Reykjavík Grapevine - aug. 2022, Side 26
Empowering
Children Through
History
Nína Björk believes every child has po-
tential to change the world
Words: Emma Ledbetter Photos: Joana Fontinha
The Icelandic sagas tell the
stories of the strong and coura-
geous people who settled on the
inhospitable shores of this island.
But for author Nína Björk Jónsdót-
tir, the women of history always
seemed to be overshadowed by
their husbands and fathers, even
though their stories are just as
daring and dramatic. She wants
children to know that, in reality,
women played a powerful role in
settling and shaping the country
we know today and that they, too,
can shape history.
“History is often taught through
the men,” Nína Björk says. “We
learn that the first settler was
Ingólfur Arnarson, and Hallveig
Fróðadóttir is just referred to as
his wife, if she’s mentioned at all.
There’s a statue of him downtown
where he overlooks the centre of
Reykjavík, but she was there as
well. There’s only a small street
named after Hallveig that leads
off a bigger road with Ingólfur’s
name.”
This was the motivation behind
Nína Björk’s children’s book,
“Daughters of Iceland,” which was
recently published in Icelandic and
as an abridged English version. She
felt Iceland was lacking a book like
this: one that chronicles the lives
of not just the most well-known
Icelandic women, but other impor-
tant “firsts” in Icelandic history.
Written with children,
for children
Nína Björk is herself a woman
marked by the Icelandic spirit—
full of ideas she is compelled to
put into words, and with a passion
for gender equality that manifests
both in how she writes and how she
raises her children.
She has lived abroad for almost
a third of her life but always values
coming home to Iceland. Nína
Björk has two children, and when
they lived abroad with her, she felt
it was important to teach them
about Icelandic history since they
weren’t learning it in school.
“Both of my children have been
with me throughout this journey,”
Nína Björk says, of writing “Daugh-
ters of Iceland.” “They had some
ideas and suggestions; when my
son was learning about history,
he came home and said, ‘mom,
I learned about a really strong
woman today!’”
Nína Björk hopes the stories in
the book will empower her children
and others to be anything they
want to be, knowing there were
many powerful Icelandic women
that paved the way for them.
Uncommon accounts
Of the 44 women featured in the
original Icelandic book—cut to 23
in the English version—Nína Björk
says she could not choose a favou-
rite. “I love them all dearly,” she
explains. “There are many more
that I would have loved to include.”
Nína Björk says she wanted to
cover women from a variety of
backgrounds and regions, espe-
cially ones that aren’t often covered
in the media, so she read dozens
of books, magazine articles, and
historical accounts. Her descrip-
tions delve beyond the surface of
these women’s lives, telling how
they grew up and achieved great
things.
“I was trying to focus a bit on
their childhood, to show kids that
we all start small,” Nína Björk says.
“Everybody who is famous or doing
great things today was a child at
one point. For example, Björk
went to the same school as my kids
today. I thought that was empower-
ing for children.”
Tattoo artist and illustrator
Auður Ýr Elísabetardóttir created
the images for the book, which
feature the daughters dressed in
period-specific clothing, holding
items they likely would have used
in their daily lives.
“I think the pictures bring
the book to life,” Nína Björk says.
“There’s a lot of respect for the
women, but they’re also sweet and
have a bit of humour.”
Where no woman has
gone
When Nína Björk was only five
years old, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
became the fourth president of
Iceland, and the first female head
of state in the world. Nína Björk
says this impacted her generation
and every generation after as more
women assumed leadership roles
in parliament and other sectors.
“It made me think, ‘what could I
be that no woman has done or been
before?’” Nína Björk says. “Just to
have the liberty to think that it’s
allowed and okay to think so big,
that’s what she gave to Icelandic
children.”
Nína Björk says her book is not
just for Icelanders. Everyone can
learn something from “Daughters
of Iceland”.
“These Icelandic women have
a message for the whole world,”
Nína Björk explains. “You can be
anything. Everybody starts some-
where. If you have big dreams and
you pursue them and don’t stop at
the first obstacle, you can achieve
whatever you set your mind to.”
Daughters of Iceland is available for
purchase in our online store: shop.
grapevine.is
Daughters of Iceland” is close to Nína Björk’s heart
26The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 08— 2022Books