Revered children's illustrator told to 'change stereotypical images'

Jan Lööf claims publisher told him pictures of other cultures could be taken as ‘not inclusive’ and would be removed from sale if they were not revised

A celebrated Swedish illustrator has spoken out after being asked by his publisher to change “stereotypical depictions of other cultures” in his popular children’s books.

Jan Lööf, who won the Astrid Lindgren prize in 2011 “for meritorious authorship within the realm of Swedish literature for children and youth”, told Swedish paper Dagens Nyheter this week that his publisher Bonnier Carlsen had asked him to change images in two of his books, Morfar är sjörövare (Grandpa Is a Pirate) and Ta fast Fabian (Catch Fabian).

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