De Vier Windstreken pre-empts Dutch rights to bestselling DAD MAN series – 4th international sale!

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We are thrilled to announce the fourth international sale for the bestselling DAD MAN series written by Arttu Unkari and illustrated by Kai Vaalio: the Dutch rights have been pre-empted, in a two-book deal, by De Vier Windstreken! The deal includes books #1 and #2, Dad Man and the Exploding Poop and  Dad Man and the Evil Little Brother. The deal was closed by Martti Berner at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

DAD MAN is a hilarious series for the reluctant readers and for fans of Captain Underpants and David Walliams – with the comic-style illustrations and priceless plot lines, one just has to keep on turning pages. The series has sold over 200 000 copies in Finland and has been nominated for the Runeberg Prize and for Storytel Awards! 

“A funny and engaging series [–] The series has such delightful characters, carefree school anarchy, and flight of imagination, and one is looking forward to the continuation.”
–Ilkka Valpasvuo on Kulttuuritoimitus magazine

“The duo smartly combines the narrative styles of comics and prose. Vaalio’s illustrations offer many visual jokes and almost accidentally urges one to read Unkari’s story.”
– Savon Sanomat newspaper

The rights for the series are still available in Estonia, Sweden, Turkey, Spain, Czechia…

Request materials for the DAD MAN series here!

 

The Dad Man Series

by Arttu Unkari, illustrated by Kai Vaalio

#1 Dad Man and the Exploding Poop
#2 Dad Man and the Evil Little Brother
#3 Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis
#4 Dad Man and the Impossible Time Warp
#5 Dad Man and the Doppelgänger Disaster
#6 Dad Man and the Mysterious Puppet Master

The quirkiest cop in town! The Dad Man Series offers fast-paced adventures and humour for all ages – especially lower middle grade.

Dad Man is a dad, and a policeman – but he also has a superpower! Too bad his superpower is one shared by almost all dads – an unwavering belief in himself and his own abilities. Dad Man truly believes he knows everything and can do anything, but as it goes with most dads, the reality is quite different. And it follows that Dad Man’s nine-year-old daughter Oona needs to solve all of the issues herself.

Publication info:
Isämies ja räjähtävä kakka
Otava 2020, 176 pp.

Isämies ja paha pikkuveli
Otava 2021, 176 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
DENMARK: Bogoo (2 books)
GERMANY: Mixtvision (3 books)
NETHERLANDS: De Vier Windstreken (2 books)
POLAND: Kropka (2 books)

Reading materials:
Finnish editions, German edition books 1-2, Danish edition book 1, English sample book 4

About author


Arttu Unkari

Arttu Unkari is a teacher from Helsinki and a Master of Education (University of Helsinki, 2015) who majored in ethics and philosophy.  He combines his educational background and experience as a teacher in his books – his stories are anarchist and zany, but at the same time the humour often revolves around profound and intriguing concepts such as honesty, obedience, and morality in ways that speak to children in their own language. His books are enjoyed by adults as well because they contain layers that open up differently to readers of all ages. This is one of the reasons Dad Man is such a great series for the whole family.

As an author Unkari is a Runeberg prize nominee 2023 for the third instalment of the Dadman series: Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis (Isämies ja hyytävä hypnoosi, Otava 2022). The Runeberg Prize is a literary prize awarded by the newspaper Uusimaa, the City of Porvoo, the Finnish Writers' Union, the Finnish Critics' Association and the Finland’s-Swedish Writer’s Association. The prize was established in 1986 and it is awarded annually in Porvoo on 5th February, the day when Finland celebrates their national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg.  All of his previous books (Dad Man and the Exploding poop, Dad Man and the Evil Little Brother,  Dad Man and the Horrible Hypnosis and Dad Man and the Impossible Time Warp) have been nominated for best children’s audiobook in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Finnish Storytel awards. He’s also participated in making a Finnish language schoolbook (Loikka 3, Otava 2022).

Unkari is a sought after inspirational speaker in his home country. He’s visited schools all over Finland advocating for the importance of reading.

Photo credit Jonne Räsänen / Otava 2019

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About author


Kai Vaalio

Kai Vaalio (b. 1986) is an illustrator, comic artist, and a bit of a cosmopolitan as well. He’s written and illustrated underground comic books for adults about his travels in South-East Asia and Latin America — the latter won Mondo magazine’s Travel book of the year award back in 2014. Recently he’s ventured into the world of illustrating children’s books mainly with Arttu Unkari’s Dad Man Series. Together they’ve made several books about this goofy detective and his clever little posse. The Dad Man Series has received Storytel Awards and Runeberg Junior 2023 award nominations. Vaalio’s been on and off in the graphic industry since 2005 when he graduated as a graphic designer from Lahti College of Arts and Crafts. In 2018 he got his bachelor’s degree from Lahti University of Applied Science.

Photo credit: Jonne Räsänen / Otava

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