Children’s Book inspired by Norway awarded

The British author Matt Haig has received two Blue Peter awards for his book “Shadow Forest”, a book about two children wandering into a bewitched forest in Norway, where they meet many strange creatures, reports NorwayPost.

The book is titled “Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest” in the U.S.

“Shadow Forest” topped the Book I Couldn’t Put Down Category.

Shadow Forest turns out to be a forest full of one-eyed trolls, the sinister huldre-folk, deadly Truth Pixies and a witch who steals shadows.

A hulder in Norwegian folk tales is a supernatural female creature, beautiful in appearance, but with a cow’s tail under her dress.

It’s a story that draws on Norwegian legends and Haig’s own memories of family holidays in the country, reports Guardian.co.uk.

“I’ve got a lot of relatives in Norway and it’s a great place for folklore but the one single autobiographical event that inspired the story was my father nearly drowning in a Norwegian fjord a few years ago,” explained Haig

The sequel to Shadow Forest, Runaway Troll, was published this week, and Haig is currently working on another children’s book, another adult’s book and a screenplay for the UK Film Council.