Norwegian musical comedy duo Ylvis may be very silly, but that's not likely to hold back their next venture, an illustrated children's book based on their massive YouTube hit song, The Fox, which is to be published in the US in time for Christmas.
The song's catchy tune and ridiculous lyrics have won 215m hits on YouTube since its release in September, rocketing brothers Bard, 31, and Vegard Ylvisaker, 34, to international stardom.
The Fox's opening lines are: "Dog goes woof/ cat goes meow/ bird goes tweet / and mouse goes squeak/ … But there's one sound / that no one knows / what does the fox say?" It goes on to make some suggestions.
Vegard said the What Does the Fox Say? book was "much more than just a spin-off from the video. We actually started the process with the illustrator before we even uploaded the video to YouTube. As we were working with the song it just felt like it had the potential of becoming an interesting book as well, mostly because all of a sudden we found ourselves wondering what does the fox really say?"
The book is illustrated by Svein Nyhus, who has previously illustrated Why Kings and Queens Don't Wear Crowns, by princess Märtha Louise of Norway, in addition to his own children's books and those of his wife, Norwegian poet and children's writer Gro Dahle.
US publisher Simon & Schuster Children's bought north American rights and will print 250,000 copies of the book, to be published on 10 December.
When they recorded the song Ylvis set out to make the stupidest possible track using the most expensive production values: it was recorded at Jay Z's Roc the Mic studio in New York. The brothers are classically trained musicians who were talent-spotted while performing in their school choir. They have a show on Norwegian TV, and have released a string of other parody songs, including a stadium rock-style tribute to the a Norwegian politician and a send-up of hip-hop acts.
Children's publishing president Jon Anderson said that he was "ecstatic" to be publishing the book. "I cannot tell you how many times I've watched Ylvis's hilarious, mesmerising, unforgettable The Fox. The lyrics and playfulness of the song lend themselves perfectly to the picture book format."
