A new Danish children’s songbook rewrites 19 familiar classics with the genders reversed, so that Mester Jakob is now Mester Maja. The book, “Børnesange for alle børn,” was presented in reporting published August 12, 2026.
DR reports that the songs and melodies are largely unchanged, while boys’ names in the lyrics have been replaced by girls’ names. The book was made by Andreas Hemmeth, also known as DJ Encore, and musician and entrepreneur Anna Lidell, who also drew the illustrations.
Several songs have been altered beyond the names. “Jeg gik mig over sø og land” has become “Jeg gik mig over sø og jord,” so the line rhymes with gammel mor instead of gammel mand. In “Rits Rats Filijon, gong, gong,” a line about women lifting their skirts has been replaced by one about dancers hopping up and turning around.
Lidell told DR that the idea came about naturally, because she and Hemmeth both have daughters of the same age. Both had already rewritten old bedtime songs at home so their daughters could recognize themselves in them, and others in their circle had done the same.
She stressed to DR that the new versions are meant as a supplement to the existing Danish song tradition, not a replacement. According to Lidell, children are easily influenced, and singing only about boys who are hunters and bakers can make girls believe those roles are not for them.
Criticism and a debate piece
In a debate piece in Berlingske, the two authors write that the project answers a concrete imbalance. Boys, they argue, are the ones who build, bake and go on adventures in the songs sung most often today.
The debate piece also refers to an American study published in the journal Gender & Society in 2011. It examined 5,618 children’s books published in the United States during the previous century, and found men represented in titles nearly twice as often as women.
Berlingske further reported that some reactions have called the rewrites an attack on Danish cultural heritage. Lidell told DR that she understands the feelings attached to the songs, but said it would be very poor and boring if the culture stayed stuck in what it was in 1959. She added that the old versions are not being erased, and that people may find the project provocative if they wish.
Not every song has changed roles. In the new version of “Op lille Hans,” known to some as “Op lille Ole,” it is still the mother who wakes the child. Asked about that by DR, Lidell called the point constructive feedback and said a later edition could make it the father instead. The songs sit alongside the reading material children meet elsewhere, including in Danish schools.
