Sävsjö stadsbibliotek

Anne Lisbeth was a beautiful young woman, but she gave birth to a repugnantly ugly child. That is why she gave it into the care of the wife of a man who worked in the fields. This woman cared for the child well and received some money to pay for his upkeep. Meanwhile, Anne Lisbeth had been admitted to the count’s castle and looked after the count’s child. Her own son was forced to grow up without her, without his mother: here are both their destinies.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include 'The Emperor's New Clothes', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Nightingale', 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier', 'The Snow Queen', 'The Ugly Duckling' and 'The Little Match Girl'. His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child or adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films "The Little Mermaid" in 1989 and "Frozen", which is loosely based on "The Snow Queen", in 2013.

Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.