Meet the illustrator Anna Bengtsson from Sweden

Image Source: Anna Bengtsson

You might like to begin here with Anna Bengtsson's web site. (hint ask Google to translate the page into English). 

"Anna Bengtsson was born in 1951 and grew up in the Swedish countryside, near Linköping. She studied graphic design and illustration at Konstfack (University of Arts, Crafts, and Design) in Stockholm and in 1983 she began illustrating picture books. To date, she has produced more than 40 books, more than 20 of which feature her own text. She uses a range of artistic media – ink wash, egg tempera, watercolour, acrylic and gouache – and she is able to craft an engaging story from ordinary events ... "  IBBY.org

Here are the five books the Hans Christian Andersen jurors have been reading: “Ny frisyr” (New haircut), “Bollongexpeditionen” (Balloon expedition, written by Ingenjör Iver-Larsens), “I garderoben” (In the closet), “Farfars mammas soffa” (Grandpa's mom's sofa) and “En hög med snö” (A pile of snow). Cover images below are from IBBY.org's Facebook page. Anna Bengtsson does not have any books in English but I am sharing blurbs from Book Depository.

New Hair Cut: Stella's mother has a hair salon. Stella helps with small chores and then takes the opportunity to expand her collection with curls. Here we get to meet all customers children who do not want to cut their hair and other interesting personalities.

Here is a page from this book which I would love to share with my hairdresser:

The story in Grandfather's mother's sofa spans from 1915, when the sofa was purchased by a young couple in Gothenburg, until today. The book is based on historical facts and we get to follow both the family and the sofa throughout the history of the 20th century until now. How the family gets bigger, moves, moves again, and how life changes, both for the family and the sofa.

Winter is coming. The snow is falling and falling. The snow plows have full view, they plow all night. In the morning, Leyla is the first to discover a just right pile of snow that has remained. It is snowing more and more and the pile is getting bigger. It is so well located, right on the way to kindergarten. You just HAVE to climb it for a while, every time you pass by. Or dig. Or sniff if you are a dog. When it thaws, the snow pile begins to shrink. Who knows what might come up then?

In the closet: bags talking travel: All kinds of old things, such as bags, can be stored in closets.

They all carry their story.  But what happens when a brand new member joins the gang?

You can see inside this book here (and if you speak Swedish you will be able to hear this intriguing story). 

Here are a few more books by Anna: