Julia Willmann & Jens Rassmus
Summer at the Edge of the World
On the outskirts of a seaside resort, where chic hotels line the seafront, ‘Beach Hotel Pia’ lies hidden behind a grove of pine trees. Its glory days are long gone, and this rainy summer it hasn’t had a single booking. Of the staff, only the cook and the bookkeeper remain. The hotel manager, usually cheerful and energetic, has holed up in bed, feeling depressed.
His daughter Juno is quite the opposite: she is determined to save the hotel from imminent closure. They need guests! Wearing oversized, bright red wellies, Juno sets off and gathers all sorts of people. Not your typical tourists, but a colourful community keen to transform the old hotel into a new kind of place – until a woman from the local council suddenly turns up with ominous news…
Julia Willmann tells the story with the warmth and humour of a feisty 10-year-old who seizes happiness by the scruff of the neck and rises to the challenge of her great task. Jens Rassmus accompanies the story with sensitive illustrations.
Südpol Verlag
Children’s Fiction | Middle Grade
Original title: Sommer am Rand der Welt
Age 9+
208 pp | € 17
hc | 145 x 222 mm
Publication: July 2026
Author: Julia Willmann
Illustrator: Jens Rassmus
All rights available
- A poetic children's novel
- A determined female character
- On the power of community
- Humorous narration accompanied by sensitive illustrations
Awards
“A subtle, linguistically powerful and uplifting book about solidarity, which warms the heart with its charming characters and beautiful illustrations.” –Andrea Wanner / Titel Kulturmagazin
“This has been written by someone with a wealth of screenwriting experience, who has created a little gem of a story.” – Christine Paxmann / Eselsohr
“A delightful summer novel, a powerful story about girls, carried by linguistic sophistication.” – Katrin Rüger / buchpalast
“Linguistically, the novel impresses with its subtle observations and great affection for its characters.” – Marie-Lena Schenk / EKZ
“Incidentally, the Beach Hotel Pia has a reading room. One would wish every guesthouse had one, and in it at least one copy of Summer at the Edge of the World.” – Susanna Wengeler / BilderBuchMarkt
“Julia Willmann crafts a realistic yet optimistic summer story with very well-developed, individual and likeable characters who carry her readers through the narrative. The language in particular is poetic and inspiring.” Susanne Drogi / kinderundjugendmedien.de
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