Great news from Bologna Children’s Book Fair (#BCBF19):  anarchic kids’ bestseller THE ROBBERSONS, by Finnish author Siri Kolu, has been snapped up for English publication by UK press Stripes.

This hilarious romp of an adventure, in the anarchic tone of Pippi Longstocking, follows a riotous bandit family who kidnap a girl instead of the sweets they’ve usually got their eye on.

The novel was highlighted as an Honour Title in the BookTrust’s In Other Words project 2018, which showcased the best of children’s fiction in languages other than English to encourage UK publishers to acquire titles from abroad and to commission work in translation.

The translation rights have been sold into an impressive 18 languages. For English readers keen to get a taste of what’s to come, the BookTrust page has an English sample translated by Owen Witesman and there’s an additional sample by Ruth Urbom on the website of the original Finnish publisher, Otava Publishing Company (we’ll give you the link when we find it!).

The author Siri Kolu (b. 1972) is also a dramaturge, director and theatre instructor. Her debut novel The Dark of the Forest was published in 2008 and she has since penned another seven adventures in the Robbersons series.

We surely all know (and love!) The Moomins by Finnish author Tove Jansson, but if you’d like to explore more of Finnish children’s literature, check out this wonderful website, Books from Finland.

And if you’re a publisher looking for fresh children’s literature from one of the best countries in the world to be a child, check out the website of Nordic rights agents, Rights and Brands.