Aimée Sommerfelt (née Dedichen; 8 April 1892 – 7 August 1975) was a Norwegian writer of numerous

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

and young adult novels.

Biography

She was born as Nicoline Aimée Dedichen, the daughter of a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, Henrik Arnold Thaulow Dedichen (not to be confused with the writer Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland) and Antoinette Pauline Marie "Toinon" Nyblin (1861–1941) . She was most famous for her 1959 work ''

The Road to Agra ''The Road to Agra'' ( no, Veien til Agra) is a children's novel written by Aimée Sommerfelt and published in Norwegian in 1959. It is her most famous work and has been translated into 17 other languages.Finnish 1960, English, German, Dutch and ...

''. In 1961, it became her first book to be published in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, being

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Evelyn Ramsden. Her books usually highlighted issues of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

. They placed

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s in extremely difficult circumstances, such as

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and wartime. She married

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

Alf Sommerfelt Alf Sommerfelt (November 23, 1892October 12, 1965), was a Norwegian linguist and the first professor of linguistics in Norway, working at the University of Oslo from 1931 to 1962. Personal life Sommerfelt was born in Trondheim, Norway. He marri ...

. She became blind late in her life.

Awards and honours

For ''The Road to Agra'', Sommerfelt won the

Jane Addams Children's Book Award The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were previously given joint ...

and the

Josette Frank Award The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education. It "honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young peo ...

Bibliography

* ''Miriam'' (1950) * ''

'' (1959) (translated into English by Evelyn Ramsden in 1961) * ''The White Bungalow'' (1962), sequel to ''The Road to Agra'' * ''My Name Is Pablo'' (1964) * ''No Easy Way'' (1967)

References

1892 births 1975 deaths Norwegian children's writers Writers from Oslo Norwegian women children's writers {{Norway-writer-stub