Children & Young Adults
VISITOR ADDRESS:
Sehestedsgate 4
0130 Oslo, Norway
POSTAL ADDRESS:
P.o box 6860, St. Olavs plass
0130 Oslo, Norway
Printed in Norway
Printing: Webergs
Design: Merethe Brattensborg
agency.gyldendal.no
GYLDENAL AGENCY
ANNE CATHRINE ENG
anne.cathrine.eng@gyldendal.no Foreign Rights Director
NINA PEDERSEN
nina.pedersen@gyldendal.no Literary Agent
KIRSTI KRISTOFFERSEN kirsti.kristoffersen@gyldendal.no
Head of Agency and Management + Film & TV Rights
PICTURE BOOKS
Wuthering Flights
Ragnar Aalbu
Number of pages: 48
Year of publication: 2025
When a young and restless stork learns that storks used to deliver babies in the olden days, he suddenly knows exactly what he wants to do.
It sounds easy enough! But where do you actually find babies? And how do you know where to deliver them?
What follows is a series of airborne misunderstandings—way up in the sky.
RAGNAR AALBU (b. 1966) is a Norwegian illustrator and picture book author. He was educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry. Aalbu has received numerous awards for his work.
Pfff! Cold Cloven Hooves
Frown-Dupon is an elephant who works as a leaf blower. It can get pretty boring sometimes, and sometimes FrownDupon can’t help blowing other things as well — things he shouldn’t be blowing at at all.
One day, he goes too far: on Norway’s Constitution Day, he blows the mayor’s hat into a fountain! The mayor gets angry and insists that Frown-Dupon should be punished. Things don’t go any better when Frown-Dupon appears before the judge and he accidentally blows the apron off a lunch lady. He really shouldn’t have done that. What will happen to Frown-Dupon now?
Number of pages: 41 Year of publication: 2024
Foreign Sales: Germany, Kraus Verlag
It’s not easy to be a little reindeer on a huge mountain plateau, when all you want to do is to go to a palm beach and eat ice cream. Because reindeer can’t fly, exactly. Rudolph can, though! And if he knows how, it must be possible to learn it, surely? The little reindeer seeks out the owl, who knows a thing or two about flying. The stage is set for a crash course.
Number of pages: 43 Year of publication: 2023
Foreign Sales: Sweden, ABC Forlag Denmark, ABC Forlag Germany, Thienemann-Esslinger France, Sens dessus dessou
Good Morning
Joakim Kjørsvik and Annette Saugestad Helland (illustrator)
Number of pages: 40
Year of publication: 2026
Good Morning is a warm and beautiful picture book for children aged 4 and up.
The book offers a gentle and thoughtful start to the day, inviting shared reading moments filled with conversation, curiosity and quiet wonder.
Kjørsvik’s evocative and lyrical language is perfectly balanced by Annette Saugestad Helland’s original and charming illustrations. Together, text and images create an intimate and cosy morning atmosphere that encourages reflection and closeness between child and adult.
JOAKIM KJØRSVIK (b. 1978) lives in Oslo. He made his literary debut in 2007 and has since published several critically acclaimed poetry collections and novels. Good Morning is his first book for children.
ANNETTE SAUGESTAD HELLAND (b. 1975) is a visual artist, illustrator, animator and children’s book author. She lives and works in Hølen, Akershus, and has written and illustrated several children’s books.
Hello, Mushroom!
Unni Vik and Rune Markhus (illustrator)
An extraordinary mushroom adventure!
Mushrooms are so much more than something you pick off your pizza or stumble upon in secret places in the forest.
Did you know, for instance, that it’s fungi that make buns soft and fluffy? Or that invisible fungi can make old wooden beams explode—almost like a secret agent?
Join us on a mushroom trip unlike any other! Maybe you’ll discover something you didn’t know. Or something completely new about something you thought you knew everything about!
Number of pages: 33 Year of publication: 2025
UNNI VIK (b. 1983) is from Ølen in Rogaland and now lives in Oslo. She holds a PhD in microbial ecology (fungi and bacteria) and works as an associate professor of science at the early childhood teacher education programme at OsloMet. She made her children’s book debut in 2022 with Kan bakteriar bæsje? (Can Bacteria Poop?).
RUNE MARKHUS (b. 1972) is educated at the Westerdals School of Communication and works as an illustrator. He has received several awards, and in recent years he has been particularly recognised in the Årets vakreste bøker (The Year’s Most Beautiful Books) competition.
Mo Gets Dressed | Maja Brushes Her Teeth
Sunniva Sunde Krogseth
Turning getting dressed into a game!
Mo is getting dressed. And he wants to do it all by himself! But where does everything go? Does the pair of trousers belong on his head? Or the socks on his hands?
A small and charming story about learning to get dressed. It all becomes easier—and much more fun—when you’ve read about it first!
Number of pages: 22
Year of publication: 2026
Turning toothbrushing into a game!
Maja is going to brush her teeth. She brushes up and down, back and forth, slowly and quickly. Even Dad — and the toys — get a little brush.
A small and charming story about learning to brush your teeth. It all becomes easier—and much more fun—when you’ve read about it first!
Number of pages: 22
Year of publication: 2026
SUNNIVA SUNDE KROGSETH (b. 1987) is an illustrator from Bergen, now based in Oslo. She holds a BA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts and an MFA from Konstfack in Stockholm, and has received several awards for her illustration work.
The Heart House
Wencke Mühleisen
The Heart House is a wise, warm and gently humorous picture book for children aged 3-6, and marks Wencke Mühleisen’s debut as a picture book author.
Iben is at the beach with her grandmother, but she is full of anger. Her parents are separating, and suddenly nothing helps: not building sandcastles, not swimming, not catching shrimps. From now on, she will live one week with her mother and one week with her father. Will they forget her when she is not there?
The Heart House is a touching and thoughtful story about love, separation and emotional security, and about who we are to one another when we are apart. Annette Saugestad Helland’s expressive and humorous illustrations add emotional depth and lightness, making the book an excellent read-aloud and a strong conversation starter.
Year of publication: 2026
WENCKE MÜHLEISEN (b. 1953) is a writer, media scholar and gender researcher. She made her fiction debut in 2010 and has since published a wide range of books across genres. The Heart House is her first picture book.
Mieko at Dance Camp
Mariko Miyata-Jancey and Skinkeape (illustrator)
Number of pages: 48
Year of publication: 2026
Mieko at Dance Camp is a warm and expressive story about friendship, the joy of dancing, the first night away from home, and the misunderstandings and complications that arise along the way.
Mieko is thrilled about dance camp! There will be so much dancing, AND they get to stay overnight. But why does Sofia suddenly say that Mariama can put her sleeping mat next to theirs? Mieko and Sofia had agreed that they would sleep beside each other.
And why can Dad never learn the difference between L and R? It’s definitely not called a rumpy pirrow!
Set in Skinkeape’s colourful and visually sparkling universe, this new book expands on themes from the first Mieko title. While Mieko Dances explored gender roles and norms, this story turns its focus to inclusion, exclusion, and the impact of racist remarks.
MARIKO MIYATA-JANCEY (b. 1989) holds a master’s degree in choreography from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, as well as a master’s degree in writing and dissemination of literature for children and young people from the Norwegian Institute for Children’s Books.
MARIANNE GRETTEBERG ENGEDAL (b. 1986, also known as “Skinkeape”) is an author, illustrator, and chef. In recent years, she has gained recognition from critics and award juries. She won the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Picture Book Prize in 2023 for Mieko Dances
The Hunt for the Number Thieves
Sunniva Relling Berg and Skinkeape (illustrator)
A fun, original, and playful picture book that sparks children’s curiosity about numbers!
One day, numbers start disappearing, from houses, football jerseys, train stations, clocks, diving towers, and beach kiosks. They vanish everywhere, and no one understands what’s going on. Chaos ensues!
Then the truth is revealed: thieves are at work. They’ve stolen the numbers to attend the Number Ball in the Tax Paradise! But when the police suddenly show up at the party, the number thieves have to flee, and in their haste, they put the numbers back in all the wrong places ...
The Hunt for the Number Thieves is perfect for curious young children who love funny books with lots to discover. Here they get to join the number hunt! This is a vibrant and original picture book by Sunniva Relling Berg, with colourful and delightfully wacky illustrations by Skinkeape. Spot on for little number detectives aged 3 to 6.
Number of pages: 40
Year of publication: 2025
Foreign Sales: Denmark, Straarup & Co
SUNNIVA RELLING BERG (b. 1988) made her debut in 2011 with the critically acclaimed young adult novel The Drop (Utfor), which was nominated for the Brage Prize. Since then, she has published three books for both young adults and adults. The Alphabet Hunt (Alfabetjakten) was her first children’s book.
MARIANNE GRETTEBERG ENGEDAL (b. 1986, also known as “Skinkeape”) is an author, illustrator, and chef. In recent years, she has gained recognition from critics and award juries. She won the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Picture Book Prize in 2023 for Mieko Dances
The Dinosaur Who Wanted to Be a Pirate
Sverre Graff and Allan Grønseth Ohr (illustrator)
Number of pages: 48
Year of publication: 2025
A funny, original, and wildly charming picture book about a dinosaur who dreams of becoming a pirate. For two years, the Dinosaur has wandered around the city, bored. He needs a job!
Tie-Hansen has an office and a big book filled with all kinds of jobs. He’s going to help the Dinosaur find one.
Most of all, the Dinosaur wants to be a pirate, but no, no, no, that’s absolutely NOT a suitable job, says Tie-Hansen. Instead, he sends the Dinosaur out to try a bunch of other jobs: bike courier, artist, hairdresser, spy … But nothing turns out well. In fact, everything goes terribly wrong.
Is there really no hope for the Dinosaur’s pirate dream?
SVERRE BJØRSTAD GRAFF is from Sortland, Norway. He is a journalist, writer, and illustrator. The Dinosaur Who Wanted to Be a Pirate is his very first children’s book.
ALLAN OHR is from Kristiansund and is based in Trondheim. Ohr works as an illustrator, designer, and animator. The Dinosaur Who Wanted to Be a Pirate is his first picture book for children.
“A strange and funny book that shows things can turn out well even if you’re not good at everything.”
PERISKOP
“Career mishaps and uncomplicated fun in a staffingagency fable for children […] silly and entertaining.”
KLASSEKAMPEN
Foreign Sales: Denmark, ABC Forlag Germany, Carica Stories
EASY READ
Erling and Football
Bjørn Arild Ersland and Camilla Kuhn (illustrator)
Number of pages: 40
Year of publication: 2026
What’s the point of going to school if you’re not allowed to play football during breaktime?
It’s the first day of school. Erling has been really looking forward to it, but when he discovers that you’re not allowed to kick a ball against the wall – or high up in the air – some of the excitement fades. And when a troll goes and steals the ball altogether, school suddenly doesn’t seem fun at all. Erling is getting his ball back. Whatever it takes.
BJØRN ARILD ERSLAND (b. 1965) has written a wide range of award-winning books in several genres.
CAMILLA KUHN (b. 1975) is an author and a multiple awardwinning illustrator.
NON-FICTION
The Viking Poop
Are Sende Osen and Jens K. Styve (illustrator)
Number of pages: 31
Year of publication: 2026
A book about a poop.
Once, more than 1,000 years ago, there was a Viking who pooped a poop so enormous that it must have hurt like crazy to push it out. We know it was that enormous because when archaeologists started digging at the same spot fifty years ago, lo and behold, they dug the poop up again. It had turned to stone. And now Are Sende Osen has written an entire book about it.
Think about that next time you go to the bathroom. Will someone write a book about that poop in 1,000 years? The answer is most likely no, but still.
A true story from the Viking Age, featuring one very special poop.
ARE SENDE OSEN (b. 1970) is known from TV and radio, a humourist and author.
JENS K. STYVE (b. 1972) is an author, comic artist, and illustrator. He is best known for the comic strip Dunce, for which he has received numerous awards.
Jellyfish
Synnøve Borge and Jens Ivar Kristensen (illustrator)
The jellyfish is an animal that scares, irritates, and fascinates us every single summer. But what do we really know about this strange creature?
In this book, we dive beneath the surface and follow a jellyfish through its entire life cycle. Is it possible to grow fond of this animal? Or at least become a little less afraid?
Year of publication: 2026
SYNNØVE BORGE (b. 1960) has a degree in pedagogics and has studied creative writing for children at Norsk Barnebokinstitutt, where she specialized in documentary texts. She writes about animals by zooming in on one individual, following it closely for a year or part of a life - as a kind of unauthorized biography. Through a prose that opens up for all that is perceptable in nature, she aims for her books to create meetings between nature and children.
JENS IVAR KRISTENSEN (b. 1975) is a Norwegian illustrator. He has primarily illustrated schoolbooks and children’s books, including several picture books.
MIDDLE GRADE
The Mystery of the Sick Puppy
Lars Mæhle and Marion Elisabeth Bråthen (illustrator)
Number of pages: 129
Year of publication: 2026
A fast-paced story about smuggling, secret coordinates, and a sick puppy.
When veterinarian dad Truls receives a weak and sick puppy at the clinic, it soon becomes clear that the dog has been illegally imported into Norway. For Alba and Finito, this marks the beginning of a dangerous mystery: a strange note with secret coordinates suggests that a new dog-smuggling operation is planned for that very evening.
Alba joins police dad Emil as the smugglers are set to be exposed at Akershus Fortress, but something feels off. Is everything really as it seems? Or have they been tricked?
With action-driven suspense and a touch of animal welfare, The Mystery of the Sick Puppy delivers everything that makes Alba and Finito a bookshelf favourite.
LARS MÆHLE (b. 1971) is known for his popular books for children and young adults. He has received the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Literature Prize, the Uprisen (Youth Literature Prize), and the Fabel Prize. In recent years, he has enjoyed great success with his series The Dinosaur Gang, The Mysteries at Crow Castle Kindergarten, and Alba and Finito
MARION BRÅTHEN is a promising new comics talent, known for her ability to merge Nordic folklore with vivid, character-driven high-school drama.
Krypto Chills
Hans Jørgen Sandes
Number of pages: 128
Year of publication: 2025
Book 8 in the popular, award-winning Crypto series
Ophelia is the new leader of Crypto, and she and Bernard are quickly drawn into a dangerous mission. Dalis has kidnapped Little-Krako and fled to the Allies—what is she planning?
On their journey, Ophelia and Bernard discover mysterious monster skeletons, and it becomes clear that Dalis has sinister intentions. She’s determined to eliminate Ophelia once and for all. Monsters and humans are in greater danger than ever before!
Foreign sales: The Crypto series has so far been sold to 9 territories.
HANS JØRGEN SANDNES (born 1979) is an illustrator, animator and cartoonist. Together with Jørn Lier Horst he created the Detective Agency No. 2 books, which is Norway’s best-selling children’s universe in book form with a print run of over 1.7 million. Hans Jørgen has illustrated classics such as Alf Prøysen and Anne-Cath. Vestly. In 2020, Hans Jørgen Sandnes debuted as author-cartoonist with Into the Deep, the first book in the Crypto series.
How I Became the World’s Greatest Footballer
Marius Horn Molaug and Kristoffer Kjølberg (illustrator)
A story bursting with madness, humour, and football fever.
William is the world’s greatest footballer. After all, he was born wearing football boots and can dribble past anyone. Okay, so he’s only eleven years old— but he plays against the biggest football stars in the world … and beats them all!
How did an eleven-year-old become the world’s greatest footballer?
Over the years, Marius Molaug and Kristoffer Kjølberg have delighted readers aged 7–12 with the World’s Worst series, which has sold more than 100,000 copies.
Number of pages: 144
Year of publication: 2025
MARIUS HORN MOLAUG (b. 1976) works as editor of the Norwegian edition of Donald Duck. Molaug’s first children’s book, The World’s Worst Headmaster, came out in 2014. The book and its sequels are illustrated by Kristoffer Kjølberg and have sold more than 100,000 copies.
KRISTOFFER KJØLBERG (b. 1980) is a prize-winning illustrator and graphic designer. He is a member of the creative community Dongery.
The Hidden Village
Julia Kahrs
An original, wild, and completely unpredictable children’s novel. In other words, pure Julia Kahrs.
On the way to visit their grandmother, the car carrying Ellis and her mothers breaks down. They find a cabin to take shelter in, but illness and an avalanche soon leave them trapped. They are stuck in the mountains.
Inside the cabin, Ellis finds several clues suggesting that a girl has been staying there and using the cabin as a base for her own investigation.
Following the trail, Ellis discovers a mysterious village nearby. But no one there is willing to help. Quite the opposite.
How will Ellis and her family make it down from the mountain? What happened to the girl who stayed in the cabin? And who is the boy who suddenly appears out of nowhere, remembering nothing at all?
The answers are closer than Ellis can imagine. Uncomfortably close. She cannot trust anyone.
Number of pages: 280 Year of publication: 2026
JULIA KAHRS (b.1985) is one of Norway’s most original children’s authors. She had her major breakthrough with The Storm is Coming (Org. Familien Brattbakk, 2022), for which she received the Brage Prize, the Critics’ Prize, and the Boksluker Prize, among others.
Heroes Last Forever
Arne Svingen
Number of pages: 175
Year of publication: 2026
How do you become a real hero?
Everyone in Ludvik’s family has done it: saved people from fires, pulled half drowned children out of the water, and exposed the neighbourhood’s thieves. They are, quite simply, heroes.
Everyone except one person: Ludvik. It shouldn’t be possible. It isn’t fair.
And it can’t go on like this. What does he have to do to become a real hero?
ARNE SVINGEN (b. 1967) is one of our most popular authors and has written over 100 books. His work ranges from children’s books to novels for young people and adults. He has been awarded a number of prizes for his books, including the Brage Prize, the Ministry of Culture’s Literature Prize, ARK’s Children’s Book Prize and the Bookworm Prize. Svingen’s novels have been translated into 25 languages.
Over My Dead Body
Runar Dahle
What happens when a ghost and a human discover each other?
Astrid is not having an easy time. Her mother is bedridden in the attic due to a creeping illness, and her father has taken a job as a night guard at Ghostbnb, a company that rents out haunted houses to tourists. On top of that, they have just moved to the rainy city of Bergen, where Astrid does not know a single soul.
Then she meets Ine, and life begins to smile again. At the same time, something feels off. Around the two friends, increasingly strange things start to happen. And as the rain pours down, they discover how quickly everything that feels safe and harmless can suddenly turn into its opposite.
Over My Dead Body is a gripping story full of mystery, life-or-death friendships, and pushy dead people.
Number of pages: 230
Year of publication: 2026
RUNAR DAHLE (b. 1981) grew up in Austrheim. He has a master’s degree in English and now works as a freelancer. He currently lives in Bergen. In 2010, he debuted with the short story collection Right, There You Are.
YOUNG ADULT
Our Street
Mikael Noguchi
Number of pages: 270
Year of publication: 2025
Our Street – a raw and heartfelt graphic novel for young readers..
Mo and Jamal grow up in the same apartment block in Stovner, Oslo, but their lives couldn’t be more different.
Mo is good at school and does everything expected of him, all while waiting for his real life to finally begin.
Jamal doesn’t have time to think about school—he needs to make money, look after his little brother, and stay out of trouble… or at least try.
This is a hard-hitting story about friendship, belonging and not belonging, and about finding your own path in a Norway that can feel both like home and not home at the same time.
The graphic novel is inspired by Zeshan Shakar’s bestselling novel Our Street.
MIKAEL NOGUCHI is an acclaimed illustrator, comics artist, 3D animator, and game developer. Our Street is his first literary graphic novel adaptation.
Just Wait
Neda Alaei
A new novel from double award-winning author Neda Alaei.
Mitra is confident, ambitious, and the center of attention at every party. She has the world’s best friends and wraps boys around her little finger.
But at home, everything is falling apart. Her parents are getting divorced, her little brother is struggling, and no one sees that Mitra can’t stop thinking about food and exercise. And when Mitra realizes that her friends are starting to pull away—and that the one boy she actually wants now has a girlfriend—things truly begin to unravel.
Mitra is willing to do whatever it takes to reclaim her place at the center.
Number of pages: 208 Year of publication: 2026
“Alaei knows how to create a suspenseful story.”
BARNEBOKKRITIKK
“Without giving too much away, Alaei delivers a foretold catastrophe. We can see where things are headed, and simply have to keep reading to find out whether it all turns out well in the end.”
NRK
NEDA ALAEI (b. 1991) grew up in Moss and lives in Oslo. She graduated in Writing Studies from the Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books in 2017. She is a trained child welfare officer. This isn’t us was her first novel, for which she received the Ministry of Culture’s Debutant Award, the Book Blogger Award and the U Prize.
You Alone
The Story of Gunvor Hofmo and Ruth Maier
Hilde Børresen Hagerup
Number of pages: 192
Year of publication: 2025
A brutally beautiful love story based on real events.
You Alone is a powerful and moving young adult novel based on the true story of Gunvor Hofmo and Ruth Maier. It’s a tale that reveals both the brightest and darkest experiences a young person can face.
Akershusstranda, Oslo, November 26, 1942: As the D/S Donau pulled away from the dock, Gunvor Hofmo stood alone. Just moments earlier, she had seen her beloved Ruth Maier for the last time. Ruth never returned to Gunvor. Only days later, she was killed in Auschwitz. What happened would shape Gunvor Hofmo’s life and poetry more than anything else.
You Alone is a deeply emotional and brutally beautiful novel that brings readers close to Hofmo and Maier in the time just before they met and during their relationship in wartime Norway.
Hilde Hagerup breathes life into a defining story from Norwegian history. With precise and lyrical language, she brings the story of Gunvor Hofmo and Ruth Maier into the present. Hagerup shows us that their story remains hauntingly relevant in a world where right-wing populism and extremism continue to spread.
You Alone is a story that will break your heart but also offer a profound hope for the future and for love.
HILDE HAGERUP (b.1976) is an award-winning and acclaimed author. She writes books for children, young adults, and adults. Her works have been translated into numerous languages.
“This is how it should be done! [...] It is shocking and brilliantly executed.”
NRK (Six out of six stars)
“One of this year’s truly powerful reading experiences […] This is a magnificent book, shocking from start to finish, painful and beautiful.”
KLASSEKAMPEN
“A beautiful love story [...] She lets the language itself create a love that ignites, sparkles, and shines.”
VÅRT LAND
“A rarely successful young adult novel that combines historical precision, poetic language, and human gravity [...] The novel has a special presence and tension.”
BARNEBOKKRITIKK
Foreign Sales: Germany, Stroux Edition Hungary, Park Publishing
Notes
Notes
