R.I.P. Björn Berg - not Borg

For bookworms of my generation, the death of Swedish artist Björn Berg is sad news, as many of us grew up with his artwork for Astrid Lindgren's Emil books (in German: Michel aus Lönneberga).

His illustrations were wonderful:



Image via.

Pity that publishers seem to be hell-bent on replacing the work of Lindgren's original illustrators - besides Berg the wonderful Ilon Wikland - with less congenial artists. Some of the English editions just look dire.