Sunniva Relling Berg and Skinkeape - Selected Title Authors
We are happy to present our selected title author Sunniva Relling Berg. She has written The Hunt for the Number Thieves (original title: Jakten på talltyvene). The book is illustrated by Marianne Gretteberg Engedal (Skinkeape), and it is one of NORLA’s Selected Titles of the autumn 2025.
What inspired you to write this book?
I’ve read several counting and number books to my children, and found myself missing a book that showed the magic of the numbers themselves. There are lots of fantastic books about counting for younger children, but few that demonstrate why we need numbers and show that numbers are everywhere around us.
What would actually happen if numbers disappeared? I thought this could be an interesting concept to work with, and having thieves in a book for children in this age group is always a winner! It was fun to create different kinds of thieves and play with both language and numbers. Skinkeape did an incredible job of illustrating this surrealistic story, making it both accessible and engaging.
Who is this book for?
For all curious children and adults who want to come on a humorous journey where you can also learn about why we need numbers! In this book, the children themselves get to join in on the hunt for numbers and search for the number thieves. It’s a book that makes learning about numbers less intimidating and instead turns it into a game.
The spreads are a jumble of colors and cool, wacky, and silly characters that children can delight in. For adults, it’s meant to be a fun book to read aloud, with minimal text on each page and a rhythmic language. Having read countless books aloud to my own children, I especially appreciate this quality in a good picture book.
Read more
See full presentation of the book here
Read more about the author here
See all NORLA’s Selected Titles for the autumn 2025 here
