Kari Saanum, Signe Torp (ill.)
The children in the industrial town

The year is 1890. In just over 40 years, Norway's capital Kristiania has become a large city with many factories. Industry is powered by the Akerselva river, and many of the workers live in the neighborhood by the river.

The story of Hanna, Oskar, and their mother, Marie, a spinning mill worker, is about industrialization in Norway and what it was like to be a child in the working class.

The story is expanded with short texts about life and society at the end of the 19th century. Here you can also learn more about Oskar. Oskar Braaten became a famous author who wrote books and plays about the working-class environment in which he grew up.

The book contains a beautiful, 2-meter-wide fold-out drawing of the 19th-century factory town of Kristiania by Signe Torp, which is almost two meters wide and perfect for hanging on the wall.

Kari Saanum, Signe Torp (ill.)

Kari Saanum, Signe Torp (ill.)
Katja Saanum

Kari Saanum (born 1959) is an author and holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Oslo in the history of ideas, German, theater studies, and Latin. She made her debut with the short story collection Kraftverk (Cappelen 1992) and has since published several books and had plays for children, young people, and adults staged. She has worked as an editor, writer, and performing arts critic. Together with Liv Aakvik, she initiated and ran the Generator theater text laboratory from 2005 to 2012.

Saanum's previous publication was Sorgsanger. Dikt, Forlaget Oktober, 2021. The poetry collection was nominated for the Youth Critics' Prize.

Barna i fabrikkbyen, Orkana 2024, together with Signe Torp, is Kari Saanum's first non-fiction publication.

Foreign rights

Orkana forlag: [email protected]

Awards

Nominated for the Norwegian Brageprisen in the category best non-fiction book for children.

Edited January 31, 2026 by Orkana forlag