Brothers Lionheart

Brothers Lionheart has been one of my favorite books since childhood. It's a moving tale of bravery and strength to move on from difficult times, and to trust that there are better days ahead. The story keeps its tension until the last page. The writing is skillful and engaging. This tale has stayed with me for 40 years and will stay for another 40. I still have the copy I was first reading (and re-reading) from the 80s as Finnish translation, and now I bought the English version to give to my son, to whom I gave middle name Joonatan from this book.

What happens when I die? Will I be all alone? Where will mom and dad be when I die? Will they be sad? What will happen to me after I die? These are questions children wonder about. When my daughter was about 5-6 years old she kept talking about "the mysterious beyond" where you go after you die. We have no idea where she got this idea from. In this book, Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish author who also wrote the Pippi Longstocking books, the Emil books and the "Children of Noisy Village" books, address these difficult questions. She does this without giving any definite answers and still she succeeds to give comfort to children via this exciting and beautiful "after death adventure". Astrid Lindgren's writing is very much in tuned with the feelings of children and the story is spell binding and well paced. Briefly, Scotty (Skorpan in the Swedish version) is a ten year old boy who is very sick. Everyone knows that he is dying except himself. Then one day he finds out in a cruel but accidental turn of events that he is going to die. To comfort him his older brother Jonathan tells him a story about Nangiyala, the land of adventures that lies beyond the stars, where you go after you die. As it turns out Scotty will not be going to Nangiyala alone. In fact the tragic and short life of Scotty and Jonathan and the love they developed for each other during their earthly lives enabled them to be the heroes that Nangiyala needs upon their arrival. The adventures in Nangiyala are much like many other good fantasy stories like the Chronicles of Narnia or the Lord of the Rings, but they also have a deeper meaning to them. My teacher read this book to the entire class when I was about 9 years old (the Swedish version). All the kids in the class loved the book and we listened intently while our teacher struggled to read it. The death of your child is a parent's worst fear and having to deal with it head on like you do when reading this book is, I think, emotionally harder on the parent then on the child. I and my wife started reading this book to our daughter (8-years old) but she ended up reading the whole book to herself and she loved it. It should be noted that the story is not tied to a specific set of religious beliefs about life after death, so if you have strong beliefs in what exactly will happen after death (religious beliefs or atheistic beliefs) you may have a problem with this fantasy version. In my opinion this book is Astrid Lindgren's greatest book. However, it is also her most potentially problematic book, so I advise that you read the first third of the book yourself before you read it to your child. This would help you to prepare answers to difficult questions and to verify that you really want to read it to your child. The writing is very sensitive, peaceful, and thoughtful but it deals with difficult questions. Some people have a problem with the ending so check out the ending too (I did not have a problem with the ending). I loved it as a child and so did my daughter but it may not be true for you, so find out.

I just finished reading, for the first time in about 30 years, the Brothers Lionheart. I ordered it on Amazon last week after discovering it has recently been reprinted. It brought back a lot of memories and fond feelings from when I first read it around 1978 (my Aunt from Sweden mailed it to me in New York). When I first read it I was closer to the age of the younger brother in the book, and the concept of an older brother/protector (Jonathan was his name in the book) must have made an impact on me. I say this because in the late 1970s I renamed my favorite child's blanket "Jonathan" and would not travel anywhere without taking it along with me. I think "Jonathan" is still in a box somewhere in New York - I still can't throw it away. The Brothers Lionheart is an excellent tale of adventure, courage, morals, and love. The Brothers Lionheart ranks as my 2nd favorite book, next to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I can understand why some parents would object to the themes of reincarnation (and suicide at the end of the book). But reading it as a child I always interpreted those two themes as fantasy - no more realistic than the talking animals in the Chronicles of Narnia. Thank you Astrid Lindgren for writing this book.

The book arrived quickly and in tact. I wish I had read this book as a kid, but I'm so happy to have found it as an adult. It's the kind of book where there is adventure and drama you are invested in, without any unnecessary conflict between characters. The problems are real, and the people care about one another and their cause and face everything together. It's a kind and cozy book that deals with difficult themes like death, authoritarianism, and social resistance through a lens that is generous to both the heroes and villains of the story. It recognizes the humanity in everyone without sugar coating the difficulties of life. An absolute joy to read.

A classic and slightly surreal childrens story which mingles death the afterlife and dream world. I bought this after visiting the Junibacken museum in Stockholm where tableaus from the book are presented in exquisite detail and made me want to read the full story with my kids. It is a strange tale on many levels but ultimately a testament to the love of two brothers.

I read this book when I was about 8 years old and I fell in love with it. I read it several times during my childhood and decided to read it again as an adult. It still has the magical hold that it once held so many decades ago. I loved Astrid Lindgren’s other books as well, especially Pippi Longstocking.

I was first introduced to this book by a student who had come from Norway in 1975. Her parents were missionaries and we decided to read the book to the YR 5 class. As a new young teacher I was astounded at how many of the children loved the book and waited eagerly to hear the next chapter. I have since read this book to hundreds of children over the years. The story is about a little boy who is physically handicapped and who has very low self esteem. His journey towards becoming someone who is not 'just a bit of dirt' is heartwarming and is a message for young and old that anything is possible if we have the love of others supporting us. A wonderful read and it was delivered in only three days!

This is one of my all time favorite children's stories. It was the first 'real book' that I read as a kid and I have encouraged others to read it since. I convinced my younger brother who seemed to love it just as much as me. It is an incredible story about the loving bond between two brothers. Something anybody with a sibling should be able to relate to! It is also magical as it takes you to another dimension - a parallel - where you go after you die, but where you are with your loved ones and simply continue living live in a new community - where people have the same personalities as anywhere else! Love, jealousy, deceit and so much more... I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞; 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. - The Brothers Lionheart is a very interesting adventure book, about two brothers' love for each other, and what it means to be brave. The book opens with two brothers: Kalle (or Karl, who Jonathan affectionately calls Rusky) Lion, who is a sickly child, ill with tuberculosis, who is unable to do much of anything because of this illness, and; Jonathan Lion, his older brother, who everyone describes as brave, handsome, and so very good. Jonathan is living his own life outside of the family home going to school, fishing, and doing any number of things that healthy young boys can do. And he recounts all of these things to Kalle, to whom these experiences sound like awfully big adventures. - 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐥𝐥. - Sadly, Kalle realises he is going to die, but before that happens a tragic accident occurs and Jonathan dies trying to save Kalle from a fire. This isn't really a spoiler as it happens within the first few chapters, but it is a key event within the book, as Kalle is left longing to rejoin his brother, and to find him in Nangijala - the other world that Jonathan told him about, where they would live together after death. Nowadays it's not unusual for a middle grade book to tackle such big topics as death, grief, loss and love, but back in 1973 when The Brothers Lionheart was written this book was viewed as quite controversial. The Swedish government even considered banning it, as they believed it could be seen as glorifying taking your own life. Having had this knowledge before reading the book, I can definitely understand the thought process behind the concern, given how the plot plays out. However, I would say the idea of an afterlife where things are 'perfect' in The Brothers Lionheart (and Nangijala is by no means perfect, but maybe Nangilima (the afterlife after the afterlife) is) is no different than any religious belief in an afterlife, where supposedly every one of a person's needs will be catered for. It's a bit ironic that the government criticised the book for sickly children longing to escape to a paradise, when this is exactly what religion and the bible preach and that is not forbidden or seen as taboo. - '𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐈 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝. '𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝?' '𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐲, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞,' 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧. '𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.' - When both brothers are reunited in Nangijala, it appears to Kalle to be a true paradise. They have their own home in Cherry Valley, which is similar to their home on Earth, yet much more cozy and comfortable; they each have a beautiful horse (Grim and Fyalar), and little rabbits that they take care of, and, perhaps most importantly; they are both in peak health, with Kalle no longer sick or coughing. To Kalle, this life seems perfect at first, though he soon realises that all is not as it first appeared, and Nangijala is under threat from a tyrant. - 𝐀𝐧 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐠, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬. 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞; 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧. - I don't want to give away spoilers in case people want to read the book for themselves, but the saga that Jonathan and Kalle embark on leads to them being crowned 'Lionhearts' because of their bravery. They battle tyrants, and dragons, and use their wit and courage to outsmart guards, and to capture traitors, while rescuing their friends from certain death (yes, you can die in this afterlife). I think my favourite depiction in the book was that of Elfrida, and her home in the deep woods. If only we could leave behind our day to day lives and live like Elfrida! - 𝐒𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞! 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 ... 𝐄𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐭, 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. - Kalle wants to go wherever his brother Jonathan goes, as he doesn't want to be separated from him again. However, one key part of the story that stood out to me was how Kalle often didn't believe he was brave, and how he kept trying to be more brave, just like his brother Jonathan. Kalle was frightened at times, sometimes so much so that he would cry. But, in the words of Neil Gaiman: being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. Being brave means you are scared, really scared, badly scared, and you do the right thing anyway. Kalle was brave all along, he just had to learn to understand what being brave truly meant. - '𝐇𝐚𝐡𝐚, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚,' 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. '𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧,' 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧. '𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.' - I love stories that include other worlds, and liminal spaces, and would definitely recommend The Brothers Lionheart to other readers who like these kinds of fantasy stories. I could see some elements of the book that seemed to give a nod to other books of this genre, such as where Jonathan was hiding in, and escaping through, a wardrobe, and how Nangijala was 'somewhere on the other side of the stars'. I definitely understand how this book is a firm favourite for many readers, especially for those who read it in childhood. - 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐲; 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬! 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦: 𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫: '𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭? 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥' - I definitely recommend The Brothers Lionheart to readers who like middlegrade fantasy.

I read it in Japanese first and then got this book. I wish I could understand the original language but English version is still good to read for enjoying different rhythm. Jonathan's words always make me cry. I love this beautiful story and beautiful pictures.

Astrid Lindgren's wonderful story about brotherly love and civic duty takes place in an afterlife that offers a hopeful alternative to the boredom of Heaven and the horror of Hell: a land of adventure called Nangijala. As a child, I loved the well-written story for its action, thrill, and suspense. As an adult, I find it comforting and nostalgic. This edition includes the original illustrations. A beautiful story that everyone should read.

Read this book in my childhood and now wanted to let my daughter experience it. I am a big Astrid Lindgren fan and this is one her best, in my opinion. It's a children's book but it addresses some more serious issues, but the storytelling is fantastic and can be enjoyed also by older readers.

I'm almost 39 and I love this book. The English version (I'm assuming the original is in Swedish) has a very soft kind and cautious tone written by the younger brother of Jonathon Lionheart, Karl. Together with my 8 year old daughter we are enjoying the read as Karl takes us through the adventures he has with his beloved older brother. It touches on subjects as death with both brothers meeting at another place where they are able to re-live. This other place- Nangiyala, has brought them much happiness, specially Karl, however there is doom that awaits them as an evil ruler has taken over the freedoms of people living in Nangiyala. I would not recommend this book for children younger than 8 as it is scary (even for a 39 year old) and some parts of the story displays cruelty and violence that children shouldn't be exposed to at that age. I do think it is a confronting read, a lovely read and normally I don't typically read ahead of my daughter, however I'm so intrigued at what is about to happen that I will read ahead and just re- read again with her. We have read Lindgren's Children of noisy village series (note some chapters repeat itself with the other books in this series), and I have purchased Ronia as well. She is a very gifted writer and we are becoming fans of her books.