Mondadori buys Italian rights to WEIRD WEATHER!

The world-wide interest about climate change is at an all-time high! Politicians fight over what steps could be taken, climate strikes take place and Greta Thunberg stunned everyone with her performance in the UN.

After all of this, there are millions of children at homes asking – what is climate change and what to do to stop it?

To help, we now have a great children’s non-fiction book by Laura Ertimo and Mari Ahokoivu called WEIRD WEATHER! that could help children (and adults) understand the changing climate and the concrete steps to fight it.

WEIRD WEATHER! has been sold to Mondadori/Edizioni Piemme in Italy, and was published this week in Finland by Into Kustannus, and sold previously in Estonia to Eesti Raamat, in Sweden to Rabén & Sjögren.

Alessandro Gelso at Mondadori is excited:

We are so thrilled to have acquired the Italian rights for Weird Weather! Telling the children about what is happening to our planet and the way we could still make it right is a moral duty for us, the generation who has messed it up. Laura Ertimo and Mari Ahokoivu make it funny and entertaining, which is the best key to get the children engaged to such a relevant topic. – Alessandro Gelso, Publisher, Edizioni Il Battello a Vapore – Piemme/Mondadori Children’s Books

 

Edizioni Piemme is the leader publisher of children’s books in Italy, and part of Mondadori Children’s Books. The children’s list include both Italian and foreign authors, among others Louis Sachar, Chistine Nöstlinger, Liz Kessler and bestsellers series as The Magic Tree House, Captain Underpants and Wings of Fire.

About the Book:
WEIRD WEATHER! Why Does Climate Change? is accurate but hopeful children’s non-fiction book that explains how humans are responsible for climate change and what we can do to ensure a brighter future. It also gives tips on how everyone can make better choices and practice climate skills every day.

About the Author & Illustrator:
Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author of several non-fiction titles who specializes in the interaction between phenomena, people and nature
Mari Ahokoivu is an illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly graphic novels and comics for children. She lives and works in Copenhagen.

Rights sold:

FINLAND:
Into Kustannus (orig.)
ESTONIA:
Eesti Raamat
ITALY:
Mondadori/Edizioni Piemme
SWEDEN:
Rabén & Sjögren

 

Reading materials:

English sample,full English text, Finnish pdf

About author


Laura Ertimo

Laura Ertimo is a geographer and author. She has previously worked in publishing of geography-related non-fiction and maps, and now she writes full time, specializing in children’s non-fiction. A recurring theme in her work is the holistic worldview, the interaction between phenomena, people and nature.

In 2020, she received the prestigious Tietopöllö Award for her work as a Non-Fiction writer. Her children's title WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO, illustrated by Mari Ahokoivu, was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!

The Tietopöllö award jury: Laura Ertimo knows how to sum up difficult things appropriately in the blink of an eye. Her works can provide information and joy to a wide range of readers, and they also attract people of all ages to delve deeper into the book and consider even difficult issues together. Laura Ertimo's books open paths to important and current topics.

The Tieto-Lauri award jury: Children today grow up among worldwide ecological crises. It presents a great challenge for nonfiction literature: how to tell children about the complex phenomena in an easily understandable way and give factually based hope that even the hardest crises can be solved. Ertimo and Ahokoivu have successfully taken on this challenge.

About author


Mari Ahokoivu

Mari Ahokoivu is a Finnish illustrator and a comics artist. She’s been drawing professionally for over 10 years, mainly drawing graphic novels and comics for children, including Sanni & Joonas and Lola Olifante. Ahokoivu loves everything cute and scary. She lives and works in Copenhagen. Mari Ahokoivu has illustrated WHERE DID THE ANIMALS GO which was nominated for the 2021 Finlandia Award and has also won the Tieto-Lauri award!