Berts dagbok
Berts dagbok (Swedish: Bert's diary), translated as In Ned's Head, is a diary novel, written by Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson and originally published in 1987. It tells the story of Swedish fifth-grader Bert Ljung during the spring term from 14 January to 4 June the year he turns 12. Being the first of the Bert Diaries, the term Berts dagbok has later also become a term for the entire Bert Universe.
Revised 1993 edition cover, includes a depiction of the original 1987 edition (albeit defaced) | |
| Author | Anders Jacobsson and Sören Olsson |
|---|---|
| Original title | Berts dagbok |
| Translator | Kevin Read |
| Illustrator | Sören Olsson |
| Cover artist | Anne Scatto |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Series | Bert |
| Genre | Diary, Children's, Youth |
| Set in | fictional town of Öreskoga, Sweden |
| Published | 1987 |
Published in English | 2001 |
| ISBN | 0-689-83870-0 |
Created to be older and tougher than Sune, the idea of writing as a diary novel was inspired by Barbro Lindgren's Världshemligt, but during the Gothenburg Book Fair a person appeared, stating the concept had been taken from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾.
The episodes were originally written during the spring of 1986 for SR Örebro. Olsson was originally supposed to read the chapters before Jacobsson took over. When it was thought to sound too much like the authors' character Sune, Sören took over again.
Bert keeps a secret diary. The dates follow the 1987 calendar and each chapter ends with the line Klart slut – varulvstjut ('over and out, werewolf howl').
The book is the most popular Bert book outside Sweden (as of 2009).