The Dog Owners
Frida Nilsson
- Original Title
- Hundägarna
- Published
- Natur & Kultur, 2023
- Genre
- Fiction 9-12
- Pages
- 183
- Rights Sold
- German
Norwegian
Danish - Tags
- Alexander Jansson, Film, Frida Nilsson, Hundägarna, Martin books, Natur och Kultur
The Dog Owners
Frida Nilsson
The Dog Owners and The Cat Hunters is a fast-paced drifter adventure divided into two books, where dogs and people live side by side.
The year is 1910 and Martin lives with a farmer who has adopted him, but he dreams about his
own father. The only thing that keeps Martin hopeful is that the farmer has promised to show him
a document containing who his real father is on the day of his 18th birthday. When the farm dog
Jack is chased away, Martin finds out that there is no such document and he escapes with Jack.
An arduous journey begins, and they end up at an inn, which Jack has imagined to be paradise on
Earth for dogs like him, but it turns out to be a house taken over by a large group of dogs living on
the margins of society.
In the second part, The Cat Hunters, Martin is being exploited by a couple of rotten dogs but finally
manages to find his father. Jack has been put in prison, accused of abducting Martin from the farm,
and Martin has to come up with a plan to free Jack.
Frida Nilsson is a master at depicting misunderstood characters and unconventional friendships,
and she does not disappoint in this fast-paced tale in two parts.
Press voices
”About the bravery to keep your humanity in a cruel world. Read yourself, read loud. Nobody has written better than this for kids in the middle-ages in 2023” Expressen
“A tale in two parts about the foster kid Martin and some speaking animals on the run. In a dramatic chapter the inequality and poverty are portrayed, but also their fight for freedom and justice. Wilful and captivating.” Kristianstadsbladet
”The Dog Owners is an completely amazing reading out loud book for the ages 7 to 10. This is a touching, exciting and funny story about the foster kid Martin and his dog friends (…)” Kalmarposten
The books about Martin and Jack
- Awards
- Nominated for the August Prize 2023
"In Hundägarna and Kattjägarna, the disheveled protagonists are on the run through an unequal and poverty-stricken Sweden where neither children nor dogs have any rights. In their satchels, they carry an unquenchable longing for truth, rectification, love, and freedom. Frida Nilsson excels in this timeless and age-less story as an interpreter and defender of the weak and vulnerable. Together with illustrator Alexander Jansson, she invites the reader to an unforgettable run-away odyssey in two acts, where the uncompromisingly compelling language that begs to be read out loud."
Selected for the White Ravens 2024
"It’s the early 20th century: Martin is growing up with a hard-hearted foster father. If only he were with his real dad, all would be well. When Jack, a talking dog who – unlike Martin – can also read, is chased away by the strict farmer for dropping a basket full of fish into the water, Martin joins him. Constantly on their guard against the foster father and other nasty fellows, the two of them head south. »Hundägarna« is both an exciting adventure story reminiscent of famous »animals on the road«-tales, such as the Bremen Town Musicians, and a psychological and socially critical novel. It deals with the desire for belonging and security, with wishes and dreams, and with hurt and betrayal. Loyalty to the weak – whether they be human or animal – and a great sense of justice are typical characteristics of Frida Nilsson’s books, and they’re definitely present in this multi-layered children’s novel."