Awards
2020 Mildred L. Batchelder Award, USA
Winner of the German Luchs des Jahres (Best Children and YA Book) 2016
Kinderbuchpreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen 2017, Germany
Nominated for Deutcher Jugendliteraturpreis 2017
The Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize 2014
Brune was made into a theater play by Teater Joker
Foreign rights
Aserbadjan: Quanun
Brazil: Nova Alexandria
Bulgaria: Fiut
Denmark: Carlsen
China: New Bud
Estonia: Varrak
Faroe Islands: Bokadeildin
France and Switzerland: La Joie de Lire
Germany: Hanser
Greece: Pyramida Ltd
Hungary: Scolar
Island: Forlagid
Iran: Houpaa
Israel: Tal May Publishers
Italy: GiuntiJapan: Goblin-Shobo
Korea: Wisdom House
Latvia: SIA Pētergailis
Lithuania: Tikra Knyga
Macedonia: Gavroche Books
Nederlands: Querido
Palestina: Tamer Institute for Community Education
Polen: Dwie Siostry
Romania: Rao Distributie
Russia: Albus Corvus
Slovakia: Iron Libri
Slovenia: Založba Zala
Spain and Argentina: Barbara Fiore Editora
Sweden: Raben og Sjøgren
Turkey: Epislon
United States: Enchanted Lion
Foreign rights: Gyldendal Agency
Reviews
"Brown achieves a perfect balance between excitement and introspection, melancholy and humor … Torseter’s drawings, with the light washes of color that accompany them, deliver laughs and other emotions as needed.
Dickson’s translation is swift and assured. Sentences are direct, with nary an adverb to be found. Aside from the universality of its themes—death, bullies, friendship, and growing up—the book’s power and charm arise as much because of what’s left out as what’s included. The presence of technology, for example, is distant; this could be a story from 60 years ago, and the book benefits from the absence with an increased focus on its characters.
Brown is a wonderful book that deserves the many awards it’s received, among them the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Literature Prize. English-speaking audiences will eagerly await translations of the next two books in the series.”
STARRED REVIEW, Peter Dabbene, Foreword Reviews
"A reader doesn't finish Brown. One simply closes the book at the end of the words and pictures and allows it a bit of heart space in which to live."
Connie Griffin, BookWorks
"The simple pen and ink illustrations add greatly to this fun story of good vs. evil."
STARRED REVIEW, Katrina Yurenka, Youth Services Book Review
"Small, fine-lined ink drawings with color highlights on nearly every page supply this tongue-in-cheek escapade with evocative vignettes depicting Rusty's flights of fancy, quizzical-looking parents and other grown-ups, and masked prowlers in homemade outfits."
Kirkus Reviews
“The book has both suspense, good dialogue, as well as hints of magic. Rusty’s conversations with his dead grandfather are lovely, and all his characters have bucket-loads of charm … Bursting with attitude and humor, the pictures are as expressive as they are simple … recommended for anyone. The book is a highly charming tale of growing up, superheroes and the struggle for survival.”
Dagbladet
“In this enormously charming book we meet three little superheroes, each equipped
with a bucket of paint … Øyvind Torseter’s beautiful drawings show us what it’s like to feel small and out of place in a big world. They also evoke the warmth of the friendship between the children. . . . Warmly recommended!”
Aftenposten
“The jury has rarely agreed so strongly about a decision as this one ... (Øvreås) writes so well for kids that you would think he has never done anything else ... a warm and bittersweet super hero story, which is also an excellent book to read together for kids and adults”
From the jury statement, Trollkrittet Prize (Norwegian Children's and YA Book Writers' debut prize)
“Brown is a warm and powerful story of friendship and courage, full of creativity and everyday magic.”
From the jury statement, Nordic Council Children's and Young People's Literature Prize
“Øvreås provides fast-paced prose with dry humor in both the narration and dialogue, but he also sensitively deals with Rusty’s sadness at the loss of his beloved grandfather, which is beautifully captured. The cartoon-style pen and ink illustrations by Torseter add real depth to the story in their humor and expressiveness of the characters.”
Deborah Hallford, Outside In World