The Underground Tree

Kristina Sigunsdotter & Jenny Lucander

The August Prize–winning author Kristina Sigunsdotter and the Nordic Council Prize–winning illustrator Jenny Lucander have together created a masterful picture book for readers of all ages, where text and image intertwine into a tale that breathes poetry and adventure.

When Karin plays hide-and-seek in the park, she discovers a strange tree. The tree turns out to be a portal to the underworld. Here Karin meets the soothsayer, who foretells that she must journey to Eagle Mountain to rescue the princess without a name. Together with the horse Rosendelid, she sails on a ghost ship across the Sea of Glass to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Karin Boye was born in 1900, and is one of the greatest poets the Nordic countries have ever known. The story draws inspiration from her life and poetic world.

“A poetic story about courage and love, where imagination and reality are woven together.” – Sveriges Radio

“All of this is portrayed tenderly and rebelliously in a story about never giving up on one’s guiding stars //…//
The book captures how courage and imagination can carry you through times when circumstances threaten to paralyze.” – Hufvudstadsbladet

“A captivating fairytale world where the language, rich and imaginative, sweeps the reader back and forth. Sigunsdotter writes boldly and intensely.” – Svenska Yle

“Lucander has arrived at a misty, layered visual storytelling, not unlike the symbolically saturated watercolors Boye painted, yet entirely different.“– HBL

“The text is like a treasure chest, brimming with poetry and adventure.” – BTJ

Books by the author

Books by the illustrator