ABSTRACT
Since the invention of photography, photographers have shown a deep interest in the depiction of children. This inclination led to the publication of photo books displaying children in different settings since the end of the nineteenth century. Moreover, photographers belonging to the avant-garde movements of the 1920s and 1930s started to create photographic picturebooks for children by combining photography with other artistic techniques, like collage, photomontage, pencil drawings, and photograms. Dominant aspects of Romantic images of childhood that influence Astrid Lindgren's works, and especially the photo book texts, pertain to the close connection between childhood and nature, and to the idea to consider children as representatives of the so-called "Golden Age". The photo books in question reveal more about the authors' and photographers' underlying images of childhood and other cultures than they might have realized. Despite the claim of authenticity, these photo books are characterized by a narrative voice and camera perspective that stress the exotic aspects of the story.
