Children's & YA catalogue 2015

CHILDREN’S & YOUNG ADULT BOOKS 2015 C H I L D R EN ’ S A N D YA

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NEW TITLES MARCH – MAY 2015 Engolm/Falk: Snot/Snor (Non-fiction/Easy reader) Mendel-Hartvig/Gustavsson: Otis is Angry/Otis bråkar (Picture book) Pierrou/Hellgren: Bugball/Småkrypsboll (Picture book) Adbåge, Lisen: Koko and Bo. Don’t have time!/Koko och Bosse. Hinner inte! (Picture book) Ingves, Gunilla: Teddy Bruno’s Summer/Nalle Brunos sommar (Picture book)

JUNE – AUGUST 2015 Gunnarson/Backman/Gustavsson: 12 Songs about the Months/12 sånger om månaderna (Picture book) Höjer/Hansson: Fiddle and Goony Run into Detectives/Fille och Gonkan hos detektiverna (Easy reader/Fiction)

SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2015 Linngård-Oksanen/Kanstad Johnsen: Good Night, Your Majesty/God natt Ers Majestät (Picture book) Gustavsson, Per: The Princess and the Horrible Incident of the Bear in the Woods/Prinsessan och den förskräckliga händelsen med björnen i skogen (Picture book) Rundberg, Johan: Knocked-out Romeo/Knockad Romeo (Fiction 9–12) Ollmark/Wändblad: Revised titles x 2 (Fiction 9–12)

© Matilda Ruta

Nilsson, Frida: The Pirates of the Ice Sea/Ishavspirater (Fiction 6–9) Nilsson, Moni: Tsatsiki and The Hammer/Tsatsiki och Hammarn (Fiction 6–9) Nilsson, Moni: Tsatsiki’s Universe/Tsatsiki, Älva och olivkriget working title (Fiction 6–9) Ruta, Matilda: At the Hospital/Sjukhusboken working title (Picture book) Wahl, Mats: The Lawmakers/Lagstiftarna (Young adult) Taikon, Katarina: Katitzi part 3 & 4 (Fiction 6–9) Lidbeck, Petter: Jesus and Me/Jesus och jag (Fiction 6–9)

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Natur & Kultur is Sweden’s third largest publisher and publishes books for the general market as well as the educational market. What sets Natur & Kultur apart from other publishing houses is that it is a foundation with a mission to “counteract totalitarian ideas and forms of government and foster economic and political freedom”. We fulfill these requirements partly through our publications as well as by constantly striving to strengthen and develop our position as an independent publishing house.

The Children’s and YA Department publishes around 30–35 titles each year. We publish a great range of books: everything from board books for the youngest to novels for young adults. We aim to give children cultural experiences in the literary form with high artistic quality.

Contact: Catharina Lantz | Foreign Rights Agent, Children’s Books | catharina.lantz@nok.se | +46-8-453 86 94 Natur & Kultur | Karlavägen 31 | P.O. Box 27323 | SE-102 54 Stockholm | Sweden | www.nok.se C H I L D R EN ’ S A N D YA

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Good Night, Your Majesty Villemo Linngård Oksanen & Åshild Kanstad Johnsen Once upon a time there was a very tiny king. So small in fact, that his crown fell down on his nose when he played football and he barely saw over the rim of the bowl when he baked muffins.

It’s late at night and the king can’t sleep. The town mayor, the priest, the maid, the doctor, the Chamberlain and Agnes the Knight attend to him in all ways imaginable. They bring him warm milk, they fetch his pink PJs with golden crowns on, they count sheep, read bedtime stories and chase away monsters from under the bed. Everybody does exactly what the king says.

But he still can’t sleep. Finally, the castle’s smallest kitten pitter-patter through the bedroom door…

A funny and familiar picture book about a very small and determined king who can’t sleep. Set within a classic fairy tale backdrop, with a humorous twist and thrilling illustrations.

Villemo Linngård Oksanen (born 1977) lives in Älvkarleby, Sweden. She was a junior high school teacher, but started translating books part time in 2005, and by 2010 she had quit her teaching job and started translating and writing full time. Åshild Kanstad Johnsen (born 1978) is a Norwegian picture book artist and illustrator living in Bergen, Norway. Åshild has studied visual communication at the art school in Bergen. She made her debut with Kubbes museum in 2010.

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Good Night, Your Majesty Villemo Linngård Oksanen Illustrations: Åshild Kanstad Johnsen 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3-6 September 2015

Otis is Angry Åsa Mendel-Hartvig & Ane Gustavsson

Stina is going to draw a tractor.

So is Otis. A red one.

Stina draws for a long time.

It’s never Otis’s turn.

Otis’s best friend Stina has new crayons: yellow, red, green, and blue. Otis wants to use the red one, but Stina won’t let him have it. Now Otis doesn’t want to play anymore.

This is the fourth book in the series about sweet Otis. It’s a tender story easy to identify with for the youngest children. The soft illustrations in watercolor and pastel make the reader immediately sympathize with Otis and his sentiments. Åsa Mendel-Hartvig lives in Stockholm. She is a journalist and an author. Åsa has previously written the books Tesslas mamma vill inte! and Tesslas pappa vill inte! with Caroline Röstlund, published by Olika Förlag.

Otis is Angry Åsa Mendel-Hartvig Illustrations: Ane Gustavsson 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 0–3 May 2015

“An irresistable book with wonderful pictures and unerring texts.”

Ane Gustavsson is an illustrator and a viola player. She has together with Lennart Hellsing published the book Drillar och draköron. Boken om instrumenten/Drills and Dragon Ears. The Book about the Instruments (2011). She has also illustrated several successful books such as Gubbe och katt

by Nils Uddenberg. Ane lives in Arvika, Sweden.

Otis’ Mittens. Sold to Denmark

Otis Longs. Sold to: Denmark

Otis Consoles. Sold to: Denmark, Korea and China

Ingalill Mosander, Aftonbladet

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Koko and Bo

Don’t have time!

Lisen Adbåge ”We don’t have time to play now,” says Bo. “Get down from that rock immediately.”

“Don’t have time,” says Koko. “We’re climbing.”

In the third book in the series about the charming duo, Koko and Bo are heading out for a day on the beach. They’re in a hurry, so Bo urges Koko on. First they have to buy snacks to bring with them, and then they have to catch the bus. But Koko thinks that there are other, more important things to make time for.

A warm book that you will want to read again and again. Lisen Adbåge’s illustrations have fresh, unconventional perspectives, the colors give depth to the setting while the characters shine with their own peculiarities.

Lisen Adbåge was born in 1982 and lives in southern Sweden.

She is an illustrator, author and graphic novelist. She was one of the thirty contemporary illustrators selected to represent Sweden in Bologna in 2013.

Koko and Bo. Don’t have time!

Lisen Adbåge 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3-6 April 2015 Koko and Bo

Koko and Bo. Don’t dare!

“It’s not only the sunset that sparkles, but Lisen Adbåge’s whole narrative in words and images” Svenska Dagbladet ”One could say that the book has an excellent child’s perspective, but that would be an understatement. It’s better than that. The adult also has a place in it. Simply a good people perspective” Borås tidning

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En humla En gräshopp En nyckelpig En citronfjär Tre spindlar En mask och

Bugball Tove Pierrou & Joanna Hellgren

Femton insek

When Omko bends down to tug his socks up for the umpteenth time he notices something in the grass of the football field.

“A snail!” Omko observes the yellow-gray shell. It’s probably scared, just like he is. A football could probably hurt a snail a lot…

Omko is on his way to play a football game, but he doesn’t like his new shoes. And he’s not particularly fond of football either. His big sister tells him the shoes are magical, but Omko just snorts.

Once on the football field, he discovers several bugs in the grass. He needs to save them from being trampled. Suddenly he’s off at full speed. His mom sees him run like never before.

Sometimes he’s near the ball, but the truth is that he’s picking up bugs and putting them in his shoes, which turn out to be pretty magical after all!

Debut author Tove Pierrou and innovative illustrator Joanna Hellgren have created an empathetic and fun picture book about a young boy with a big heart.

Bug Ball Tove Pierrou Illustrations: Joanna Hellgren 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3–6 March 2015

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småkrypsboll_inlaga.indd 4-5

Tove Pierrou is a political science and linguist major, lives in Brussels and works with questions of communication and the European Union. This is her debut.

Joanna Hellgren, born in 1981, won Natur & Kultur’s picture book competition in 2009. She is an illustrator and cartoonist. She has published comic books in France, and her Mon frère nocturne (2008) was nominated for the award Best Comic at the cartoon festival in Angulême. Joanna has also been represented at Grand Palais in Paris.

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Circus!

Ida Björs 16 pages. Board book Age: 0–3 November 2015

Circus!

Ida Björs The horses scrape their hooves on the ground, the acrobats are warming up, as the audience buzz. It’s circus time! This is a wordless board book for the youngest children, in which the artistic image is central. Each spread contains an act from the world of the circus – the magician who pulls a rabbit out of his hat, the tightrope walker who balances high up in the air, and the ­plume-bearing horses who trot in a circle.

One page of each spread features a more detailed and complex image, of which a detail is lifted out and displayed on the next page. The young child learns to ­recognize an object, and also to see it placed in a larger context.

Rich, colorful and in hardwearing cardboard made to endure little fingers.

Ida Björs (born 1973) is an illustrator and an artist who works with magazines and books.

She was one of the thirty contemporary illustrators selected to represent Sweden in Bologna in 2013. Ida has also been given the Björn Berg Artist Award. She is currently living in Stockholm.

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At the Hospital Matilda Ruta At the counter you have to say your name.

Both your first and your last name.

Now you have to wait in the waiting room, they say.

That’s a room where you just wait.

Once in a while, someone comes in and calls out a name.

When you hear a name you have to think fast.

Is my name Samir? No. Is my name Ester? No. A poetic picture book in a delightfully larger format about everything that goes on at a hospital.

Author and illustrator Matilda Ruta was given the task to make an “artist in hospital” project, which resulted in animations that were exhibited on screens in a hospital entrance. The assignment also gave her inspiration for this beautiful picture book.

At the Hospital Matilda Ruta 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3–6 September 2015

Matilda Ruta (born 1982) is an illustrator and designer from Stockholm. After graduating from Konstfack, the largest university college of arts, crafts and design in Sweden, she has worked with graphic novels, illustration assignments, picture books, magazine design, workshops and decorations. She was one of the thirty contemporary illustrators selected to represent Sweden in Bologna in 2013. She was also given the honorary task to illustrate one of the books in Natur & Kultur’s prominent series Min lilla skattkammare (My Treasury) in 2014.

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Teddy Bruno’s Summer Gunilla Ingves Teddy Bruno and his dog Maisy are eating breakfast outside. The swallows fly around the cottage, chirping and flapping their wings.

When Teddy is weeding he meets the worm Lubby who is very hungry.

Teddy makes paths with the lawn mower, and at the same time gives Lubby fresh and tasty grass to munch on. It is hot outside and Teddy and Maisy decide to go swim in the pond. Teddy swims out to the frogs and stays in the water until he’s shivering. On the way home they stop to look at the lizards, and find a thrilling snake skin. There is so much to discover! In the birch grove they pick forest raspberries.

They’re going to make raspberry cake for the party this afternoon.

The guests arrive – the cat Tom, Lisa and Doris, the ants and the bumblebees. Everyone gets a taste of Teddy’s yummy cake.

Teddy Bruno’s Summer is a warm and playful picture book about nature and animals – and everything wonderful about summer.

”The book is educational in the best sense of the word – the language both informative and poetic/…/ Narrative non-fiction is a difficult genre and Ingves is nothing but a master of it!”

Eva Wahlström, Borås tidning

Teddy Bruno’s Summer Gunilla Ingves 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3–6 May 2015

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12 Songs about the Months Anna Charlotta Gunnarson, Klas Backman & Ane Gustavsson 12 Songs about the Months consists of new, original songs about the twelve months, sheet music and magnificent illustrations on each theme. Catchy, playful and modern songs written by the wordsmith Anna Charlotta Gunnarsson. In Ane Gustavsson’s swarming images we get acquainted with each month of the year; the expected as well as the unexpected, the traditional as well as the innovative.

The musical arrangements work just as well for the symphony orchestra as for playing in the classroom.

Klas Backman is a songwriter, music producer and musician. He has produced music for Swedish Television since 2005. He is also the conductor for the children’s sing-along at Skansen, a wellknown venue in Stockholm.

Anna Charlotta Gunnarson is a journalist and writer. She has produced radio and television since 1991, and has written 7 books for children and young adults.

Ane Gustavsson is an illustrator and a viola player. Among other books, she has illustrated Lennart Hellsing’s Drillar och draköron. Boken om instrumenten/Drills and Dragon Ears. The Book about the Instruments (2011).

12 Songs about the Months Anna Charlotta Gunnarsson, Klas Backman Illustrations: Ane Gustavsson 32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3–6 August 2015

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The Princess and the Horrible Incident of the Bear in the Woods Per Gustavsson

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The Princess and the Horrible Incident of the Bear in the Woods

The eight book about the courageous Princess!

Per Gustavsson

One morning when the Princess wakes up, something is missing.

It’s too quiet. No birds are chirping. There’s no creaking and crashing from the noisy moose. Where has everyone gone? It turns out they’re all hiding in the Princess’ own castle! An awful bear is making a lot of ruckus in the forest so no one dares to be around. The Princess takes off to solve the problem of course. Yet, the bear is even beyond her control – this problem can only be solved together.

32 pages. Hard cover Age: 3–6 September 2015

Per Gustavsson is an illustrator and an author, born in 1962 and living in Stockholm.

He’s illustrated a number of books, both his own and others’, and his illustrations are often seen in magazines. The books about the Princess have been a success story from the start – they have sold in 150,000 copies in Sweden and have been published in all Nordic countries. The Princess has also been adapted for the stage, and started a rockband. The Princess Rockband’s song ”Glada tillsammans” (Happy Together) actually made it to the charts in the summer of 2012.

When a Princess Visits the Zoo

That’s what a Princess Does

”My friends” collection book

When a Princess Celebrates her Birthday

The Princess’ Rockband

When a Princess Goes on Vacation

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When a Princess Throws a Party

When a Princess Wakes up at Night

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Tsatsiki and The Hammer & Tsatsiki’s Universe Moni Nilsson In Tsatsiki and The Hammer we get reacquainted with Tsatsiki and his best friend Per “The Hammer” Hammar. The book is about not having any money to go visit Agios Ammos, about having parents who fight, and about emancipation. It’s also about the anguish of growing pains (like growing hair in new places…), but still being seen a child. At least that’s how the girls view Tsatsiki nowadays, and Mom who barely lets him ride the bus by himself. Tsatsiki thinks a lot about who he really is.

Nothing feels fun anymore once you’re too old to play. But then he and The Hammer come up with the game of rock-paper-scissor to make things exciting… Which ends up leading to quite some embarrassment, and a broken bone.

Co con ver u str nde uct r ion

Tsatsiki’s Universe

Tsatsiki and The Hammer

Moni Nilsson

Moni Nilsson

Cover: Sarah Sheppard

Cover: Sarah Sheppard

200 pages. Hardcover

200 pages. Hardcover

Age: 6–12

Age: 6–12

November 2015

November 2015

In the last book, Tsatsiki’s Universe, Tsatsiki and The Hammer can’t wait for summer break to begin. Then they’re finally going to Greece and fish for squid. Just the two of them.

But the bad economy in Greece has also affected Agios Ammos. Dad the Squidfisher is on the verge of bankruptcy. He owes the bank a great deal of money, and probably has to sell both his olive grove, his small hotel and the fishing boat. On top of that, something happens that makes The Hammer unable to go with Tsatsiki on their trip. Tsatsiki has to go all by himself. But then Faye appears, the girl with the bare feet. And the summer that started off so badly turns out to be the summer which changes life for good, not only for Tsatsiki, but for everyone in Agios Ammos.

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Tsatsiki and Mom

Tsatsiki on His Own

Tsatsiki and Dad

Tsatsiki Falls in Love

Tsatsiki and Retzina

Tsatsiki-Tsatsiki Johansson won the hearts of readers all over the world when the first book, Tsatsiki and Mom, was published in 1995. To date, the books have been translated into 17 languages and they continue to gain new generations of fans.

The books have won numerous awards, and the first film about Tsatsiki won Best Film in 1999 in Sweden. Moni Nilsson’s portrayal of the everyday life of young Tsatsiki and his somewhat unconventional mother, is characterized by a unique familiar and captivating style, making the books true classics of our time.

Together with the release of the long-awaited continuation about Tsatsiki, the earlier books in the series are revised with new covers by Sarah Sheppard. A new film about Tsatsiki, based on the new books, is also under production.

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Katitzi & Katitzi and Swing Katarina Taikon

Katitzi grew up in Sweden not too long ago, and was like any other kid. She fought with her sisters and brothers and played with her dog, sometimes she behaved nicely, and sometimes she was mischievous, just like anybody else.

Yet, even though she was like anybody else, she wasn’t allowed to attend school. Nor could she live in a real house or stay in the same place for very long before being turned away – all because she was Romani.

The books about Katitzi have been loved by generations of readers and are now published in new editions, carefully revised by writer and journalist Lawen Mohtadi in collaboration with Katarina Taikon’s daughter.

The books have been given new illustrations

by Joanna Hellgren, celebrated illustrator and comic book artist. Joanna has been successful in France with her naivistic and moving illustrations in pencil, for example in Mon frère nocturne and Frances.

Katitzi & Katitzi and Swing Katarina Taikon Illustrations: Joanna Hellgren Katarina Maria Taikon-Langhammer (1932–1995) was a Swedish author with Romani roots, who for many years fought for the rights of Romani in Sweden. Just like many other Romani of her generation, she didn’t attend school but had to learn to read and write as an adult. She was awarded ABF’s literary prize in 1964. In 2012, Natur & Kultur published Katarina Taikon’s biography, written by journalist Lawen Mohtadi.

Joanna Hellgren, born in 1981, won Natur & Kultur’s picture book competition in 2009. She is an illustrator and cartoonist.

She has published comic books in France, and her Mon frère nocturne (2008) was nominated for the award Best Comic at the cartoon festival in Angulême. Joanna has also been represented at Grand Palais in Paris.

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285 pages. Hard cover Age: 6–9 February 2015

Katarina Taikon wrote 13 books in total about Katitzi and her family, between 1969 and 1980. The stories depict questions of injustice and exclusion through the eyes of a child, and how prejudice stems from ignorance. This is the first two books in the series in a revised edition, the next two books will be published fall of 2015.

”Republished Katitzi – painful and relevant children’s literature” Uppsala Nya Tidning ”Katitzi shows everyone the power of children’s books” Östgöta Correspondenten ”It is an engaging and exciting read, I laugh – and I cry […] Katarina Taikon captures sensory impressions just as intensively as you experienced them when you were young – how it smelled, tasted and felt right down under your skin. It makes the story of Katitzi something more than just a testimony of being Romani during the 1940s. There’s also much joy and love in the everyday realism. And Katarina Taikon always takes the side of the vulnerable, whether they speak Romani or not.”

Svenska Dagbladet “Katitzi is just as captivating today […]

It’s good that they’re now being republished, they are needed. Maybe now more than ever?”

Västerviks-tidningen

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Knocked-out Romeo Johan Rundberg Movits Lind is back! He still shares a room with his obnoxious sister, has a best friend named Ruben and an old lady pal who collects handsome men. His main interests are still chess and outer space and his guinea pig Domino... However, now he has turned 12 and is no longer unkissed. He is in fact going steady with the love of his life – skate pro Beata.

But things have a tendency to get complicated for Movits, and suddenly he is dumped, unhappy, and on bad terms with Ruben. He gets his brain hijacked by a theater director and meets Eris who has a secret space project in her basement. Soon, he is standing on stage in front of 800 people, wondering once again: How did I end up here?

Knocked-Out Romeo charmingly combines humor and everyday drama, just like the popular prequel The Love Pizza.

Knocked-Out Romeo Johan Rundberg Cover: Karin Berg 120 pages. Hard cover Age: 9–12

Just like Movits, Johan Rundberg tried out skateboarding when he was younger but after getting hurt and bruised he decided it wasn’t for him.

Nowadays, he considers himself to be interested in skateboarding in theory rather than in practice. When Johan is not writing books he works as a sports journalist in Stockholm where he lives with his family.

Previous titles by Johan Rundberg include the picture book Esther Branson and the Pet-Swapping Day and the books about Ella in our Easy Reader series.

Sold to Denmark, Norway and France

PHOTO: MIA CARLSSON

September 2015

A story about falling down and getting up again.

The Love Pizza

How on earth did he end up here, at the edge of this skateboard ramp? How did he become Movits the Skateboard Superhero, admired by all (including Beatrice, whom he has a serious crush on)? Perhaps you’re wondering: Is Movits a natural raw talent, born to be skating with the best of them? Nope. Absolutely not. What if he’s exposed as a major phoney when people realize they’ve been duped, and worst of all – what will Beatrice think, the girl he has a major crush on?

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The Pirates of the Ice Sea Frida Nilsson

The Pirates of the Ice Sea Frida Nilsson Cover: Alexander Janson 280 pages. Hard cover Age: 6–9 September 2015

“Whitehead has captured my sister! We have to go get her back!”

But no one moved. They looked away, stared down into their glasses, started mumbling to each other, and soon someone said: “Siri, your sister is gone. That’s what happens to those Whitehead captures.

They…no longer exist.”

The feared pirate Whitehead abducts children and makes them work in a mine all day, digging and chopping for diamonds. No one even dares to search for the children. But the day he captures Siri’s little sister Miki, he makes himself an enemy he never could have imagined. Siri goes looking for Whitehead’s island. Because she knows how scared Miki has to be, in the hands of the pirate, in the mine’s dark ducts, all alone.

Me and Gorilla

Me and Dante at the Dump

Jagger, Jagger

Frida Nilsson (born 1979) is an author who made her debut with The Crow’s Incredible Hitchhiking Adventure in 2004, and in the following year both Me and Gorilla and the first book about Hedvig were published. Me and Gorilla, Me and Dante at the Dump and Jagger, Jagger is a suite of free-standing books about outsiders and unconventional friendships.

Taking place at a dump, a junk yard and on the street, the suite is simply called the ”trash trilogy”.

Frida’s authorship is characterized by tremendous humor and great sincerity. She writes about the big questions in life – friendship, death and love – and has been compared to fellow writers such as Roald Dahl and Barbro Lindgren.

Frida is internationally successful, and her books have been nominated for the prestigious Deutscher Jugend Literaturpreis in Germany, and several literary awards in France. She has been an August Prize nominee twice, and won The Astrid Lindgren Prize in 2014.

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Sold to Korea France Norway Germany Turkey Poland Russia Serbia Italy Denmark Czech Republic

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Fiddle and Goony Run Into Detectives Dan Höjer, Roger Hansson & Anders Nyberg

The third book about Fiddle and Goony!

Fiddle and Goony are sleeping over at their grandparents’, who are so super-duper old that they have moved to a retirement home. They are both quite forgetful, but all of a sudden they remember what it was like back in the days. To be more precise, a hundred years ago when they were detectives and chased villains in New York. And swoosh! – Fiddle and Goony are whisked off on another breathtaking adventure, this time in a hot air balloon. They find themselves leading the chase for the Big Laugher, who with his funny stories gets his victims laughing to the point that they can’t defend themselves.

Oddly, mom doesn’t believe a word when they tell her about their adventure afterwards, but maybe that’s a good thing. Because otherwise Fiddle and Goony would probably never get to visit their grandparents again…

Fiddle and Goony Run Into Detectives Dan Höjer and Roger Hansson Fiddle and Goony Run Into Dinosaurs

48 pages. Hardcover Age: 6–9 (Easy reader) June 2015

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Fiddle and Goony Run Into Pirates

Illustrations: Anders Nyberg

Snot Bengt-Erik Engholm & Jojo Falk

Brace yourself: during 24 hours, a person can produce almost 1 liter of snot. Like an entire carton of milk…

What does snot consist of? Why do so many people think snot is disgusting? And how come the body produces so much of it when you have a cold? This is the book that answers all questions you’ve ever had about snot! The author has done thorough research on the subject. Because a book isn’t just something you can blow out of your nose.

Bengt-Erik Engholm and Jojo Falk’s non-fiction titles are packed with thrilling and peculiar facts, and humorous illustrations. They are informative, personal and fun! The book about fakirs won the Book Jury’s award for Best Non-fiction title in 2010.

Snot Bengt-Erik Engholm

Sold to Denmark, China and Norway

Illustrations: Jojo Falk 48 pages. Hardcover Age: 6–9 (Easy reader) March 2015

Skeletons

Bats

Fakirs

Sea Monsters

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Souls in the Sky and Other Ghost Stories Dan Höjer &Jonna Björnstjerna

Lovely horror stories for the younger readers!

Author Dan Höjer treats us to four new tickling ghost stories guaranteed to give you the creeps.

In Souls in the Sky we get to read about Elsa who lives next to a cemetery and one day gets contacted by her dead, and not so nice, grandmother. Elias gets scared at a ghost-themed party at school, but whose is the ghost voice that comforts him? Jonathan is in the hospital by himself and is suddenly visited by a pale little girl who wants him to come with her to her room – room number 13. And for Engla, a visit to the zoo turns into a nightmare.

This is the fourth freestanding book with just scary-enough ghost stories by Dan Höjer, with suggestive black and white illustrations by Jonna Björnstjerna.

Souls in the Sky and Other Ghost Stories Text: Dan Höjer Illustrations: Jonna Björnstjerna 64 pages. Hard cover Age: 6–9 October 2014

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Crab Lake Island Lena Ollmark & Mats Wänblad

The seaside town of Crab Lake Island holds many secrets, from which Karl Dymling and his friend Sarah never seem to escape ...

Revised editions of the popular books that mix crime and supernatural elements!

Vallona – The Haunted Ship Sold to: Denmark, Norway and Germany

Hanged Man’s Island

Captain Black-Oak’s Grave Sold to: Denmark and Germany

The Visitor’s Shadow

The Spring of the Dead Sold to: Germany

The Nightman

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The Riders The Warriors The Lawmakers Mats Wahl

In The Riders we meet Elin, age sixteen. Embroiled in a family feud, Elin kills a man who wants to hurt her. In order to redeem her captured brother, she must venture out alone into a landscape populated by many enemies and few friends. When she returns she is pregnant.

In The Warriors a civil war has broken out in Sweden. Due to her blood relations to Karin, a leader in the resistance movement, Elin is captured, along with her three-month old daughter Gerda, and taken to a security prison where they treat her with LSD and other drugs to make her cooperate. She escapes, and with her daughter in a sack she struggles to make her way home through a harsh world. Upon returning home, she kills two thugs who threaten her family. The murder is caught by surveillance cameras, and when the films are shown on television, Elin unwillingly becomes a national hero.

In 2015, the third book in the series BLOOD RAIN, a powerful and dark story of the fight for survival in a not entirely unrealistic future, is published. In The Lawmakers, the ruthless resistance movement has taken control of the political power after a long period of dictatorship. Elin’s aunt Karin has been appointed Attorney General, and is encouraging Elin to use her popularity for a political career. At the same time, the son of the man Elin killed is planning his revenge.

From an anonymous life in the country to a life at the center of media, Elin is forced to process her trauma from her incarceration, and the fact that she has killed three people.

Even her family is judging her. All the while the myth of her endeavors is intensifying around the world. An intricate web of power is spun, with Karin and the robot Turing at the center, and it becomes all the more difficult to distinguish man from robot…

The Lawmakers Mats Wahl Cover: Sara Acedo 300 pages. Hard cover Age: Young adult September 2015

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Mats Wahl is one of Sweden’s leading writers for young people. He was born in Malmö in 1945 and is currently living in Stockholm. Since his debut in 1978, he has written more than 50 books, plays and film scripts. He has received numerous awards for his work. For his YA novel Vinterviken he was awarded the August Prize and prestigious Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis. Besides his work as an author, he is also a lecturer and teacher.

The Riders

The Warriors

”The atmosphere, family feuds and language in Mats Wahl’s frightening and tremendously skillfully composed book, the first part of the series Bloodrain, is really like an Icelandic saga […] This could be Mats Wahl’s strongest writing yet” Västerbottens-kuriren C H I L D R EN ’ S A N D YA

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Jesus and Me Petter Lidbeck The grown-ups say Nadine acts the way she does because she’s insecure. She didn’t look insecure at all when she approached me.

“New hat?” she asked.

My arms felt long and floppy like spaghetti, I didn’t know what to do with them.

“With earflaps,” said Nadine. “Is that modern?”

Farrah has no friends her age, she’s bullied at school and has a hard time standing up for herself, especially to her classmates Sally and Nadine.

But having a friend is important; someone who is there and says what needs to be said, who comforts and is sincere. Luckily, Farrah has Adam. Adam, who spends his days rummaging through containers and houses about to be torn down for all kinds of garbage. Sometimes he finds treasures that he shares with Farrah. Farrah’s mom calls him Jesus, because he is kind, has long hair and a beard.

One day, Nadine is gone from school and Sally is in search of a new sidekick. All of a sudden Farrah gets to come along, as Sally drags her into her comradery of snide comments and viciousness. Farrah enjoys it at first, for once feeling included, but how is she going to act when they see a well-known long-haired and bearded fellow poking around a container…?

Petter Lidbeck writes perceptively, uncompromisingly and empathetically about adults and children’s failures and heroism in everyday life.

Jesus and Me Petter Lidbeck Cover: Helena Willis 64 pages. Hardcover

Petter Lidbeck (born in 1964) is a productive and talented author who handles many genres successfully, for young and old. At Natur & Kultur he has written picture books, a graphic novel and easy readers. He also wrote the adult novel Medicinen (“The Medicin”) under the pseudonym Hans Koppel, which was made into a film in 2014.

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Age: 6–9 November 2015

SELECTED BACKLIST “Swedish writer-illustrator Mellgren’s eccentric story offers the emotional depth of a novel and artwork worth a gallery showing.”

Publishers Weekly ”beautifully dark and touching tale” Huffington post “ingenious and gorgeously drawn book” The New York Times ”Sigrid och Natten is a multilayered, poetic and artistically grandiose picture book about loss and reconciliation. The world of imagery is completely brilliant”

Translated to English, German and Danish

SvD ”A consoling picture book about loss and reconciliation where the imagery emphasizes the text. A perfect bedtime story that also offers the adult reflection with a multilayered story in the age of sleeplessness.”

Sigrid and Night

Norrbottens-kuriren ”wonderful story about courage, curiosity and willpower […] Sindre’s journey towards the moon inspires young as old” Tidningen Kulturen “Per Gustavsson’s children’s books aren’t like others’. That was already evident in his much enjoyed Princess series, in which the small royalty not always behaved like their fairy tale counterparts. Same innovative thinking is found in the author’s two latest picture books” Södermanlands Nyheter

The Moon Tower

The Shadow Side

The Big Book about Mamma Moo and Crow

Mamma Moo Reads

Mamma Moo Goes Swimming

Mamma Moo

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Sold to Japan, China, Denmark and Korea ”Vakna min kastanj is a moving and hopeful story with absolutely wonderful images” Mora tidning

“Simply and with a light touch, Åsa Mendel-Hartvig and Ane Gustavsson portray a solidarity that reaches beyond humankind. To put it another way, the fate of the tree is a reminder that humankind’s insistence on its own precedence tends to make us forget that it’s possible and desirable to respect other living beings. “ New Swedish Books (autumn ed 2014)

Wake up, My Chestnut

”This book is one of a kind; sad and viable at the same time. The distance and the switch in focus are brilliantly done, the language both captivates and offers thrilling hints to what’s hidden. It is without a doubt one of this year’s strongest YA novels.”

Smålandsposten

“Johanna Wester’s Nattsagor för sömnlösa is a stylish debut novel, full of frustration and young aimlessness … It’s good. Really good.”

Uppsala Nya Tidning Bedtime Stories for the Sleepless

Between Winter and Heaven

Children of the Blood “Winter of Evil is like a mix of Astrid Lindgren and CS Lewis, with one dash of the Grimm Brothers and another of George Lucas.”

SN “The story grips the reader from the first chapter and there are moments when it’s breathtakingly exciting”

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Dusk of Frost

The Alliance Breaker

Carrier of Fire

Winter of Evil

BTJ

Natur & Kultur’s new imprint Since January 2015, Natur & Kultur owns the publishing house Pintxo. Pintxo started out in 2012 as a response to the lack of good books on sports for children and young readers, and their mission remains the same today: to bring stories from the great world of sports to young readers. For more information on Pintxo go to www.pintxoforlag.se

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Cover illustration Š Matilda Ruta