Rights catalogue

Otto Monster’s Beach Chaos

Jon Ewo / Reidar Kjelsen

Otto is not sure whether he can withstand the summer sun. The Møkk family will have to go to the beach to cool off. But this is not without its complications. Papa Møkk has taken a shine to blue shark Ståle. His new favourite family member. But Ståle is a bit of a handful and destroys everything. Can they get rid of this bothersome bully? Ewo provides a funny and easily recognisable slant on family life.

The Wolf Boy

Tor Åge Bringsværd

Tal from the Wolf Tribe is eight winters old. Every day, Dad and the other men go hunting. Tal is too young to go with them, but he doesn't agree with that! One day he goes out to pick berries for Mum, and meets an angry bear which licks its lips and creeps towards him. Suddenly, somebody appears on the scene at full speed. An arm stretches out, takes hold of Tal and pulls him away at the last moment!It's a girl the same age as Tal. She is riding on a big sabre-toothed tiger, one of the most dangerous animals in existence. The girl is called Nea, and she is from the Mammoth Tribe, the Wolf Tribe's perpetual enemies. If Tal and Nea and the sabre-toothed tiger Shita are going to be friends, they will need to keep it very, very secret.It was not easy being eight winters old in the Stone Age, but it was certainly exciting! Ulvegutten is the first book in the exciting easy-to-read series about Tal and Nea and the sabre-toothed tiger Shita from Tor Åge Bringsværd and Haakon Lie.

Courageous

Svein Harald Røine

Imagine that every day of your life is represented by a Post-it sticker. From the cradle to the grave you have perhaps 30,000 Post-it stickers at your disposal. You pull a sticker off every day. It never comes back. Are you satisfied with what was written on the sticker? Or do you long for something different? Can you do anything about it? This was the question Svein Harald Røine grappled with when he suddenly became unemployed. He realised that the new situation offered a golden opportunity to find out what he wanted to change in his life, both at work and privately. Assisted by a skilled coach, he set out on a journey with many surprising challenges where he had to move out of his comfort zone. This is the process which he describes in the book, with humour, warmth, mixed terror and delight, embarrassment – and pride. He learned how to deal with fear. Svein Harald Røine wants to help people to be more courageous in their everyday lives, at work, at home, in leisure time, in both big and small matters. With courage we can defy fear, shape changes and attain new goals. ’A delightful, refreshing and insightful book … Recommended!’Mia Törnblom ’The first self-development book I haven’t managed to put down – like a charming little novel!’Cecilie Gunnæs Hermansen ’The best book I have read in a long time! Not only is it thought-provoking and full of good advice; it is also agreeably entertaining at the same time.’Lisbeth Ulsaker’This book is warmly recommended! I couldn’t lay it down … it will become a favourite!’Siri Folkvord Abrahamsen

Monster Waves

Ingvild Bjerkeland

It is late in the evening, way past bedtime. But Janna wants to go fishing with the grown-ups. The sea is teeming with mackerel, and that means a lot of fish on the hook. But when they start heading home, the weather has turned, and the waves are huge, grey and dangerous. Then Janna hears someone shouting. “Help!” she hears. Then she sees something yellow in the water. A flash of yellow, and then it's gone. Someone is in the water – and someone needs help! Monsterbølger is an exciting picture book about being at sea – and about being grown up even when you're little. The idyllic fishing trip becomes a perilous rescue mission, and the author and illustrator use both words and pictures to show that the sea is unpredictable. This picture book is a successful collaboration between Ingvild Bjerkeland and illustrator Åshild Irgens. Bjerkeland's text is intimate and powerful, and Irgens' illustrations are beautiful, aquamarine and vivid.

Morkel’s Alphabet

Stian Hole

In Stian Hole's new book, Morkels alfabet, we are reunited with Anna from Annas himmel. There is someone leaving notes on the ground. Who can it be? Anna wonders. One evening, she sees a shadow. A boy. Is it him? Next day, the note says “Morkel”. Morkel, who is almost never at school. Morkel has a cabin in the forest, and Anna finds him. They spend a lot of time together, both of them interested in words and letters. Everyone has their own alphabet, Anna thinks, and it can take a long time to work out what letters mean. Morkel knows a lot about birds, but one day he is gone, like a migratory bird. Anna longs and hopes that he will return. Maybe he'll be back in the spring? A beautiful story about friendship and what is important in life. The story is both intense yet moderately-paced with a lot of food for thought. The illustrations are full of wonder, nature and life. A new, fantastic picture book from one of our leading picture book authors. Rights sold to: DENMARK (Høst & Søn), SWEDEN (Alfabeta Bokförlag AB), GERMANY (Carl Hanser Verlag). ‘Brilliant picture book from Stian Hole about the fantastical void between childhood and adult life. … Hole’s seamless collages, for which clippings from photographs as well as other artwork and popular media were edited in Photoshop, reach new heights here. Where text is scant, details in the typography flesh out the story’s generous landscape. Dreamlike tableaux are presented that nod to other art and literature. Like the cake crumbs in Hansel and Gretel, Hole sets up visual puzzles that add to the story and our experience as we look along the way. The author also manages to let the story of a lonely boy, neglect and a friendship that borders on adult friendship seep out into the visual landscape.Bergens Tidende ‘Stian Hole takes us once more into a dreamland where we find pieces of reality to ponder over. … Using his own unique technique, he has a signature that stands out. … Her [Anna’s] respectful approaches are charming as well as playful and imaginative. … One day, plain and simply, she asks Morkel: “What are you good at?” “Nothing,” Morkel answers. And instead of responding with an “oh well” or something similar, she just asks: “What else?” This short sequence in the book is pure gold. It shows that Hole’s poetic and sensitive means of expressing himself not only reveals itself in the pictures, but also in the text. It is food for thought. … The tentative friendship between these two is beautifully depicted. This is not a story about a clever girl that saves a loser and brings him back into the fold. They continue to be different, but nevertheless share a patient and sensitive connection and friendship. Hole’s particular method of using a mixture of photography, drawing and various digital media generates pictures queer enough to give us pause and which in themselves contribute to the sense of unreality. It works best of all in dream situations, in the darkness with all the small details that you can look for and delight over when you find them. Yet at the same time, there is always something very concrete in the pictures, such as Anna’s mud-covered boots positioned within reach next to her bed where she is sleeping, lost in the throes of her own imagination. … This is yet another masterpiece from Stian Hole and his artist’s cave.’Vårt Land ‘Stian Hole has garnered great international attention with his books. They have been published in 17 countries and won many prestigious prizes. His most recent offering should do the same. Morkels alfabet is a masterpiece.’DEMOKRATEN‘Morkels alfabetis full of secrets. You uncover some of them. Some of them stay secret, somewhere in the void between marvelling words and wonderful illustrations.’FÆDRELANDSVENNEN‘Hole’s seamless collages, for which clippings from photographs as well as other artwork and popular media were edited in Photoshop, reach new heights here. Where text is scant, details in the typography flesh out the story’s generous landscape. Dreamlike tableaux are presented that nod to other art and literature. Like the cake crumbs in Hansel and Gretel, Hole sets up visual puzzles that add to the story and our experience as we look along the way. The author also manages to let the story of a lonely boy, neglect and a friendship that borders on adult friendship seep out into the visual landscape.BERGENS TIDENDE 'Stian Hole has created a whole particular genre of his own with his poetic portrayal of children, where electronic manipulation of actual photographs is a basic element. At its best (as it mostly is), this is delightful. … A gentle book which appeals to the senses.' NRK 'A deeply captivating picture-story. … In ’Morkel’s Alphabet,’ today’s leading, internationally recognised, Norwegian picture-book illustrator takes another step forward in the range of his artistic explorations.'AFTENPOSTEN 'With ’Morkel’s Alphabet,’ Stian Hole has again created a masterpiece of a picture-book.’DAGBLADET

Morsomme masker

Helene S Lundberg / Ann Boel Margareta Nilsson

Knitting and crochet projects little and large. This book is for people who enjoy crochet and knitting, but who need ideas for making things which are both amusing and useful. There are a pin-cushion in the shape of a hedgehog, a cover for a pen-holder, and many other ingenious ideas. Amusing egg-warmers, a key-holder in the shape of a pig's head, a beautiful crocheted blanket and much more. What is common to all the ideas is that they are fun to make and that they will make your home a cosy place to be.

Mule Boy

Øyvind Torseter

The king has sent six of his seven sons out into the world to find suitable princesses. They do not return, and Mule Boy insists on finding out what happened to them. He discovers that the troll has turned them and their brides into stone. He enters the mountain to find the troll and free the princess that the troll has captured. This is a funny twist on an old folk tale. There is a lot of humour and funny lines in the book. It is impressive and exciting to enter the mountain together with Mule Boy, and the princess is both tough and charismatic. We also know Mule Boy from previous books. The illustrations are beautiful, funny and fanciful both in terms of line and use of colour.Mule Boy was nominated to The Nordic Councils Childrens Book Prize in 2016. ‘… a beautiful little hero story about impossible choices and fearlessness, about fighting for what you believe in and finding happiness. This is fun reading for adults and children, and it is perfect for young people who will go on to compare narrative styles and values in contemporary texts with those in myths and folklore when they are at upper secondary school. Mulegutten should feature in a course or three.’ DEMOKRATEN ‘Øyvind Torseter lets his imagination run riot through a classic story. It’s particularly funny if you’ve heard the story before. Curiosity, adventurousness and courage characterise the young prince who rides out to save his brothers. Curiosity is a word that can also be used when talking about Øyvind Torseter himself – the result is a fantastic picture book that both children and adults will love.’ NRK 'Torseter is an entertaining story-teller, in both words and pictures.' DAGBLADET Danish Review Cuttings: The Mule Boy by Øyvind Torseter ’Mulegutten is a formidable work (…) This book fully deserved the Norwegian Critics Prize for 2015, and stands out as the most original illustrated book in many years. If it were possible, this book should be given 7 full stars!’ BERLINGSKE ‘This is a supreme presentation of a folk tale. (…) Elements from the present day are brought in, but the traditional folk-tale struggle between good and evil is maintained. (…) Øyvind Torseter does this well. “And then the Princess and the Mule Boy lived happily ever after. ‘ BOGBOTTEN ’The picture pages are outstanding (…) Mulegutten is a modern hero in a classic epic. So he stands apart from the metaphor, leaving it to the reader’s imagination. This is beautifully done. FINE SPIND 'Mulegutten which at the same time celebrates, unites and renews the genres of the classic folk tale and the cartoon series (…) Mulegutten is a book for all ages, which offers much on many different levels.’ KRISTELIGT DAGBLAD ‘Torseter’s pictures have a quite special and modern quality. (…) A beautiful and exciting book, which is not afraid to be different.’ MICHAEL LINDAL ANDERSEN

Cheerful Death Poems

Jan Jakob Tønseth

Jan Jakob Tønseth has written a collection of cheerful death poems. After it was confirmed that he had breast cancer, his thoughts naturally turned to illness, time and death. It is with great authority and consciousness of form that he moves in a literary landscape where he quotes and engages in dialogues with other poets who have written about death: Wergeland, Baudelaire, Ekelöf and Nerval. There is a selection of sonnets from his stay in hospital and the convalescence period. He locates his scar in a historic context, writing about flowers and his sister, Kari. There are echoes of the Spanish poet Francisco de Quevedo (1500s) and of Baudelaire and Nerval. There are laments and biblical poems, and not least beautiful poems about Fagervann in Maridalen, where the sick go to find courage and strength. “Get up, young man/ and go to Fagervann.” This is a beautiful, gripping collection that makes the reader smile, chuckle and reflect on life and death. It is illustrated with old prints and drawings.

Our Neighbour Is a Witch

Bjørn Arild Ersland

Our neighbour is over one hundred years old and resembles a dried grape. She is called Miss Pollestad and works as a witch. She does magic on her way along the street. Makes cars stop. Makes leaves fly from branches. I am the only person who knows that our neighbour is a witch, and that is why I have to spy on her using my binoculars while wearing my invisibility cloak. The witch is always looking for things to put in her soup. It has been cooking for over one hundred years now. It smells like boiled tiger in our stairwell. Whoever drinks that soup will surely die. Something terrible will happen, I just know it. It must never, never happen. Naboen er en heks has a classic feel to it, sensing and seeing through a child's eyes and perceiving something that adults cannot. ‘… Ersland’s inventiveness calls forth smile after smile. The superb interaction between Ersland and Ask envelops the reader and leads to a highly dramatic and liberating conclusion. I won’t say any more.’AFTENPOSTEN ‘This is a lovely little book that author Bjørn Arild Ersland has written for children between the ages of four and eight. It was designed to arouse wonder in young readers. What is the witch up to? Will she catch her young neighbour spying? Is the old lady dangerous? The story has a wonderful and naïve streak to it. It looks through a child’s eyes and knows something the adults don’t. This makes it even more exciting. … Ersland and Ask deserve praise for the book’s clever conclusion.’DEMOKRATEN

GONE

Terje Thorsen