Чудесное путешествие Нильса с дикими гусями
Cross-curricular teaching and entertainment in one Nobel volume.
These days, interdisciplinary projects and cross-curricular interlinking of learning are all the fashion, and stressed teachers sigh in frustration over the tour de force of teaching not only their own subject, but of successfully implementing relevant connections to other areas as well in order to make learning more meaningful to an increasingly lazy, naughty and careless student body.
Some might think this is a recent issue - both Cross-curricular teaching and entertainment in one Nobel volume.
These days, interdisciplinary projects and cross-curricular interlinking of learning are all the fashion, and stressed teachers sigh in frustration over the tour de force of teaching not only their own subject, but of successfully implementing relevant connections to other areas as well in order to make learning more meaningful to an increasingly lazy, naughty and careless student body.
Some might think this is a recent issue - both the emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, and the hopeless attitude of our youth. Think again - or read Selma Lagerlöf, and you will be pleased to discover that:
a) your interdisciplinary project combining a learning unit in geography, biology, history, literature, ethics, Nordic mythology and life skills is offered to you on a Nobel silver plate.
b) students have been lazy, naughty and prone to falling asleep over their chores or homework at least since 1906, when this novel was written to be used in the Swedish school system.
Following young Nils Holgersson on his magical journey through the various landscapes of Sweden is a special experience, as it combines features of a fairy tale adventure with genuine geography and biology knowledge.
Nils is cursed by a Swedish house spirit, a"tomte", for his cruel and treacherous behaviour, and is turned into a a tiny "tomte" himself. Deprived of his physical superiority, he faces the animals on his parents' farm, whom he has treated in a particularly nasty way. He discovers that he has received the ability to understand their communication as a compensation for his lost power, and he has to hear some unpleasant opinions about himself, as well as protect himself against the mistreated animals' righteous anger.
Fleeing the farm on the back of a goose, he travels through all of Sweden. The journey widens his perspective and broadens his mind, and the hardship he faces makes him grow as a human being, - despite or because of his tiny size. He learns to respect nature and living creatures by slowly gaining deeper understanding of the diversity of lifeforms in Sweden.
He returns home more caring and knowledgeable, and vows to be a better leader of the environment for which he is responsible. The curse is gone, and he resumes his human shape.
Apart from the purely subject-related content, offering a panorama of Swedish flora and fauna, it is a universal story of power and responsibility, and of the importance of knowledge to develop empathy. To respect others, you need to know about their situation, and about their needs and feelings and customs.
Recommended to teachers, students and learners for life! . more
This children's classic, published in 1906 by future Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf, is so famous in Scandinavia that everyone knows the plot; but until now I'd never read it. Nils Holgersson, a good-for-nothing kid in late nineteenth century Skåne, angers the local tomte (a kind of Swedish leprechaun), who magically transforms him into another tomte. Nils, who's now the size of a thumb, is fortunately adopted by a flock of geese who take him to their summer nesting grounds in Lapland and bac This children's classic, published in 1906 by future Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf, is so famous in Scandinavia that everyone knows the plot; but until now I'd never read it. Nils Holgersson, a good-for-nothing kid in late nineteenth century Skåne, angers the local tomte (a kind of Swedish leprechaun), who magically transforms him into another tomte. Nils, who's now the size of a thumb, is fortunately adopted by a flock of geese who take him to their summer nesting grounds in Lapland and back again. En route, they conveniently traverse all of Sweden, giving the author ample opportunity for an extended series of geography lessons. It sounded dull, but I was pleased to discover that in fact it's nothing of the kind. The geography is always firmly in the service of the narrative, the lead characters are well drawn, and the style is moving and poetic. But what surprised me most was that I'd never heard how it came to be written.
According to the introduction, the author's original inspiration was a terrible story she had heard from her grandmother about an incident that had occurred when the grandmother was herself a little girl. There was a white goose on the farm, and one spring day he took it into his head to fly off with a flock of wild geese who were passing by. The family was of course sure they would never see him again. But many months later, Selma's grandmother was astonished to see that the goose had returned. And he was not alone; during the summer, he had found a mate, a beautiful grey goose, and they were accompanied by half a dozen little goslings. Delighted, Selma's grandmother led the goose family to the barn, where they could eat from the trough with the other fowl. She closed the door so that they wouldn't fly off again, and ran to tell her stepmother. The stepmother said nothing. She just took out the little knife she used for slaughtering geese; and an hour later there was not one goose left alive in the barn.
For me, this resonated with what many other people also find the most memorable episode in the book. One night, Nils is woken by a stork, who says that if he follows him he will show him something important. They fly to the seashore, where there is a strange city, quite unlike anything one would expect to find on the Swedish coast. Nils goes in through the huge gate and discovers people dressed in rich clothes from a bygone age. No one seems to notice him at first. He finds his way to the merchants' quarter. People are selling all kinds of precious goods: embroidered silks and satins, gold ornaments, glittering jewels. And now he realizes that the merchants can see him. They are holding out their wares to him, offering all these treasures. Nils tries to make them understand that he could never afford any of it, he is a poor boy. But they persist, and using gestures tell him that he can have anything he wants, if he can just give them one small copper coin. He searches his pockets over and over again but finds they are empty. In the end, he leaves the city, and when he turns round again it has disappeared. "It is the lost city of the sea traders," explains the stork. "They were drowned beneath the waves long ago, but once every hundred years they come back for a single night. The legend is that if they can sell a single thing to a mortal, they will be allowed to return to the world; but they never do." Nils feels his heart is going to break. He could so easily have saved all these good people and their city, but he has failed them.
It seemed to me that both stories expressed the same feeling with quite unusual clarity. If only. . more
Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1909), and her 1906/1907 (appearing in two volumes) children’s novel Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (which I am presently reading in a German translation of both volumes with the title of Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen and which in English translations usually appears as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils for volume one and The Further Adventures of Nils for volume two) Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1909), and her 1906/1907 (appearing in two volumes) children’s novel Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (which I am presently reading in a German translation of both volumes with the title of Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen and which in English translations usually appears as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils for volume one and The Further Adventures of Nils for volume two) was actually originally conceptualised by the author as a detailed geography reader for Swedish school children.
But even though the genesis of Nils Holgersson’s story might therefore perhaps not inspire all that much confidence and could actually cause potential readers to even fear that Lagerlöf’s presented text would be tedious and hopelessly didactic, well and in my opinion, my reading time with Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen totally demonstrates the opposite, totally shows that writing meant to be used for education and enlightenment can also be penned in a readable and engaging format. For yes indeed, Selma Lagerlöf’s presented text for Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen (and I of course am going to assume this to also be the case for the Swedish original and the English translation) is both delightfully poetical, fanciful and bien sûr also imbued with much realistic facts and information, leaving an engaging and wonderful story that is both episodic and at the same time with a continuing thread of redemption, of turned into a gnome as punishment for cruelty and self-centredness Nils on his travels with his flock of wild geese not only discovering Sweden as a country, along with Swedish folklore, history, culture, industry and modern (for 1906/1907) agricultural practices, but also being taught slowly and steadily (and sometimes even rather painfully) how to become less selfish, how he, how Nils needs to learn to care for and about his fellow human beings and that being kind to animals is in fact a sign of strength and maturity and not ever the mark of weakness.
And although there is definitely a strong and palpable didactic current present in Selma Lagerlöf’s words with regard to Nils’ transformation from nasty to nice, from me, me, me oriented to helpfully altruistic and that Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen does most definitely provide very much overt instruction about Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf definitely does present and feature her verbal messages and educational information gracefully and engagingly, leaving my personal feelings with regard to Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen very much that this novel has delightfully and wonderfully been a total reading pleasure (and one that I also would have very much enjoyed and appreciated as a child) and with my only and very minor criticism being that since Nils Holgerssons wunderbare Reise mit den Wildgänsen features Nils travelling throughout Sweden with those wild geese, that I sure would be wanting some included detailed maps. . more
“The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson,” is a Swedish children’s classic. Published in 1906, the book actually resulted from a commission from the National Teachers Association to write a geography reader. Author Selma Lagerlof apparently spent three years studying Nature and also investigating folklore and legends from around the country, before writing this book.
The story itself involves a fourteen year old boy called Nils who is a bit lazy and naughty. Amongst the mischief he gets up to “The Wonderful Adventure of Nils Holgersson,” is a Swedish children’s classic. Published in 1906, the book actually resulted from a commission from the National Teachers Association to write a geography reader. Author Selma Lagerlof apparently spent three years studying Nature and also investigating folklore and legends from around the country, before writing this book.
The story itself involves a fourteen year old boy called Nils who is a bit lazy and naughty. Amongst the mischief he gets up to is the rather unpleasant way he likes to hurt animals on his family farm. One day, he is left home to memorise Bible chapters and then falls asleep. Waking, he sees a gnome, which he traps. Eventually, he is also turned into a gnome and able to talk to animals. With wild geese flying over the farm, a farm goose attempts to fly off with them and, when Nils grabs hold, the two of them end up on an adventure…
This book involves a lot of the history and natural world of Sweden, which is a beautiful country. At just over 270 pages and with an illustration at the beginning of each chapter, this is certainly a book for the more fluent child reader; although it is also delightful to read aloud. It has a lovely, hardback cover, with pictures of flying geese and is an unusual story. It reminded me a little of BB and his, “The Little Grey Men go Down the Bright Stream,” if not in the actual storyline, but in the way the countryside and natural beauty was so integral to the book. A lovely novel for adults and children. . more
dedicated with affection to Manuel Alfonseca and José Baena Castel.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have long been delaying this review (like others), because of vagrancy and because I wanted to continue to advance my challenge, that this year I am reading many fewer books than in previous years. I had this book a long time ago and I didn't decide to read it. I admit, I started reading the Book of the Nobel Prize in Swedish Literature Selma Lagerloff (by the way, I don't know if she's the first woman to dedicated with affection to Manuel Alfonseca and José Baena Castel.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have long been delaying this review (like others), because of vagrancy and because I wanted to continue to advance my challenge, that this year I am reading many fewer books than in previous years. I had this book a long time ago and I didn't decide to read it. I admit, I started reading the Book of the Nobel Prize in Swedish Literature Selma Lagerloff (by the way, I don't know if she's the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, though I'm not sure). This is a story of these that I personally like, but I admit that I had a lot of patience with her, because between that now my mind is in the viewing of video game games and that I didn't feel like it. At first the reading became very me and the author's style was initially not for me. However, one tip I'd like to give the Goodreads user is to be patient with this book. I'm going to set an example sometimes when we try on a shoe this hurts us and hurts our feet. It's not the same, but something like this happens to us with this novel. Initially, although of course it depends on the reader and the user and its availability, but at least in my case the reader is a paddle to read this book, and has to adapt, but once he gets it he can not stop reading until this book ends.
This is a story that I like about maturity and growth and methane, that is, change of mind. This is the story of Nils Holgersson a painless and lazy child (of course compared to the children that there are now Nils would even seem good to us. What it proves is how times have changed and worse) that worries your parents greatly. He shows no attachment for anything, he doesn't even go with his parents to the Protestant sermon (you tell a child in the anti-Christian and secular times we live in that he goes to church. How times have changed and for the worse). So as if he were Homer Simpson in an episode in which Homer decides to live without God. Nils reluctantly promises his parents, who will read the sermon, but that is not his intention and what he wants is to take his parents' shotgun and start shooting at whatever moves. This is typical of some guys I remember when I was young I made real donkeys with animals and a person wiser and worse than me told me the same thing. I am still shocked by Don Agustín Conde Foxa's description of second-republic politician Casares Quiroga in his novel"Madrid de Corte y Checa" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5. it seems that the ORGA mp was dedicated to ripping wings off insects and things like that. So we shouldn't be surprised by Nils' behavior, however, Nils is going to mess with the wrong person. In this case he decides to mess with a leprechaun, and this one although at first tries to dissuade him in the end makes him a leprechaun, as he and the boy seek help, but the animals among them cows, as they know what the master is like do not want to help him, even mock his misfortune. The only one, who seeks some understanding for him is a duck named Martin, but this goose has to make the traditional migratory flight to Lapland with a mythical goose mom Okka, who according to legends would be about 200, or 300 years old. Nils is initially reluctant and has to change. Perhaps Lagerloff will make him spend excessively quickly as a selfish, indolent, and capricious child to almost a benefactor or saint too quickly. Nils seems to adapt too quickly to his life as a leprechaun. It is curious, but this boy Nils is the opposite of the eponymous character of the play created by the Norwegian Henryk Ibsen"Peer Gint" https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2. where the protagonist for his actions increasingly looks like a troll, and one of his fears is to become one. Let us note, that the purpose of this book and above all this book is aimed in particular at Swedish children for two purposes, who know and learn to love their country. This reminds me of the book of our José María Pemán "History of Spain told simply" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1. , perhaps the closest example is the novel by Edmondo De Amicis entitled"Heart" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1. without falling into his curse and impaling (at least that's what my father says). The second goal is for the child who reads it to look at the virtues of the hero and imitate him in order to become a good Swede. This reminds me of my favorite cartoon series, which unfortunately now I have unattended by the gameplays in which I participated and because I have broken the TV I mean Doraemon https://www.goodreads.com/series/8199. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. # , because it is interesting to compare Nils with Nobita Nobi, since the purpose is the same, but Fujiko Fujio does it better than the Swedish Nobel Prize.
It is curious that you have alluded to cartoons, because the format used by Selma Lagerloff fits a lot in the cartoon format. My friend to whom I have dedicated this book with my friend Professor Manuel Alfonseca i.e. the author Don José Baena Castel https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. told me, that when I was little I saw the drawings of Nils (I did not know that they existed), although it is not surprising, because the book adapts perfectly to the cartoon format, in fact while I read it reminded me of the drawings of my childhood as David the Gnome, or its sequel to judge Klaus https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. . Once Nils reluctantly convinces Mama Okka to accept him, as part of the group, the interesting thing begins, arguably there are two structures. On the one hand Selma Lagerloff is telling us about the migration of geese and his clashes with the fox Izmir (more or less one of the villains of fiction, in fact there is a chapter dedicated to Izmir is titled the game of rap graves I have changed it, because if I said the original title, it would look like a pervert. It is that the word slut has sexual connotations and it is what prostitutes in Spain are called, or people of nymphomaniacal tendencies, hence he prefers to use the game of rap graves), and then there are short stories, which follow a tonic similar to the 1001 nights https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7. of course in some Nils will participate, and in others will have a very superficial role, or he will simply be a listener. This can lead to frustration to the reader. It occurred to me that so much history, distracting myself from the main plot, distracted me. Some, for example, like the city don't know if it's a dream, or a hallucination on Nils's part. Others make more sense, such as the story of Nils Mat and Ada's friends, and the search they do. This would be the closest part to"Heart" of the story. At first you get frustrated with so much history, but then you realize that they are necessary, to know Sweden, and it shows us the narrative talent of Selma Lagerloff, and it still has a strong Mythic component and with strong mythological allusions. Giants appear, and in a pedagogical way he is telling you the history of Sweden, without a break with his past. Some stories are very beautiful like those of the deer and Karr, those of the dog Caesar and Wave. Some alert us to the loneliness and abandonment of our elders. Others will move us like those of the hard man, who because he had a very stingy father betrays his principles and detaches himself from his horse, and stops assisting some children and will have an unexpected end. There is also a strong Christian component to the story, and it still shows implicit sympathies for Catholics. The portrait of the usurped and Lutheran King Charles IX and of course Lagerloff is sometimes proud of churches, abbeys, and palaces. It can be said, that it is like"The Odyssey" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1. a journey, which turns out to be both physical and spiritual. Some characters will like fentivet the goose, and her conflicted relationship with her evil sisters, or the Gorgo eagle (it is called as Leonidas' wife the 300). We will also see that the writer will make a cameo and appear in the story, starring in a Pyrandellian moment https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. and Unamuniano https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. , or as Alfonso Paredes does with his novel"Mr. Marbury" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show. in which the author will appear twice.
I told my friend Professor Alfonseca that after finishing this novel he had cried like a samurai, just like him, when he read my favorite novel"Bodies and Souls" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2. The reason was this protagonist Nils, warned by a crow discovers that there is a way to regain his old form, but he will only be able to recover it if one of his friends makes a decision. Nils does everything he can, so that his friend against his convenience did not make that decision. I can't reveal to the Goodreads user what it is, but you can imagine it. It was this, and the end that made me excited about this story. However there is one thing, that if I mean. This is a fairy tale, and it is given a happy ending, to encourage kids to be good, and virtuous what is very good. But you have to run away from karma, or the effect called me Earl. Not always doing what is fair and good will make fortune, or the benefit of the person improve, sometimes doing the right thing will bring us complications and can be the cause of our misfortune. If there's a reward, it'll be in Heaven. It's the only flaw, which I see in the way Lagerloff finishes this book.
However, I really liked there is a clear evolution in Nils, which will not be the same as the Nils of the beginning, as in the end. Just as Nobita Nils goes from childhood to maturity and becomes a man, and that he, but awaits all of us and the moral of this book. . more