Norwegian children's books tackle taboo topics with state support

Anna Fiske, a Swedish-born author living in Norway, says she was surprised to receive death threats for a children's book she published in 2019. "I wasn't aware that I am such a brave writer and illustrator," she said. "I just tell things as they are."

Fiske's book Hvordan Lager Man en Baby? (How Do You Make a Baby?) uses line drawings to show intercourse, IVF, insemination and adoption. It was distributed in English-speaking markets by her New Zealand publisher and drew objections in Canada and several US school libraries, where critics called it pornographic. A mothers' group in Russia complained that her drawings of women giving birth showed grimacing faces rather than happy ones.

In Norway the same book has sold well. Fiske's "How to" series has sold more than 100,000 copies, and she received the Honorary Brage award in 2025. The Norwegian festival of literature in Lillehammer will feature titles this June on exclusion, bullying, queer themes, climate change, mental health and refugees.

Festival director Marit Borkenhagen said not every topic suits every age group, but the definition of what is difficult often depends on whether adults or children are making the judgment. Past guests have included Laurie Halse Anderson, whose books on rape and anorexia faced less opposition in Norway than in the United States.

Norwegian writers Svein Nyhus and Gro Dahle have published books about a violent father and about incest. Nyhus said the only real taboo is to leave children without hope. He and other authors use symbols, drawings and metaphors to open difficult subjects.

Two factors support this approach. Norwegian culture grants children more agency and accepts a degree of risk as normal. At the same time, the state buys large numbers of each new title for public libraries regardless of sales, and it awards grants to authors. Publishers therefore face less pressure to avoid controversy.

Similar books appear elsewhere. German author Lilly Bogenberger's Girl With Scars follows a teenager who self-harms. Italian publisher Corraini Edizioni released Where Do We Go When We Die? by Samy Ramos, which won an award at the BolognaRagazzi prizes. In Britain, Budmouth Academy in Weymouth removed The Hate U Give from a year 10 reading list.

Fiske said she writes first for children and chooses topics that interest her. She consulted a child psychiatrist while drafting a book on death that mentions suicide, adjusting the wording so children would not blame themselves. "It's the parents, it's not you, it's never you," she said.