The Old Man and the Hit

By : Lars Bøgeskov

The author of Krumme is flabbergasted at topping the hit list.  Krumme’s father, Thøger Birkeland, the children’s author most students in the 5^th form have read, still writes his book drafts in pen.  Later, the manuscript is typed up.  However, despite old habits and his 73 years, Thøger Birkeland still strikes children’s interest.

“I don’t know how.  I think I write from the same point of view I always have – with humour based on ordinary, everyday life,” says Thøger Birkeland, who is surprised by his position at the top of the hit list.

“But it’s the Krumme books.  It has meant a lot that they were filmed and then teachers use them in their classes,” he says.

Thøger Birkeland is still productive. He has just delivered a manuscript containing instructional material for students in the 3^rd and 4^th. In June, his book Johan will be published.  It is about the musings of a boy from a troubled home.
For 30 years, Thøger Birkeland was a Danish primary school teacher.  He stopped in 1978 but went out as a guest lecturer for many years.  His first book was The Boy from the Stone Bridge from 1958 and a cornucopia of titles followed after.

This article was published in the daily newspaper Politiken on 24 November 1995.

Translated by Russell Dees