Monster Nanny now sold in 21 territories!

Hello August, and hello Vietnamese Monster Nanny!

We are delighted that Tuutikki Tolonen’s charming middle-grade bestseller has been acquired by Nha Nam Publishing! The Hanoi-based publisher counts the likes of Jay Asher, John Boyne, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Walliams on its list of upmarket children’s literature.

“Monster Nanny has added another unforgettable nanny to the army of nannies all around the world, following the famous predecessors like Mary Poppins and Mrs Doubtfire. This time, however, the story is even better with a blend of realism and (a lot of) fantasy. It’s odd and funny enough to keep the young readers’ attention and enthusiasm for reading, but familiar enough not to slip out of their hearts without leaving some warmth.”
– Tran Le Thuy Linh, Editor, Nha Nam Publishers, Vietnam

Monster Nanny, the first volume of Tuutikki Tolonen’s bestselling duology about three children who get a monstrous babysitter for the summer, has been sold to 21 territories to date, with a Hollywood adaptation by Scott Free Productions in development.

FINLAND, Tammi (Original publisher)
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, Šahinpašić
BRAZIL, DarkSide Books (two-book-deal)
CHINA, Beijing Children’s Publishing House
CZECH REPUBLIC, Portál
ESTONIA, Tiritamm
FRANCE, Robert Laffont (two-book deal)
GERMANY, Carl Hanser Verlag (two-book deal)
HUNGARY, Tessloff Babilon (two-book deal)
ITALY, Salani/Mauri Spagnol
LATVIA, Zvaigzne
THE NETHERLANDS, Luitingh-Sijthoff (two-book deal)
NORWAY, Gyldendal Norsk (two-book deal)
ROMANIA, Editura Univers
SLOVENIA, Mladinska knjiga (two-book deal)
SPAIN (Spanish), La Galera
SPAIN (Catalan), La Galera
SWEDEN, Rabén & Sjögren (two-book deal)
TURKEY, SEV Redhouse Kidz
VIETNAM, Nha Nam
UNITED STATES, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (WE)
FILM RIGHTS, Scott Free Productions

About author


Pasi Pitkänen

Pasi Pitkänen has become known for his richly detailed illustrative work on several children’s books such as the extremely popular Monster Nanny trilogy by Tuutikki Tolonen. He has also worked at Rovio Entertainment as an illustrator, character designer, and graphic designer. Pitkänen is the illustrator of the popular Kepler62 series and the author of two Children's titles Monster Tournament and The Island of Lost Animals.

Among Pitkänen’s hobbies are quantum physics, people-watching, B-movies, insects and baking.

About author


Tuutikki Tolonen

Tuutikki Tolonen is the author of several acclaimed children’s books, plays and academic articles. She teaches creative writing and has worked as an editor and reporter at Vinski, a Finnish literary magazine for children. For Monster Nanny she received the Arvid Lydecken award.  Her inspiration for the Monster Nanny trilogy sparked during a family breakfast. “My son Leo, then six, said: ‘I heard on the radio yesterday that all moms have to go on vacation and monsters will take their places,” she says.

Her other bestselling series is the Agnes-series, of which the first book "Agnes and the Garden of Dreams" was in 2021 nominated for the Arvid Lydecken Award, received an honorable mention for the Runeberg Junior Award, and won the Luku Varkaus Award. Tolonen tells that the inspiration for Agnes comes for her interest for weird and inexpicable tales, ghost stories and mysteries: "I wanted to write a book my daughter Aili, then nine, would like to read - not too long, not too scary, but very curious."