- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 7–10
- Fantasy
Hilda and the Hidden People
Book 1 of 9 in Hilda Chapter BooksView the full series
Part of the Hilda universeOpen the collection
A prose-friendly entry into Hilda's world, adapting the early Netflix storylines into an illustrated chapter-book format. It is ideal for children who love the show but are ready to move into longer solo reading.
- Best for7–10
- FormatIllustrated
- Length176 pp
- Read aloud~2 hr30 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Adventurous
- Whimsical
- Warm
- Suspenseful
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Hilda is an explorer, sketchbook-keeper and friend to almost every creature she meets in the valley. Her world is full of trolls, tiny hidden people, strange rules and magical misunderstandings, but her instinct is always to investigate rather than run away. In this first Netflix tie-in novel, Hilda's wilderness life begins to collide with the needs and complaints of the tiny people living nearby, while her mother worries about whether their remote home is still the right place for them. The book adapts early episodes of the animated series into an accessible illustrated chapter book, keeping the humour, folklore and visual charm of Luke Pearson's world while giving developing readers more prose to get stuck into. It is a strong bridge from the graphic novels or TV series into independent reading.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 7–10
- Read aloud · 6–9
- Independent · 7–10
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Moderate
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Tv to book bridge
- First chapter book
- Gentle fantasy
- Hilda fans
- Illustrated reading
Avoid if
- Wants fast gags
- Prefers realistic stories
- Dislikes tv tie ins
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Moving house
- Making friends
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Illustrated Hilda adventures — a classroom-library pick for fans of the comics moving into longer reads.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific charm is Hilda's instinct — invisible elves she keeps stepping on, troll boulders that turn out to be living things, a wild Nordic world treated with curiosity rather than fear. A seven-year-old reading it picks up the same instinct: investigate first, judge later.
- Adventure and freedom
- Animal companions
- Having a secret base
- Making a difference
- Secret world
Why parents love it
The chapter-book gateway into Hilda's world for a child who's loved the Netflix series and is ready for more prose. Davies keeps Pearson's tone intact — gentle, slightly strange, generous towards every odd creature. Strong starting point for the tie-in run.
- Shared humour
- Bedtime appropriate
- Quick to read
- Beautiful illustrations
In the series
Hilda Chapter Books.
9 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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