★ A healing narrative that weaves together fantasy and reality, a “heart‑felt picture‑book novel” for readers of all ages! Flying Gabriel, rainbow music, high‑altitude tightrope walking, flight atop a wolf’s back… This book wraps profound themes—life, love, loss, and forgiveness—in a fairytale‑like plot. Nine‑year‑old Leon’s quest to find his family is a mirror reflecting the courage within every child, while also awakening the unspoiled innocence and the bravery to face death in adults, resonating with readers around the world on their inner journeys.
★ An artfully crafted “Young Heart’s Odyssey” with vivid, colorful hand‑drawn illustrations running throughout the book, sometimes light and airy, at other times deep and contemplative! As both a painter and a writer, the author builds a poetic world through color and story. She lets starlight and wings bloom on the canvas, blending sorrow and hope into her brushstrokes, giving the tale an emotional heartbeat, and turning the search for Grandpa into a dual visual and spiritual journey about love and life.
★ For children aged 9 and up.

Perhaps Grandpa is right now in his “Authentic Nucleus,” inventing something extraordinary?
Or maybe he’s out at sea?
Nine-year-old Leon slipped alone into the forest just before midnight. There was no way his grandfather could have simply passed away and been buried—at least not after the grown-ups kept repeating, “The old man hasn’t left; he’s still with us.” Leon refused to believe it. Determined to find his grandfather, he set off on a quest.
Along the way, Gabriel, who has wings, guides Leon, teaching him to play music that corresponds to each color of the rainbow. But soon, Leon finds himself teetering on the brink of life and death time and again: he practices forgiveness while walking a tightrope high in the mountains, plunges into a raging wild river, encounters a mischievous little mouse, soars aloft in a hot-air balloon, and even rides atop a wolf cub.
The journey to find his grandfather is the little hero’s journey we all share—whether child or adult, as long as there remains a child within. We never stop pondering life, love, loss, forgiveness, and friendship, and we are always searching for our own voice and the truth deep inside.

Birgitta Strobel
Birgitta Strobel spent a childhood in Norway filled with art, the violin, and ballet. From an early age, she created large-scale, vividly colored paintings and fairy tales, drawing inspiration from summer vacations with her family in Germany, where they explored medieval castles.
In 1996, Birgitta graduated from the University of Oslo with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science. After several years as a national newspaper reporter and public relations consultant, she moved to Los Angeles in 2001, where she completed a degree in fine arts.
In 2005, Birgitta held her first art exhibition in Los Angeles, showcasing her poetry and paintings. Since then, her work has been featured in prestigious galleries in Los Angeles, Miami, Luxembourg, Madrid, Alicante, and Oslo—years that also inspired the creation of this book.
Birgitta is also an experienced, certified yoga teacher, trained in Los Angeles. For many years, she has taught internationally in numerous cities across Europe and the United States.

1. The Funeral
2. The Dance of the Butterfly
3. “The Eukaryotic Cottage”
4. The Man Within the Butterfly
5. Searching for Grandpa’s Little Boat
6. Footsteps
7. The Bench of Ice Cream Dreams
8. Following the Light
9. Bigus Brutalis
10. Roses Beneath the Yellow Sky
11. Lotus Path
12. Angel’s Wings
13. Interstellar Flower
14. Violet Mobile (literally “Violet Dream Car”)
15. Magical Night
16. The Tree That Speaks in the Night
17. An Angry Cry: “Listen to Me!”
18. The Fire at the Wolf’s End
19. Lost and Found
20. Walking Out of the Forest
21. Imagining a Super Umbrella
22. The “F” Step of Forgiveness
23. Wading Through the Water
24. Clutching the Mast
25. A Ladder from Above
26. Pinkerton Blanket (or “Pinkerton Warm Blanket”)
27. The Ringing of Bells
28. Time in the Cave
29. The Thief in the Night
30. Woody’s Pale Pancake
31. A Place of Serenity
32. The Hall of Hidden Treasures
33. A Gentle Breeze
34. Support from Above (or “Support from Heaven”)
35. True Love
36. The Tower
37. The Cunning Old Mouse
38. Desert Bewilderment
39. Grandpa’s Voice
40. Mr. Rabbit
41. Between Advance and Retreat
42. The Place Where You Are Most Happy
43. Midnight Opera
44. The Crossroads
45. Someone Is Looking at You (Outwardly)
46. The Garden Beyond Good and Evil
47. Beloved 3440
48. Ten Thousand Dreams
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author