The Tigers – A Series of 40 Easy to Read Booklets

Many young people and adults with learning difficulties today are skilled readers, while others have to be read for. But they all need stories to relate to, like the rest of us. Stories about themselves. Entertaining stuff that inspire, lead to reflection and put things in order. My son Bendik (born in 1988) has Down syndrome, so I know. He is not a great reader. When I set out to find books that might inspire him to read, the result was depressing. The few books I found were either childish, old fashioned or too simple.

So, being a designer and writer, I decided to create something myself. The result being The Tigers, a series of 40 illustrated and easy-to-read booklets. The series has become immensely popular in Norway. I receive e-mails from readers, teachers, librarians and parents all the time. Finally, they say, we have stories this group can relate to.

To meet the interest from other countries we are now in the process of translating all 30 booklets to English. Hopefully this will make it easier to have the stories published in other countries as well.

If you think this mights be something for young people and adults in your country, please do not hesitate to contact us. Mail address: post@skaugeforlag.no.

Die Tigerbande

We are happy to see The Tigers now being published in Germany as Die Tigerbande. We hope that young people and adults in Germany will enjoy them as much as their Norwegian friends.

Good Stories Touch Hearts and Minds

The main characters in The Tigers are six young adult friends. They all need some assistance in daily life and sometimes fall short when life gets complicated. But there is no mention of anydiagnoses in text or illustration. The stories focus on friends, family, community, love and relationships, quarrels, work, digital and social medias and every day challenges. I want for my readers to discover something about themselves: Feelings, strengths and independence. I want to stimulate their brains and maybe widen their field of interest. And I want them to see that as a whole they are like most young adults – not so different after all. But above all I want to entertain – because you won’t get anywhere without touching hearts and minds.

What Do Customers Say?

I bought The Tigers and was hoping my son (Erik, 21. Se photo!) would like them. It turned out he did! He absolutely LOVES the stories about The Tigers. Mother
Books like these are rare. My pupils cannot wait to read more. Once they get started they are hard to stop. Teacher
The topics are so right, spot on for my pupils. Based on the text they reflect and relate to own lives. Teacher
She (woman, 34) has some books, an likes them. But nothing compares to The Tigers. I think she recognises her own life in these stories. Mother
My pupil likes it because it’s about young people, like herself. She sees herself in many of the situations. School librarian
Once they see on your website that new booklets are on their way, they can hardly wait. Teacher

The Booklets Offer a Rich Variety of Topics:

Six short stories from childhood and youth introducing the main characters.
Tommy is moving out, but is he ready to be on his own? In spite of what his parents say, is not convinced, because he thoroughly dislikes changes. (About going out and starting a life on your own.)
Olly too has moved to his own apartment and with mom away, he enjoys the new freedom: Going to bed at odd times and shopping using his credit card. (About independence versus bad eating habits and weight problems.)
May is romantic. She wants to have a boyfriend. Tommy wants to be cool, like James Bond – then he would have no problem finding a girl. (About finding a girl- or boyfriend.)
Scary images from the TV screen frightens Kim. Wars and bombs and refugees. What is a refugee anyway? And does looking foreign mean you are poor and helpless?
Tommy and May have fallen in love. But being in a relationship is something new to both of them. It takes time to make it work.
The six friends are planning a garden party together. But they all have different ideas about everything from guest list to menu? Working together is not easy. (About empathy and and the challenges of cooperation.)
Kim invites his mates over for pancakes. Only problem is he doesn’t know how to make them. But together they solve the problem. (About the challenges of daily life, and why it is not so important to manage it all.)
Christmas is a only few days away when a mysterious man is spotted lurking around at night – and then a dog is missing. (A Christmas feelgood story.)
Olly is in his family cabin skiing. But it’s not like before. His sister’s noisy toddlers get all the attention. Then he meets a girl in the slopes.
More about Olly and the girl from the slopes. Her name is Lisa, and she loves cats. Olly does not, but he’s afraid to tell her. (About falling in love.)
June loves her grandma and visits her every Monday. But one Monday something dramatic happens. It is not easy to watch a loved one get older and die. (About the death of a loved one.)
An invitation to an island in the north of Norway means fishing, boat life, midnight sun and excitement.
Kim hates money – and banks and numbers and counting. But above all he hates coins. So for years he has put them in a glass jar. (About counting, money and how banks work.)
June is the outspoken one – and sometimes even bossy. Is Kim, the more timid one, able to speak his mind when she gets too bossy? (About both being able of speaking up for yourself and about not dominating others.)
Being in love makes you vulnerable. When Tommy sees May in town with an-other man, he gets jealous. And jealousy hurts. (About feelings.)
Texting can be fun – and useful. But what if you text something you instantly know is wrong, and regret it? May gets in trouble, and the victim is Lisa. (About social medias.)
It’s a week before Christmas, and June sees happy families everywhere. She is not happy. Her parents are divorced and she doesn’t know where she belongs any more. Why can’t she have a normal, happy family? (Includes setting up a Christmas play about the birth of Jesus.)
Lisa’s ex turns up, and her new boyfriend Olly finds out through a posting on Facebook. Is his relationship in danger? (About being jealous.)
Tommy’s workmate he has a problem: He does not like to shower and change clothes. He stinks! Tommy wants to help, but how? (About the importance of personal hygiene.)
A whale is found dead on a beach, it’s stomach filled with plastic. The ocean seems to be polluted. Does it matter what we do? (About environmental challenges.)
Winter holiday in a cabin sounded like a good idea. But that was before they discover there were no Internet signals. (About being hooked on mobile phones and the Internet.)
Lisa has lost her job, and is depressed and angry. But she doesn’t give up, and sets out to find a new one. (About the importance of having a job.)
June misses her brother. So when he turns up with a friend, she’s excited. The friend, however, turns out to be more than just a friend. (About being gay.)
Ingrid is working in the group home. But now she is pregnant will be leaving in a few weeks, an announcement that leads to sorrow and fear. (About sorrow when a loved care person disappears.)
Olly is in a bad mood. He is fed up with nagging. Parents going on about the importance of healthy food and fitness, care persons about tidying and dish washing. (About independence versus the need for help and guidance.)
Tommy’s friend Eric finds out that bees are dying, all over the world. So he sets out to save them. He transforms his lousy veranda into a flowering garden for bees and insects. (About environmental protection.)
The Tigers get to know Christine, who is blind, and her boyfriend Roy, who is visually impaired. They thought blind people could not manage very much, but have to rethink their prejudices.
It is not easy to be young and insecure. To quit school, starting a new job or moving out. Kim meets a young boy burdened by all the changes in his life, and Kim comforts him.
Summer holliday in Spain. The Tigers are in for a week of sunshine, beaches and pleasure. But they also meet a young man their age, not quite so fortunate. The young man is a refugee, and his life is very different. But maybe young people from Africa are not so different once you get to know them.
Olly and Tommy want to play tricks on the girls to scare them a little. But Mary and June are not so easily scared.
Tommy and Mary are not as happy as they were at the start of their relationship. Have they grown tired of each other? June, the proactive one in the group, sets out to help.
Not everyone wants a girlfriend or boyfriend. Some would rather have just a good friend. But does everyone have a friend? June and Mary set out to ask people about friends and friendship.
Kim is being bullied. One day in the swimming pool something dramatic happens. Luckily his friends are there, and they witness everything.
June and her friend Morten are going to watch an important football match on TV together with his grandfather. But then something unexpected occurs and they need to sneak into a hospital instead.
A new girl is moving in with The Tigers. Her name is Alina. But her new flat is full of surprises.
Tommy’s friend, Eric, has applied for a new job at a recycling plant. It turns out he has applied for Tommy as well! As usual, things don’t quite work out the way Eric had planned.
Lovebirds prefer to be close to their loved one all the time. This is not good. We all need to spend some time on our own and with our friends too.
Kim and Mary have been together for a short time when something serious happens. An accident puts their relationship to the test. Will they get through the tough times together?
In this last story about The Tigers, there is a big party where you meet friends and family from all the previous stories. Strange things happen when so many different people meet.