Bob & Hilbert

A tender picture book about a goofy rabbit and dog who discover they can both achieve their goals if they depend on one another, from award-winning Faroese illustrator Bárður Oskarsson.

Kids 5-8 will love flipping the book to get Bob and Hilbert’s unique perspectives—and seeing how they meet in the middle!

Bob is a long-toothed rabbit obsessed with finding the perfect carrot. Hilbert is a flat-nosed dog convinced he can fly. Beloved Nordic children’s book author Bárður Oskarsson’s trademark illustration crafts a minimalist world with playfully misshapen, big-footed animals who are as curious and questioning as we are. Flip the book one way and Bob loses his carrot on the bus and Hilbert can’t fly, but they give each other a little help to make things right. Flip the book the other way, and Hilbert and Bob are each able to give up a little freedom in order to fulfill their dreams. Readers will love Bob for his frank determination and Hilbert for his idealist heart. Oskarsson weaves a gently optimistic and reflective story about compromise and perspective, showing us what it’s like to hold two truths together at once. Bob & Hilbert is about the joy of learning how to rely on others through words, and shared silence. Kids ages 6-8 will find that reading this book is like making a new friend."Everyone’s favorite Scandinavian author/illustrator is back . . . In spite of its seemingly simplicity, this book is both extremely funny and subtle. It has this angle into the absurdity of human existence that children respond to . . . Utterly unique." — Betsy Bird, School Library Journal's Fuse 8 BlogBárður Oskarsson is a beloved artist and children’s book author from the Faroe Islands. He is known for his unique art style, which often depicts offbeat anthropomorphized animals with fine-point lines and fantastical sizing and shapes. His books have been translated into French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Czech, and English. His debut children’s book Ein hundur, ein ketta og ein mús (A Dog, a Cat, and a Mouse) won the West Nordic Council’s Children and Young People’s Literature Prize in 2006, which he went on to win again in 2018. In 2016, he was nominated for the IBBY Peter Pan prize.

Translator Bio:
Marita Thomsen is a Faroese translator and interpreter. She studied translation in Peru and interpreting in London. Her translations include Faroese, Danish, and Spanish works by Beinir Bergsson, Sólrún Michelsen, Búi Dam, and the children's books of Bárður Oskarsson. In 2024, she won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel for her translation of Dead Men Walking by Jógvan Isaksen (Norvik Press, 2023).