Hilde Myklebust and Bård Sletvold Torkildsen - Selected Title Authors
We are happy to present our selected title author Hilde Myklebust. She has written The Piglet with the Straight Tail (original title: Grisungen med den rette halen), which is illustrated by Bård Sletvold Torkildsen. The book is one of NORLA’s Selected Titles of the autumn 2024.
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One day, Piglet notices something that horrifies him: he doesn’t have a curl in his tail! All the other pigs have sprightly curled tails, all of them except Piglet, who suddenly feels very different. Because pigs are supposed to have curls in their tails, right? He tries out various methods, before breaking out of the pigpen hoping to find someone that might be able to give him some good advice. But the other farm animals are disappointingly unable to help. He then meets Little Girl. Wise and tough Little Girl has something a bit different about her. Perhaps she has a solution too?
The Piglet with the Straight Tail has many classic characteristics, but also has a touching ending which makes it stand out. Along with Bård’s engaging and charming illustrations, we allow Piglet to find his own way.
What inspired you to write this book and who is it for?
I’ve had this book on my mind for years. As a smallholder and poet, I’ve really enjoyed creating distinct portraits of the animals while trying to capture the characters’ personalities with just a few words and sentences.
But it was when my daughter got Type 1 Diabetes that I understood what the story should really be about. I wanted to write a sweet and funny story with a deeply serious undercurrent: about having to accept yourself the way you are, and about realising that the way you are is good enough.
My little girl made it into the book, and so Piglet got a wise friend with a diabetes sensor on her arm.
The Piglet with the Straight Tail is a tribute to the many little heroes out there, who have to live with – and accept – feeling a bit different. Whether it’s a tail that doesn’t curl, or whatever: We don’t all have to be the same, do we?
Illustrator Bård Sletvold Torkildsen answers:
What inspired you to write this book?
I can’t give you an answer to that, but what inspired me to illustrate the The Piglet with the Straight Tail was that it all took place on a farm. I both live and grew up on a farm, so filling a book with illustrations of rural surroundings was a very enjoyable process that I had a lot of fun with! I also really liked the message. The subject is one I think everyone, adults and children alike, can relate to. We probably all have a little piglet in us.
Who is this book for?
It’s a book for everyone, but mostly for those who feel they have something that makes them a bit different from everyone else.
Read more
See full presentation of the book here
Read more about the author here
More about the illustrator here
See all NORLA’s Selected Titles for the autumn 2024 here
