Regular visitors to Linda’s Book Bag will notice I have been rather quiet of late, following Mum’s death, but it gives me great pleasure to try out a bit of blogging again and welcome H. S Norup to the blog today to tell me all about her latest middle grade children’s book. I am a huge advocate of children reading for pleasure and I think this book sounds perfect.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with H. S. Norup

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Helle and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you for inviting me to your cosy book bag blog.

My pleasure. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I have brought my newest book The Changeling Child, which came out in August. It takes place in autumn, and it’s quite spooky, so it’s perfect to read at this time of year. I would suggest with a hot drink, pine-scented candles, and a nice fluffy (preferably red and faerie-deterring) blanket.

That sounds perfect for the darkening evenings. What can we expect from an evening in with The Changeling Child?

The Changeling Child is Alfred’s and Saga’s second adventure in the world that was introduced in Into The Faerie Hill, but it can be read as a standalone story. Although the book is written for a middle-grade audience, I have been assured by adult readers that there is something for all ages in the story, which will appeal to lovers of dark folklore. It explores the links between nature and faeries.

I think all good children’s books can be enjoyed by adults too! 

So, you can expect to encounter a whole host of tricksy and fearsome faeries, who are not at all pleased with humans and the way our infrastructure spread and encroach on nature and harm the Faerie realm.

I love the sound of that. How have your books been received? 

To quote the review by Tamsin Rosewell and Thomas Taylor in the latest newsletter from the illustrious FAIRY INVESTIGATION SOCIETY: “Both these novels weave our oldest, darkest fairy-lore, in which the faerie folk are certainly not sweet and glittery, and their moral codes are very different to our own, with conspiracy preoccupations about the environment and our disruption of the natural landscape. From the wickedly sinister pixies – Little Mother and Little Father – to the austerely cruel high fae, there are plenty of otherworldly beings to spark the imagination, as our young protagonists, Alfred and Saga, battle to save two worlds, as well as find their own places in both of them.”

How brilliant! You must be delighted. 

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I have also brought Saga, one of the two main characters. She’s a fierce eco-warrior, who fights for nature and dreams of becoming the David Attenborough of the faerie world. And because he is her protector, Mr Tumbleweed, Saga’s tree sprite companion, has tagged along. That is quite lucky for us, because Mr Tumbleweed requires payment in cake, so Saga has been forced to bring a basketful of his favourites. There are chocolate brownies, blueberry muffins, half a lemon drizzle cake, and a whole red velvet cake with extra frosting on top. 

Now that’s my kind of guest! You can all come again…

What would you like, Linda? I think I’ll take a slice of lemon drizzle.

I’d like them all so I think I’ll start with a chocolate brownie.

I also see a flask of Saga’s mum’s freshly pressed apple juice. Isn’t it delicious?

It is indeed.

Let’s eat, while Saga tells us all about her litter-pick walks and the protest against the motorway tunnel she organised in Into The Faerie Hill. She’s also happy to talk about how she solved the mystery of the missing child in The Changeling Child. Perhaps she’ll even hint at the dangerous mountain climb she undertook to save the Faerie fortress from vanishing into nothingness. (As long as you promise not to tell her parents. If they knew what she and Alfred get up to, she would surely be banned from ever leaving their farm.)

It sounds to me as if Saga gets up to all kinds of things…

But if you want all the fantastical details and find out exactly how Alfred tricked the most fearsome faerie, I suggest reading the book…

I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about this latest book. Now, you sort out the cakes and I’ll give readers a few more details about The Changeling Child:

The Changeling Child

Twelve years ago, a child vanished from his cradle. He was never seen nor spoken of again. Saga is desperate to discover what happened – did he really just disappear? Or was he whisked away to the Faerie kingdom, to be raised as one of their own?

As she searches for the truth, her best friend Alfred has his own vital mission. The mayor’s relentless construction projects are devastating the natural world, and now the fearsome faeries want revenge. Only Alfred, a demi fae, can restore peace between the two realms.

But as he journeys deeper into the magical kingdom than ever before, the two friends start to suspect that the lost child could be the key to everything…

The Changeling Child was published by Pushkin Press Children’s Books on 14th August 2025 and is available for purchase through the links here. 

About H.S. Norup

H.S. Norup is the award-winning author of Into the Faerie Hill, The Hungry Ghost and The Missing Barbegazi – a Sunday Times Book of the Year in 2018. She grew up in Denmark, where she devoured fairy tales and escaped into books. After living in six different countries, she now resides in Switzerland and writes stories inspired by her travels, set in the borderlands between the real and imaginary worlds. When she’s not writing or reading, she spends her time outdoors either skiing, hiking, swimming or taking photos.

For further information, visit H. S. Norup’s website and find her on Twitter/X @HSNorup, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky.