Bert och badbrudarna ( sv, Bert and the bath chicks) is a diary novel, written by

Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson Anders Jacobsson (born 1963) and Sören Olsson (born 1964) are two Sweden, Swedish-born cousins who are writers of children's literature and young adult fiction. They are best known for their books about Sune series, Sune and Bert diaries, Bert ...

and originally published in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. It tells the story of

Bert Ljung The Bert Diaries are a series of novels written in the form of a diary, by Swedish writers Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson. The main character is a Swedish teenager called Bert Ljung, living in Öreskoga, a List of fictional towns in literature ...

from 5 June to 23 August during the

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...

he turns 15 during the

summer break Summer vacation or summer break is a school break in summer between school years and the break in the school academic year. Students are off anywhere between three weeks to three months. Depending on the country and district, staff might be parti ...

between the 8th and 9th grade at school in Sweden. The book uses the 1992 almanac following the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

, but no specific year is mentioned. Just like ''

Berts bekännelser Berts bekäennelser ( sv, Bert's confessions) is a diary novel, written by Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson and originally published in 1992. It tells the story of Bert Ljung from 15 January to 7 June during the calendar year he turns 15 during ...

'', the book uses chapter names as well as dates. It was directly written for a

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

summertime radio program.

Book cover

The book cover depicts Bert swimming at the bottom of the lake of Nöckeln with a diving mask, among different water animals, watching girls swimming above. Two eyes watch out from a lobster jar thrown at the bottom.

Plot

The book opens on 5 June, with Bert making plans for the summer. During the summer break, he'll study girls, and heads to the library to borrow books about

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

. He also walks into a store selling sex items in a jokeful way, to borrow porno magazines, and buys what he thinks is chewing gums looking like condoms, but turn out to be real condoms. Bert soon goes on a

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

to Spain, with his mother and father and John (Åke 's father), Hillevi and Doris. They travel by

aeroplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

, but the

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

room turns out to be located with a view towards the

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

site. Bert gets interest for two Swedish girls, Steffa and Bella (who he first believe are named Erika and Jenny). Bella later travels to Australia. Bert's grandmother goes on a holiday to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

with Görhild. When Bert returns to Sweden, he continues spotting

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

girls at the lake of ''Nöckeln'' near

Öreskoga Öreskoga is a fictional town in Sweden, where most of the fictional novels and later TV Series Bert-diaries take place. The main character of the novels, Bert Ljung, lives in Öreskoga, at ''Klosterstigen 18''. In the books, he lives in a thre ...

. The

Heman Hunters Heman may refer to * Heman the Ezrahite, the author of Psalm 88 in the Hebrew Bible * Heman (given name), a male given name * Heman, an unincorporated community in Illinois * He-Man He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist ...

are kicked out from their practice room. Bert also happens to see Åke throwing grass into the lower part Louise's bikini. Bert's family's neighbour soon learn how calm it has been without the Heman Hunters in the basement, and when practicing begins again, the band is kicked out. The band soon find a new practice place, inside an

air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

next to a garbage room. Bert soon falls in love with Karolina Katarina Possén, who comes from a wealthy family and attends the school "Butter Palms skola". Bert takes a summer job at a

cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

factory, while Åke sells coconut balls down a country road. Lill-Erik takes a summer job at his father's cinema. In August Bert meets Nadja at a rock band en festival. Nadja is now together with a three years old older guy, and plays in a band, but not the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

as she did years ago. Bert and Dödgrävarn take their mopeds to go eating at Dödgrävarn, as Bert has invited Dödgrävarn before (see

Berts ytterligare betraktelser Berts ytterligare betraktelser ( sv, Bert's additional contemplations ) is a diary novel, written by Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson and originally published in 1991, it tells the story of Bert Ljung from 1 September to 31 December during the ...

). They escape a police car (none of them wears a helmet, and Dödgrävarn uses engine tuning), and Bert gets wounded and ends up at hospital, but is soon let home. The books end on 23 August, when Bert will begin the 9th grade.

Trivia

*In the

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

episode "Ett långt och lyckligt liv" a pupil in the same school class as Berts is seen reading the book "Bert och badbrudarna" during lesson, laughing.

References

{{Reflist *Bert och badbrudarna,

Rabén & Sjögren Rabén & Sjögren is a book publishing company in Sweden. It was established in 1942 by and . Since 1998 it has been part of Norstedts förlag. The publishing focus is on children's and youth literature. Rabén & Sjögren was very successful, pu ...

1992 in radio 1993 children's books Novels set in Florida Novels set in Spain Sequel novels Bert books Rabén & Sjögren books Novels set in Australia 1993 Swedish novels