The Amazing Villa Van Böök

By Siri Kolu Johanna Lumme

A house so full of secrets that it runs away!
 
Contemporary adventure trilogy with speedy chasing scenes, secretive characters, Cluedo-like problem solving – and a house that grows legs. Tomtom’s family feel like the luckiest bunch alive when they get to move into the caretaker’s at in the old ornate villa. The villa is owned by mysterious millionaire van Böök and it has been split into flats, occupied by carefully selected diverse cast of tenants. Tomtom writes to his best friend Amir about the move, only to discover the next day that not only he has moved, but the house has moved away, too. Why the house has legs? How to ride the house? Who is chasing the house? And what adventures lie ahead? The children of the house are on a quest to find out.
 
Anticipated new trilogy by Siri Kolu of the Robbersons fame is illustrated in black and white by Johanna Lumme. The pair has previously worked together on school books.

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About the author

Siri Kolu (b. 1972) is a writer, dramatist, director and theatre instructor, which are among her many duties in the Finnish cultural field.She is a Finlandia Junior Prize winner and her works have been translated into 22 languages. Kolu has been awarded the Laivakello Prize by the Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature, and in the Netherlands, she won the Silver Slate Pencil. Me and the Robbersons received an honorary mention in British Book Trust’s ”In Other Words” competition in 2018. Kolu is a front-line author with a strong voice and she has published a broad range of works that range from humourous middle-grade stories to edgy YA cross-over fiction. 

Johanna Lumme (b. 1990) is one of the most renowned illustrators and children’s book authors in Finland. The artist and illustrator is recognised for her illustrations in Finnish primary school books in collaboration with author Siri Kolu.Lumme is also the illustrator of two middle-grade series written by Kolu. The first series, Wild House, has appeared between 2019 and 2021. This was followed by the duo’s trilogy The Woken Ones of which the two first titles came out in 2022 and 2023.The artist began her own series of picture books as well. In 2019, Lumme brought out The Jungle Crew – Into the City! which is her debut picture book where the story of the Jungle Crew begins. This beautifully illustrated series presents a group of animal friends who move out of their home jungle into the city, and try to navigate their way in their new urban surroundings. All pictures are drawn and painted by hand, giving young readers a visually stunning series that teaches about being in a new environment and also taking care of it.