Betina Birkjær

Illustrated by Zarah Juul

Translated from the Danish by Katrine Øgaard Jensen and Orien Longo

For anyone who’s ever been monster-scared comes a lighthearted book about the dark. About what lives in the attic. And about discovering that monsters are—perhaps—mostly scary in your imagination.

There’s a monster living in the attic. Not a loud monster but a quiet one. It’s probably making a kid trap. Each night, it grows in the dark. Everyone knows monsters feed on darkness.

This is Monster-Scared. With humor and charm, award-winning author Betina Birkjær and illustrator Zarah Juul show us how the things we can’t see grow bigger and scarier, how the slightest sound or shadow can send shivers down our back, and how monsters are—perhaps—mostly scary in our imagination.

Ages 3+ | Hardcover | 32 pages | ISBN: 9781945492747
September 19, 2023

Betina Birkjær

illustrated by Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard

Translated by Lindy Falk van Rooyen

From the author of Monster-Scared and the duo behind Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost (a 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book) comes a charming, beautifully illustrated story about being kind to yourself when things pile up.

There is so much for Mr. Prickly to do before hibernation: rake the leaves, fix the chair that tilts, put in one last load of darks before winter... He tries to tackle his chores as efficiently as his neighbors, but it’s an awfully long to-do list for a hedgehog.

Then a gust of wind pushes through the window, whirling everything around, even the words on his list. His heart begins to thump—what was he supposed to do? Rake the laundry? Wash the leaves? Will he be able to finish his list on time?

Mr. Prickly is a sweet and humorous spin on the tasks we struggle to tackle—and how the light of the morning can turn everything around.

Ages 3+ | Hardcover | 40 pages | ISBN: 9798893380712 | September 15, 2026