J.K. Rowling’s 2020 standalone children’s novel about a boy named Bert is The Ickabog. The story is set in the fictional kingdom of Cornucopia, where a mythical creature called the Ickabog becomes entangled with political power, fear, and the consequences of propaganda.
Rowling originally wrote the story for her own children while working on the Harry Potter books. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she released it online in instalments and invited children to create illustrations. A printed edition followed later that year, with royalties donated to projects supporting people affected by the pandemic.
The Ickabog is separate from the Harry Potter universe and is not a Hogwarts story. It is also different from The Christmas Pig, another standalone Rowling children’s novel, which was published in 2021. The book’s title refers to the feared creature at the centre of the kingdom’s legends and the characters’ growing understanding of truth.