Fredrikabiblioteken Fredrikakirjastot

"Between the Baltic and the North seas is an old swan’s nest, which is called Denmark: swans are born here, whose names will never die."

This is the story of the swans, who, in ancient times, split up into many groups and flew to many countries. Every group had a name and everywhere they went their beauty and elegance were admired.

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.