Discoverer of Northeast Passage: Explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in North Sea

Markku Löytönen 2005: Koillisväylän löytäjä : tutkimusmatkaaja Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld Jäämerellä
Illustrated by Riikka Jäntti


This is the story of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, who was born in 1832 in Helsinki. His father was a Nils Nordenskiöld who's nickname was the farther of mineralogy. Adolf Erik was the third eldest child of seven and he was very curious and interested in finding things out.

He dropped out of school, when he was sixteen, because his principal J.L.Runeberg (a famous Finnish poet) was too strict. Adolf Erik continued school, graduated from high school and studied mineralogy, mathematics, physics and chemistry at the Helsinki University.



Nordenskiöld explored  Ural with his father, Greenland and Spitsbergen, before he shipped off northeast. He bought Vega, a ship with 60 horsepower steam engine and sails. The crew had 21 members and six scientists.

The exploration had many set backs not only ice but a heavy fog as well. At the  Taimyr peninsula Nordenskiöld noticed that they were sailing on dry land, because the maps had been drawn wrong. Finally in September  1878 Vega got stuck in ice, the expedition continued in 10 months, in June 1879.  When they finally reached Japan, they stayed there eight months.  They returned home April 10th 1880 sailing around Eurasia for 2 years and 10 months.

Map of the exploration

Remarkable story and the illustrations in this book support the historical value of the expedition.

 Nordenskiöld also wrote about his expeditions even for common people, which were translated into several languages.

Little Mouse helps out

Riikka Jäntti 2017
English translation Lola Rogers

Little Mouse is big enough to do things himself. At breakfast he wants to pour juice himself: it spills on the table. He puts his dirty clothes on the wash machine. He wants to mop the floor, NOW.  He wants to clean the toilet.  He wants to make pasta bake and wash the dishes.

His friend Pip comes to visit and together they build a fort.  Pip wants to play with Little Mouse's bear, so does Little Mouse. It turns into a fight. Mom has to step in and make them share.  Finally they play tag together and watch the thunderstorm outside.





Even though Little Mouse is not really helpful, only by participating the small learn. Many times I want to do the house chore myself, because the Little Helpers cause more chore, when they help me. But I am learning to let go, too. Having kids is great, you learn all kinds of things.

Day of magic

Kaisa Järnefelt 2014: Taikapäivä
illustrated by Riikka Jäntti



Maaria is spending time with her grandparents' house. She has imaginery friends: a horse named Rhubarb. With it Maaria attends summer wedding where many couples get married, also a frog marries a mouse.

It is magical to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma is baking pastries and Grandpa can be mistaken for a sleuth, but he also takes Maaria fishing.

Grandma's red cottage

The book also includes short poems, including an ode to Grandma's cottage and the sleuth lying in the hammock.


My Grandma used to live in a red cottage like here in this book and she always had some pastries, such as the korvapuusti for us kids.  My mother makes the best korvapuusti in the world and my boys love them (as do their dad and everyone, who has ever tasted them).

Grandma baking lots and lots of sweet rolls.

I never had such an imagination as Maaria here in this book. But just a while ago my father came indoors with a spoon. He had found it near a big stone. I admitted that it must have been mine, because as a child I had thought that stone was a sacrificial stone and I had wanted to dig around it. (At the time I wanted to be an archaeologist.) Needless to say, my concentration was lost before I got through the weeds.

The folks of Maple Cottage

Riikka Jäntti:
Nokikätkön ritarit ja Kuuhiisi 2005
Vaahteratuvan väki ja vaarallinen peto 2008
Toivo ja hirveä hämähäkki 2009
Vaahteratuvan väki ja Kivihovin kirous 2010

The Maplecottage folk remind me of Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem. But instead of English rosegarden pastels this book series is colored more in Finnish dirt road tones. Some illustrations in the books are printed in sepia. These tones fit well into the adventures of Toivo, a hedgehog, Nökö, a squirrel and Iiris, a mouse. Toivo means Hope in Finnish.

What does it say about the cultural differences that hope is female in the English speaking world and masculine in Finland?

Toivo and Nökö fetch water
for Mrs. Rabbit

Nokikätkön ritarit ja Kuuhiisi

(The knights of Sootcache and the Moon demon)
Nökö the squirrel and Toivo the hedgehog are ordered by Nökö’s big brother to remodel the kitchen of the Maple cottage. Iiris the mouse is hired as help and she finds a cave at end of the wood burning oven. In the cave, there is a strange bundle full of maps. The three friends form a knighthood to solve its mysteries.

The knights ask help from Old Mrs. Rabbit and she tells them to go ask the tenant of Ratt Manor (Rottalan kartano). They also learn about the legend of Mouse Mountain and the Moon demon.

The story is exciting and here is a plot spoiler: someone dies.  I couldn’t believe it. In children’s book someone dies! In the next book is the funeral so I had to. The events happen in August, when the nights get darker but still is warm.

Vaahteratuvan väki ja vaarallinen peto

(The folks of Maple cottage and a dangerous beast)
Nökö and Toivo ground a headquarters to the tower of Maple Cottage. They do not have much time to spend there, since Nökö’s brother orders them to collect mountain ash berries and mashrooms. IIris is acting in a play.

When the snow finally falls the three of them have time they fix a boat at Rat Manor’s shed.  In the big forest has been seen the footsteps of a big beast.

The beast

The Mouse Mountain Newspaper doesn’t write about anything else but the beast. The town council sets a curfew in the night time. Since it is winter, the folks cannot get out much.

Everyone tries to capture the beast and in the process the shed burns down.

The story is about how rumors get the best of people and mass hysteria isn’t always that far away. The book also teatches about Media reading skills. About how to interpret the somewhat dramatic headlines that are supposed to sell more magazines.

Toivo ja hirveä hämähäkki

(Toivo and horrible spider)
Spring is comming and Maple Cottage is full of action. Nökö, Toivo and Iiris are sewing a hot air balloon to see the world. They have enough fabric, but they are running out of thread. Tovio finds incredibly large cob web in the attic and he finds the sewer itself. Toivo has nightmares about the creature. It has to go, but nobody knows how and the creature won’t negotiate.  Then Nökö has the idea that maybe the spider can help them.

Toivo has nightmare's about the spider in the attic.

This book is smaller in size and has bigger illustrations than the other books in the series. In this book perticularly the earthy tones work well. Early spring is quite brown, when nothing is not yet growing and the snow is melting away.

Vaahteratuvan väki ja Kivihovin kirous

(The folks from Maple Cottage and the curse of Stone Palace)
Nökö, Toivo and Iiris have finished the hot air balloon and travel all the way to Stone Palace. Toivo picks up a rose and unintentionally gets cursed: “You get lost, vanish, disappear, are forgotten and never get back home.”. Everyone is trying to undo the curse.

Maple Cottage