The Reindeer Cyclone

Two Reindeer, Journeying Between Name and Freedom

Driven from their home by human development, and having lost their family and the place they once belonged, a wild reindeer wanders alone. Then they meets Bud, a reindeer living on a farm.

On the farm, every reindeer has a name, and no one worries about the next meal. The nameless reindeer, with nowhere to stay, tells Bud that they want a name too. But Bud hesitates. Once you have a name, Bud says, you can no longer return to the wild.

As the two spend time together in the forest, they slowly come to know each other’s lives. The wild reindeer begins to realise where they truly belong, while Bud feels something long sealed away begin to stir.

One day, Bud glimpses the Reindeer Cyclone — the great swirling movement of a herd protecting one another. The sight awakens Bud’s forgotten wildness. At last, Bud leaves their name behind and sets out with the reindeer, reconnecting the lost path back towards the wild.

The Reindeer Cyclone is a quiet, powerful picture book about belonging and freedom, protection and wildness, and the courage to return to one’s true self.

I write stories that explore the wondrous world of children and the depths within us. Through three-dimensional work, I carefully shape a picture-book world that is entirely my own.

In Reindeer Cyclone, I saw the sublime beauty of beings who protect one another, beyond the need simply to survive. I wanted to hold the weight of that feeling in my hands, so I cut paper again and again, layering it piece by piece. Through this process, I created ‘The Reindeer Cyclone’ as the story of a journey that reconnects the path the reindeer had lost.

My written works include ‘The Transparent Tree’, selected for the 2017 White Ravens; ‘Can I Borrow a Dad?’, selected for the BolognaRagazzi Award Amazing Bookshelf at the 2022 Bologna Children’s Book Fair; ‘The Hand Reached Out’, selected for the BolognaRagazzi Award Amazing Bookshelf in the Sustainability category in 2025; and ‘Late Today’ received starred reviews from ‘Kirkus Reviews’ and ‘Publishers Weekly’ in 2025, which was chosen by ‘New York Magazine’ as one of the best new children’s books.