Legendary ABBA singer/songwriter Björn Ulvaeus has stepped into the world of literature with a book aimed at children, telling the story of the instrument that many of ABBA’s greatest hits were composed on.
The new book is called The Little White Piano and is aimed at children from 7 years of age and up. Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog bought the piano in the late 70’s for the couple’s summer home on Viggsö. Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad also had a house on the island, and Benny played the piano when he and Björn Ulvaeus composed new songs for ABBA. The Winner Takes It All is one of the songs composed on the little white piano, which is now part of the exhibition at ABBA The Museum.
“I wrote this book because I love to write, but how does one capture the interest of a 7 year-old? It really is quite a challenge and only time will tell if I have hit the right tone,” says Björn Ulvaeus.
In the book, which is illustrated by Maja Lindberg, a beautiful vase is brought to an old cottage in the Swedish archipelago. The vase starts to talk to the other furniture in the cottage and soon starts to wonder why the piano, half-hidden in a corner, is so quiet. This prompts the old folding table to tell the tragic tale of the pretty little piano. A white mouse, never far from its beloved piano, reflects the instrument’s joy and sadness as the story progresses. And what fairytale doesn’t have a happy ending?
As the book is written for children aged 7 years and older, Lindberg wanted to create illustrations with a fairytale shimmer and reflecting a sense of magic.
“I also wanted to recreate the atmosphere which was sure to have been in Björn’s and Benny’s writer’s den at Viggsö; a kind of tranquil mood which must have been necessary to create something really great. And that piano really has experienced some magical moments out there in the archipelago,” she adds.
The book is published by Fri Tanke and is available in five languages: Swedish, English, German, Finnish and Russian. The book will be sold exclusively at ABBA The Museum in Stockholm and in their webshop here.
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