelings from when I first read it around 1978 (my Aunt from Sweden mailed it to me in New York). When I first read it I was closer to the age of the younger brother in the book, and the concept of an older brother/protector (Jonathan was his name in the book) must have made an impact on me. I say this because in the late 1970s I renamed my favorite child's blanket "Jonathan" and would not travel anywhere without taking it along with me. I think "Jonathan" is still in a box somewhere in New York - I still can't throw it away.The Brothers Lionheart is an excellent tale of adventure, courage, morals, and love. The Brothers Lionheart ranks as my 2nd favorite book, next to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I can understand why some parents would object to the themes of reincarnation (and suicide at the end of the book). But reading it as a child I always interpreted those two themes as fantasy - no more realistic than the talking animals in the Chronicles of Narnia.Thank you Astrid Lindgren for writing this book.

This is a beautiful story about life and death of two young brothers. Life is not always happy in childhood. Many children experience loss, emotional and physical and this book is not pretending that everything will be good again. Children need stories like this one to understand the greater picture and Astrid Lindgren knows how to present it. Next to most of her funny stories like Pippi and Emil, Ms. Lindgren is also aware of childhood sadness. I read this book to my children years ago and now I bought it for my grandchildren and look very much forward to reading it to them again. And to their inevitable questions and our discussions that will follow.One word of caution though. The Swedish original had beautiful illustrations by Ilon Wikland. The paper book I bought now has drawings by J.K. Lambert, which take away much of the beauty of the original. Make sure you get the book with Ilon Wikland illustrations.

A classic and slightly surreal childrens story which mingles death the afterlife and dream world. I bought this after visiting the Junibacken museum in Stockholm where tableaus from the book are presented in exquisite detail and made me want to read the full story with my kids. It is a strange tale on many levels but ultimately a testament to the love of two brothers.