Mio, My Son

A delightful fantasy tale about family by the author of the internationally best-selling Pippi Longstocking books, now in paperback

Nine-year-old Karl Anders Nilsson is the unwelcome foster child of an uncaring couple. Lonely and neglected, he yearns for simple things, things that many children already have: a warm and loving home of his own, someone to share his sorrows and joys with, and, most important, his real father.

Then, on October 15, Karl simply disappears. Where has he gone? (Police are searching for him ) But Karl is far away from chilly Stockholm, in Farawayland, where he has found his father, who is none other than the king of that land. And now Karl faces a truly dangerous mission. Prophecies have foretold his coming for thousands of years. He, his new best friend Pompoo, and Miramis, his wonderful flying horse with a golden mane, must travel together into the darkness of Outer Land to do battle with Sir Kato, the cruel abductor of the children of Farawayland. Only a child of the royal blood can stop him...

Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) was born in Vimmerby, Sweden, and grew up in the Småland countryside, a setting that later formed the backdrop for many of her books. In 1944, she began writing the Pippi Longstocking stories, which she had invented over the years to entertain her daughter, Karin. In addition to writing more than forty children’s books, Lindgren published and produced plays and screenplays, and was politically active. In 2003 the Swedish government created the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in her honor. The New York Review Children’s Collection also publishes Seacrow Island.

Ilon Wikland was born in Estonia and came as a refugee to Sweden in 1944. In 1953, she met Astrid Lindgren, who had just finished writing Mio, My Son. Wikland is the artist who has illustrated the greatest number of Lindgren’s books.