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My sincere thanks to all the inspiring people and wondrous places I’ve known in my life so far. Special thanks to Andreas for illustrating Nelle and her adventures so beautifully.

For Peter, Benjamin, Philip and Henry, I love you.

Cecee

First published in Sweden in 2021 by Visto förlag, Lerum www.vistoforlag.se | info@vistoforlag.se © Text: Cecee Rowland-Huss | © Illustrations: Andreas Huss Designer: Matilda Nyman Järhult, Visto förlag First edition Printed in Riga, 2021 ISBN 978-91-7885-542-1

Printed matter 3041 0971

BEL

NOR DI

N SWA ECO

LA

C

e e N and thei ow

Cecee Rowland-Huss Andreas Huss

There once was a girl, both clever and sweet.

Her name was Nelle, and she lived on my street.

never smile. d ’ e h s t e l i f s e ’ Y e s l e , l e med perfect but now not for Ne a whil She used to a lot, e.

She was sad ’cause she lived in a boring house, with boring parents and an unwanted mouse.

She hated their garden with that big, ugly tree.

Looking out of her window, it was all she could see.

It rained all the time, so she couldn’t play.

Her parents were mean, told her ‘Do as we say!’

Every day was the same; Nelle never had fun.

All she wanted was change, yet still there was none.

Until one special night, when her dreams came true.

She told me her story, and now I’ll tell you.

l, o o h c s l ool, a m r o the p n h t i w ip to , y a d l a m r After a no er and a tr a normal dinn

, r i a her h

it was time for bed, so Nelle combed then she brushed her teeth and fetched Mr Bear.

She put on her nighty and jumped into bed, pulling the covers right over her head.

Before she could dream, Nelle woke out of fright.

Someone moved towards her, surrounded by light.

‘Oh, beautiful lady, you frightened me so.

Please tell me your name. Are you friend or foe?’

The lady smiled, stepping up to the bed.

With a soothing voice, she quietly said,

‘My name is Willow. In all that you do, through ups and through downs, I’m always with you.’

‘I know all the pleasures and hardships you face, and right now, I know you feel quite out of place.’

ed ig each e b SheWrith on

out who to Ne osh, lle an they f d said, ‘Hold on tight.’ lew into the night.

When Nelle woke the next morning, still in her room, she thought she had dreamt and went back to her gloom

She went downstairs to get something to eat.

The house was quiet, but not at all neat.

She said to herself, ‘Mummy won’t like this mess.’

Then her sister came down, and she couldn’t care less.

Nelle searched the house, but as you can see, Her parents weren’t there. Where could they be?

She remembered something she’d wished for last night: she’d wanted a world without grown-ups to fight.

Shthe

t w e h i e dan s r led, d n a , d e c n u o b e h s ; y o j c f n ra ed out o a whole new world. n on outside to

Fun fairs all over, each house had a pool.

No chores to be done and, of course, no school.

Harsh words were forbidden, and pun no confusing adults to not underst ishment and. bann ed,

Cecee Rowland-Huss grew up in Helmsley, a small

town in the North Yorkshire moors, England. There, at the age of five, she found her passion for ballet and later went on to study and get her degree in dance pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts. After a lot of moving around Cecee settled down in Halmstad, Sweden, with her husband and three children.

Inspired by nature, a desire to see the world and an endless longing for home during her travels, she wrote her first children’s book Nelle and the Willow.

Andreas Huss is (besides being Cecee’s

brother-in-law) a musician and illustrator from Halmstad, currently living in Staffanstorp, Sweden. He’s had a life long passion for drawing and has, through his children, discovered the joy of storytelling.

He’s currently working on his first novel.

On days especially cold and grey, you might just wish you were far away.

Yet you don’t need a plane, a train or a car, when your imagination can take you so far.

Nelle’s happy place seems way out of sight, but her mind is changed on this one special night.

You can find out how, if you have the time, to come with Nelle on adventures that rhyme.

www.vistoforlag.se