In the north of Europe, on the top left-hand tip of a country shaped like a butterfly, lies the Livonian coast: a quiet place with wide sandy beaches, wild forests and not very many people at all.

If you decide to go there yourself and sit on the edge of a forest, you might see some little creatures moving around, smaller than the elks but bigger than the wild boar and badgers…

Can you spot prickly Spendthrift, desperately trying to impress her friends? Over by that little house is Hare, preparing buttercup tea and crisp golden waffles for his sailor friend (and prisoner) Wolf, who just wants to be back at sea. And that worried-looking fellow hurrying up the hill is Squishbod – he really does have a skeleton in his cupboard…

Across nine deeply atmospheric and compelling fairytales, Lilija Berzinska follows the desires and anxieties of a community of mysterious creatures in the north of Latvia, gently exploring their preoccupations and suggesting solutions with resonant empathy and wisdom.

A Skeleton in the Cupboard won the prestigious Latvian Literary Award of the Year (Children's Category) in 2019, with judges noting: 'Lilija Berzinska's tales ooze warmth and sweetness.'

Prizes

Winner of Latvian Literature of the Year Award, Children's Category 2019 (Latvia)

Lilija Berzinska was born in 1978. She is a children’s author and illustrator, and also works as a translator. Several of her children’s novels were nominated for the Latvian Literature of the Year Award, and her collection of stories *Skelets skapī / The Skeleton in the Cupboard *won the children’s category of Latvian Literature of the Year Award in 2018. She and her family live by the sea and near the forest, where different creatures, both wild and imaginary dwell.