Puk Krogsøe is a Danish author whose fiction focuses on children and young people. Alongside writing, she has worked as a teacher, which informs her subjects and settings. Her books address everyday school life, friendships, bullying, and the first stirrings of romance, aiming to give readers recognition and practical courage.
Krogsøe’s novel Bare lad mig være (2021) forms part of Sommerfugleserien. The story follows Ida, a girl whose social anxiety grows around classroom rituals and shifting friendships. Krogsøe developed the character through conversations with a psychologist who works with anxious children and teenagers.
She describes the goal as offering a mirror to readers who live with anxiety and giving them hope through steady, small steps. The book demonstrates how peers can support one another through normal friendships and open conversations, and how families often require guidance to move beyond well-meaning avoidance.
Her Selma series (2018–2019) is intended for readers aged approximately ten to twelve. The books are realistic school stories about exclusion, reconciliation, and finding one’s place in a group. A formative image behind the series was a case of a girl pushed outside her class community, which prompted Krogsøe to imagine how a child might recover.
Selma keeps “De gode tings bog,” a notebook of positive moments that grows with her self-confidence, modelling reflection rather than perfection.
Puk Krogsøe’s research and experience stress that anxiety has many faces and that progress comes through measured challenges.
Photo credit: FB @pukkrogsoe
