Ricky the Rapper in traffic

Sinikka Nopola and Tiina Nopola: Risto Räppääjä liikenteessä
illustrated by Christel Rönns

I am glad kids are taught how to behave in traffic, since so many adults do not. This book is makes adults look silly and it is always a big hit with the kids.

The book teaches the basic traffic signs, the rules who goes first. But at least I tell my boys that in a match between a car and a pedestrian, the pedestrian always looses. The same goes for bikes. So I cannot emphasize enough that boys should be careful. You can never be sure that the drivers see the kids.

One thing that is missing from this book and is driving me nuts is in trains: people start pushing in the train even before the other people have come out! Come on.  Where are the manner schools for adults?

Visualization of Risto without reflector in
  the first picture, and below with reflectors
 and a head lamp.

In winter time  two things should be remembered: it is dark and slippery. Some how people always forget that and come November many accidents happen.

So, keep your reflectors and even lamps when you walk out side. Even in cities the street lamps only light a limited area and the people blend in the shadows.

Sometimes we get snow and the snowplow truck keep the streets clean.  In the country side, where there are no sidewalks, change sides when the truck approaches, or you'll end up like Aunt Rauha at the bottom picture.

Also the streets are very slippery, so be prepared that the cars may not stop as fast as in summer time.  So when you are walking, keep that in mind.

My favorite advice in traffic: no sudden moves! That eliminates some accidents.

Watch out for the snow plow truck!
Now, what can you do?

Heyflower, Quitshoe and the Christmas rascall

Sinikka & Tiina Nopola 2017: Heinähattu, Vilttitossu ja jouluvintiö
Illustrated by Salla Savolainen

It is almost Christmas and Quiltshoe is afraid that she won't get enough presents. She sees a charity collecting toys for the less priviledged kids and decides to be a begger to get some toys for herself. That does not work, so she becomes a player at the Star singers on the street. That does not work either.

The girls' parents call Hayflower the Christmas child, because she is being nice and doing all the chore. Now what can Quiltshoe do to be called the same? She sure is going to try. Her family is worried, because she has never been this helpful and selfless.




When Santa brings the presents and there is just as many for Quiltshoes and there is for Hayflower, Quiltshoe gets mad. She has been so nice!

How to teach a child the meaning of Christmas?

The strange delay of Anna Winter

Sinikka Nopola 2008: Anna Talven outu viivytys
Illustrated by: Linda Bondestam

All the city has been waiting for two months. Anna Winter, where is she? The city people are wondering, what’s keeping her? She should be here by now. Anna Winter had always been conscientious. Sometimes she has been late for few weeks but thats nothing.

Anna’s sister Hydrangea Autumn is tired and angry: all she hears is complaints. The world is ugly, gray and dark, autum has ruined people’s lives. Miss Autumn is weapy and people think that autumn is making their lives miserable. All of a sudden Miss Autumn sees Anna Winter in a milkshake bar with Mr. Summer. Why is he still here? He is supposed to be at Gran Canaria already. Miss Autumn sees that the two are smitten.

Mr. Summer is complaining to Anna: he doesn’t seem to do his job right, people think its too hot or too rainy. Anna understands him. She is considered too cool, even though winter is supposed to be cold. Mr. Summer asks Anna a favor, his cat needs to be taken care of.

Anna promises to take care of the matter and leaves to ask her mother. Anna’s and Hydrangea’s mother is Mrs. Spring. Her artist name is Primavera, it sounds better. Mrs. Primavera is too busy, she can’t take care of the cat. She has to prepare for her performance. In the last week of spring, she appears in glittering gown. Mrs. Primavera is wondering, why she has such pale daughters. Anna defends herself and her sister. Autumn is wistful, oblique light with amazing colors and she herself knows all the shades of white. Anna says that she opens up only to those who have time. Mrs. Primavera suggest that Anna should ask her sister.

Hydrangea doesn’t want the cat. She is so tired. She tells Anna that she is the only one who brings out the truth: she undresses the trees from leaves and isn’t afraid of anything, not even darkness or death. Hydrangea hates Mr. Summer and refuses to take the cat.
 
Anna sits in the park bench and wonders, what she should do, when Mr. Mud and Mr. Slush drive by with their bikes. The children love them, but adults do not care too much about them. Both men are infatuated with Anna and promise to take the cat. Anna hurries back to the milk shake bar only to find out that Mr. Summer has left her a note. Anna starts to cry and it starts snowing outdoors. Miss Autumn arrives and apologizes. She is not surprised that Mr. Summer has left. Summer comes and goes and always someone pines over him. Mr. Summer had wooed Miss Autumn, too. He had told her that she has an exiting personality and had offered her cotton candy. In the end Mr. Summer had locked Miss Autumn to the beach locker room, because he wanted still in September be admired by people. Miss Autumn tells Anna that Mr. Summer has a fiancée, Doris Heatwave. She lives at Canary Islands. She is a giggling air head in bikinis. Both of them are superficial, which Miss Autumn and Miss Winter aren’t.

Mrs. Primavera is a real diva.

Mr. Slush and Mr. Mud come running and tell the girls that the cat has climbed in a tree. The fire department tries to get the cat down. Anna Winter and Hydrangea Autumn leave to get Mr. Wind. Mr. Wind is having a day off and is reading poems at the attic. Miss Autumn asks him to help. Mr. Wind agrees and starts buffing and soon the cat is down. Mr. Wind promises to take the cat in his care. Mr. Wind feels a little heavy hearted. He tries to catch a glimpse of Miss Winter through the window. He misses the decorative snowflakes and is surprised. He is an independent soul after all. He also notices that the city without Miss Winter’s touch is very empty.

Miss Autumn dreams about a vacation to England. She has heard that people like Autumns there. At her sisters guestroom she hears from the radio that the Canary Islands has had an exceptional heat wave that has dried out Summer. Miss Autumn is pleased, they should scorch together.

Miss Winter notices that she does not miss Mr. Summer any more. It starts to snow. People are happy and Miss Winter goes to the ice rink, where Mr. Wind joins her. Mr. Summer writes the letter he promised and explained that Summer and Winter cannot be together long, because they confuse each other and people too much.

I love that seasons change. How boring would it be, if it was always summer? This story highlights how people react to the seasons. Last winter we had no snow and it felt awful. Intresting in this book is that it empfasize that is it admirable to be serious (like Miss Autumn and Miss Winter). In my mind the book also warns about charming cheaters. Very cute.

Risto the Rapper

Sinikka and Tiina Nopola

Noodlehead -cover

Illustrated by Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen ( Two books illustrated by Christel Rönns)
Hetki lyö, Risto Räppääjä 1997
Risto Räppääjä ja kauhea makkara 1998
Risto Räppääjä ja Nuudelipää 2000
Risto Räppääjä ja pakastaja-Elvi 2001
Risto Räppääjä ja komea Kullervo 2002
Risto Räppääjä ja sitkeä finni 2003
Risto Räppääjä ja Hilpuri Tilli 2004
Risto Räppääjä ja villi kone 2006
Risto Räppääjä ja viimeinen tötterö 2007
Risto Räppääjä ja kuuluisa Kamilla 2009
Risto Räppääjä saa isän 2011
Risto Räppääjä ja nukkavieru Nelli 2012
Risto Räppääjä ja kaksoisolento 2013
Risto Räppääjä ja Sevillan saituri (will be published in July 25th, 2014)


Risto Räppääjä is a young boy that lives with his aunt Rauha. He plays the drums and raps (hence the name Räppääjä = rapper in Finnish). Risto and Rauha have odd adventures, even though they try to live ordinary lives. Risto’s best friend is Nelli Nuudelipää (Noodlehead). Risto has bookseries, plays and movies.

Risto the Rapper movie book -cover

The bookseries starts with Risto and Rauha moving into a new home. Risto plays his drums and then the threatening t Letters start coming from upstairs. In book nr 2, Rauha has to come up with new product to sell. Rissto comes up with sausages that they can get from Hungary.

 In Risto Räppääjä and Noodle hear, RIsto gets new neighbors. At first Risto doesn’t like Nelli but soon they are best friends. Pakastaja-Elvi is a story about Rauha’s cousin Elvi, who comes to help out when Rauha breakes her leg. Risto thinks Elvi is a criminal.

 In Risto Räppääjä and Handsome Kullevo a new boy Handsome Kullervo moves to the house next door. Nelli and Kullervo becomes friends and Risto becomes jealous. In the next book Risto gets a pimple even though Risto is too young. Risto tries to hide it from Nelli. It turns out that the pimple is glue.

The two books presented here are special books. The first has pictures from the first Risto Räppääjä movie.

Alpo tells what the characters were thinking

Risto the Rapper movie book 2008
-39 coincedenses and facts about the movie
Alpo the cat knows what really happened in the movie. He tells what Risto and Nelli thought when Risto visits Nelli. And what Nelli thought, when Risto shows her his favourite stone. This book gives another angle to the movie. The producers of the movie enlighten the birth of the movie and how one movie involves dozens of professionals, but also roles, juice and snacks. Sinikka and Tiina Nopola tell, who the characters from the manuscript jump into the screen and how the whole movie is team work.

 
 RR as in Risto the Rapper 2010

RR cover

The second book tells background stories to Risto: what was he like as a baby? What kind of childhood did Rauha have. It also explains the prowerbs that are used in the book. The book also includes word acrobatics. There are also puzzeles such as: what doesn’t belong to the group.

The faces of Risto the Rapper

Heyflower, Quiltshoe and the bald robber

Sinikka Nopola and Tiina Nopola 2012
illustrations: Salla Savolainen

Helga and Halise Alibullen have been invited to Heyflower's and Quiltshue's playhouse for some cake. When the ladies get to the house, they see the girls fitting. Heyflower, who is the older sister, has made her little sister, Quiltshoe, mad by telling her that she was bold as a baby. The neighbor ladies try in vain to settle the girls. Quiltshoe wants to see pictures. Heyflower shows her the pictures and indeed Quiltshoe was bold.

When Heyflower falls asleep that night, Quiltshoe cuts her pigtails. In the morning Heyflower is very upset. Quiltshoe tells the family that someone stole the hair. Then she runs way and bumps into Policeofficer Bigbelly. Quiltshoe tells him about the theft and he deducts that it must be the famous Bald-robber.

Mom and Dad are looking for Quiltshoe and the police is looking for the robber. In the end Quilshoe admits that she cut the hair. Mom gives Hayflower a nice box to hold her pigtails and Hayflower forgives Quilshoe. Mom also shows that Hayflower was as bold as Quiltshoe, when she was a baby.




Sinikka and Tiina Nopola are sisters and they have written several Hayflower and Quiltshoe books. The first book was published in 1989 and the twelfth book in 2006. The other books are novels. Sinikka and Tiina have told that the adventures of Hayflower and Quiltshoes are based on their own experiences ad kids and adults with their own kids. The books have a lot of dialog, because the Nopola sisters create the stories by talking. Several plays have been made based on the books and in 2003 was released a Heyflower and Quiltshoe movie.

The girls in the books are very likable and as a mother of two boys it is nice to see that even girls can pick a fit over the silliest things. I had forgotten how we fought with my sister.