Mio, my Mio

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Mio, my Mio is a children's book by Astrid Lindgren. It was first published in 1954 in Sweden, with the Swedish title Mio, min Mio, and later under the American title Mio, My Son. The writing is stylised and the story strongly reminiscent of traditional fairy tales and folklore. It received a German Youth Literature Prize (Deutschen Jugendbuchpreis) in 1956.

Mio, my Mio starts by introducing Bosse, a young boy who has been adopted by an elderly couple that do not really like kids. They harass him, and tell him to stay out of their way. One day he receives a golden apple and a postcard from one of his adult friends; he mails the letter, but not until after he has thrown a glance at the card. It is addressed to a king, and it says that his son will soon be coming home.

Soon after, Bosse finds a bottle with a genie trapped inside. Upon freeing it, the genie recognises the apple and takes Bosse to another world, far, far away.

Upon arriving, Bosse is told that his real name is Mio, and that he is son of the king and thus prince of the land. He finds a new best friend, and is even given his own horse. However, he soon learns that not everything in this world is as wonderful as it first seemed. In the lands beyond that of the king lives an evil knight named Kato, whose hatred is so strong that the land around his castle is barren and singed. He has kidnapped several children from the nearby villages, and he poses a constant threat to the people living there.

Mio is told that his destiny is to fight Kato, even though he is only a child. He and his friend set out on a perilous journey into the land of Kato, as the stories have foreseen for thousands and thousands of years.

Central themes in the story focus on friendship granting strength to endure hardships, that it is sometimes necessary to leave a safe situation and put oneself at risk for a greater cause, and that evil often coincides with unhappiness.

[edit] See also

• Mio in the Land of Faraway - film based on this novel