Ole Lund Kirkegaard (29 July 1940, in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

– 24 March 1979) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

writer of

children's 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 ...

and youth literature, as well as a teacher. He mainly wrote about the interactions between

adults An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majori ...

and

children 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 ...

. The main character in his books is usually an

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

. In 1969, he was awarded with the Danish Ministry of Culture's children book prize (Kulturministeriets Børnebogspris) Kirkegaard grew up in

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S� ...

just south of Aarhus, and many of his stories were inspired by his own childhood experiences there. He also illustrated his own books. On a cold winter night in 1979, after having had too much to drink, he fell in the snow on his way home and could not get up again. He froze to death on the spot, at just 38 years of age. A street in Skanderborg is named after him (Ole Lund Kirkegaards Stræde).

Bibliography

In Danish: * Lille Virgil (lit. Little Virgil), 1967 * Albert, 1968 * Orla Frøsnapper (lit. Orla Frogsnapper), 1969 * Hodja fra Pjort (lit. Hodja from Pjort), 1970 * Otto er et næsehorn (lit. Otto is a rhinoceros), 1972 * Gummi-Tarzan (lit. Rubber-Tarzan), 1975 * En flodhest i huset (lit. A hippopotamus in the house), 1978 * Frode og alle de andre rødder (lit. Frode and all the other rascals), 1979 * Per og bette Mads (lit. Per and wee Mads), 1981 * Mig og Bedstefar - og så Nisse Pok (lit. Me and Grandpa - and Pok the Pixi too), 1982 * Tippe Tophat og andre fortællinger (lit. Tippe Tophat and other stories), 1982 * Anton og Arnold flytter til byen (lit. Anton and Arnold move to the city), 1988 * Anton og Arnold i det vilde vesten (lit. Anton and Arnold in the wild west), 1988 * Frække Friderik (lit. Naughty Friderik), 2008 Only a few of his works have been translated into English. This includes: * "Otto is a Rhino: Story and Drawings", Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1976

Films

The stories of Ole Lund Kirkegaard have inspired several Danish films, including a

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 ...

in 1977.Ole Lund Kirkegaard
IMDb

Sources and further reading

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References

1940 births 1979 deaths Danish educators Danish children's writers Danish children's book illustrators Writers from Aarhus Deaths from hypothermia People from Skanderborg Municipality {{Denmark-writer-stub