Monster Nanny duology pre-empted in France and Sweden!

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morkotnewsMonster Nanny and its follow-up Monster Route, written by Tuutikki Tolonen and illustrated by Pasi Pitkänen, have been sold in pre-empts in France and Sweden, to Éditions Robert Laffont and Rabén & Sjögren respectively. Rights are now sold in 10 languages!

Robert Laffont publishes authors such as Lewis Carroll and Rick Yancey in French and will launch Monster Nanny in its new middle-grade collection in late 2016. Rabén & Sjögren is one of the leading Swedish publishing houses and home to authors such as Astrid Lindgren, J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl.

We are really thrilled to publish Monster Nanny in French, both for its monstrously appealing humor and its wonderful artwork! Mimi, Koby, Halley, the bathrobe and the clueless parents all bring their own fantastic personal touch and it’s bound to have parents and kids alike prolong the traditional bedtime story!
– Fabien Le Roy, editorial manager for YA & children’s books, Robert Laffont

Monster Nanny is a lovely story with a huge heart. Clearly related to classical tales with a touch of the absurd and a great sense of humour.  Tolonen and Pitkänen have created an adventurous story which is destined to be a future classic loved and read by many, many children – and their grown-ups.
– Sofia Hahr, senior editor, Rabén & Sjögren

The novel recently received the prestigious Arvid Lydecken Prize for an outstanding children’s novel:

Themes of friendship and tolerance are woven in the thrilling and good-natured adventure. – – Monster Nanny has all the ingredients of a beloved children’s classic.
– Arvid Lydecken Prize jury

A blend of Where the Wild Things Are and Mary Poppins,Monster Nanny tells the story of a contemporary family whose daily routines are turned upside-down when a hairy, swamp-smelling creature said to be specializing in childcare shows up at their doorstep. In Monster Route, Mimi, 6 years, has snuck into the monsters’ underground world after her monster friend Grah.

Contact the agency for the full English text of Monster Nanny!

RIGHTS SOLD:
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi
CHINA (simplified Chinese), Beijing Children’s Publishing House
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Editions Robert Laffont (two-book-deal)
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag (two-book-deal)
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon (two-book-deal)
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren (two-book-deal)
WORLD ENGLISH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

READING MATERIALS:
Monster Nanny:
Full English text
Finnish edition
Monster Route:
English synopsis
Finnish text (available soon)

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

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About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."

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