EXCLUSIVELY FOR ABBA THE MUSEUM! POP STORY BY BJÖRN ULVAEUS. Illustrated by Ola Skogäng.

POP STORY (Fri Tanke) is an illustrated book for children from 5 to 10 years of age written by Björn Ulvaeus. The book tells the story of four young, talented people in the late 60s, who met and formed one of world’s bestselling pop groups of all time, ABBA, and wrote Swedish pop history.

“My little 6-year old granddaughter had so many questions!” said Björn Ulvaeus. “As we walked through the ABBA museum she saw pictures of me wherever she turned. Dressed in strange clothes and without a beard. To her, it was weird that grandfather had been through so much and why was he being photographed all the time. “Granddad, what’s a pop group?” she asked me.

"I explained and explained and after I while I noticed that what I was telling her sounded like a story. What the four ABBA members had been through was indeed a true Cinderella story! And I thought that maybe other children might like to hear it too. So I decided to write it down, so that other grandfathers could tell the story to their grandchildren, and here it is, a pop story.”

The book is richly illustrated by Swedish cartoonist and illustrator Ola Skogäng. In his clear, simple style and signature muted colour palette, Ola illustrated the 20 or so images that bring the fairytale-like story to life.

“I was never really a hardcore ABBA fan, it was more my sisters who listened to ABBA in the 70s. So depicting them meant I was very free of preconceptions and fixed ideas,” said Ola. ”My inspiration came more from certain parts of the story that jumped out loud and clear in front of me as an image.”

Published by Fri Tanke, the book is available in English and Swedish and is sold exclusively at ABBA The Museum and via the museum’s webshop. All royalties on sales go to Barncancerfonden (The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation).

ABOUT OLA SKOGÄNG

Ola Skogäng (born 1974) is a Swedish illustrator, cartoonist and author from Enköping. His work includes Theo’s occult curiosities, which will be celebrating their 10th anniversary next year. Skogäng has also illustrated several children’s books in collaboration with Bonnier and Alfabeta.