Histamiini marionette horse

Raili Mikkanen

Histamiini is a marionette horse. He has many friends: Stable cat, Titiina (a girl marionette horse), stable elf Tonttu Rämäkkä and a witch Anelma Unelma.

Histamiini was first introduced in a tv:s chrismas calendar. TV Christmas calendar comes every day from December 1st until December 24th. The story continues every day.

Histamiini appeared in Christmas calendar twice: 1980 and 1985. In the 1985 episodes Titiina has run away from the circus and does not want to go back. In the episodes are shown also short traditional stories.

Histamiini finds a diamond

Later came two tv-movies:
 Histamiini and Pirpo (1985)
Odd things happen at the stables: mouse’s tail is missing and Titiina loses her spot. Histamiini becomes a detectivehorse with a foal Pirpo.

and Histamiini and the mermaid’s treasure (1989)

Histamiini is recruited to a ship. Along comes Cat, Titiina and Grandmother. Soon they learn that Mermaid has lost her valuable perl. She needs it, so the King of the seas Ahti will marry her. HIstamiini starts looking for the pearl.

Histamiini's sktitrip

Raili Mikkanen wrote several other books about Histamiini:
Illustrated by Masa Pulkkinen:
Histamiini hukassa 1982
Histamiinin hiihtoretki 1983
Histamiini merellä 1984
Histamiini ratsupoliisina 1985
Histamiini löytää timantin 1986
Histamiinista tulee kummi 1988

Histemiini, Chirstmashero

Easy to read books for young readers illustrated by Jukka Lemmetty:
Histamiini, joulun sankari 2001
Histamiini rakentaa lautan 2003
Ystävämme Histamiini 2004
Histamiini Eteläluodolla 2007
Histamiini ja Koni Alakulo 2010
Histamiini luolaseikkailu 2012

Histamiini and Koni Alakulo (Nag Melancholy)

Histamiini's cave adventure

Jason

Mickwitz, Camilla:
Jason (1975), Jason's summer (1976),
Jason moves out of the country (1978),
Jason and the angry aunt (1982).

Jason is a small boy, who lives with his mother, Kaarina. His mother works hard in a factory and models nude inorder to make enough money. Kaarina seems to be always in a hurry: in a hurry to go to work and to get home to make dinner. Toghether Jason and his mother watch tv and bake.

Jason and Kaarina in a pension

There are four Jason books, my favourite is Jason's summer. In this book Jason and his mother take a bus to a Pension. The other guests sit and nobody talks to one another. Jason fixes this and soon every one is enjoying themselves.

Jason and Kaarina watch tv.

In the third book, the factory, where Kaarina works is shut down and Kaarina and Jason have to move out of the country for Kaarina to have a job. Jason is a bit confused, since he does not speak the language. He feels like an outsider, he doesn't understand others and they do not understand him. Jason's motto is: "I have two eyes, two ears and one mouth. But with that one mouth I speak languages."

Jason rollerblading

In the fourth book, Jason and Kaarina live in an apartment house. In the same house lives an elderly woman, who is disturbed by all the noises in the house. Every one in the house tiptoes around her. Jason breaks the ice and soon the angry aunt has other friends in the building.

Jason feels left out.

The Jason -stories are about every day life and Jason deals with problems that we all could have. Jason is a happy boy, even if he does not have everything. It is natural that he does not have a father, it is natural that his mother worries about money.








Camilla Mickwitz wrote another book series about a girl named Emilia and a small witch named Mimosa. Camilla Mickwitz made several animations, such as the look out for weak ice film. She also created the theme for the Finnish children's program Pikku Kakkonen.

Hölmölässä - Noodleheads in Finland

Martti Sirola, freely from Eero Salola's texts 1999

In the Finnish stories Hölmölä is a village, in which live humoristic stupid. The nitwits are known all over Europe. In Finland the stories were told to mock, in a friendly way another group that lived nearby. Hölmölä isn’t an actual place, but a fictional place, where people try to figure out every day problems. The people living in Hölmölä think thoroughly before they start anything. They try to avoid damages as much as possible. Their train of thought is a bit odd and slow, but it is ok, because the Hölmölä people are hardworking and honest. They are silly, but they are not fooled by anyone. They are fools by their own actions. Their attempts to be reasonable lead to silly stories that are laughed at all around Finland, but not in Hölmölä.

The classic stories of the people in Hölmölä (or hölmöläiset in Finnish) are the following two:

Light to the cabin
The hölmöläinens built a house, but they forgot to make windows. Now they wanted to have light in the cabin. Back in the day there was no electricity. They thought and thought about it and finally some had an idea. The world is full of light and they have bags. What if the men would carry the light into the house and the women would carry the darkness out of the house. Soon they were running around, carrying light in the bags. Matti (an everyday Joe in Finland) happens to visit Hölmölä every once in a while and saw the hölmöläinens carrying light. One of the villagers told Matti what they were doing. Matti thought for a while and made a suggestion. The hölmöläinens talked about it and decided to listen to Matti. Matti took an ax and cut a small hole to the wall. The hölmöläinens went insdie and saw light coming in through the window. What a great idea! Once Matti was gone, the hölmöläinens wanted to enlarge the window. That way there would be more light. They cut Window larger and larger and soon there was no wall left. But this was not enough, the hölmöläinens wanted more light. They cut down another wall. Still this was not enough and they started on the third wall. Then the house came down. The hölmöläinens were sad since they did not have a cottage any more. But that’s ok, at least they had light.

The women in Hölmölä bathe
The Hölmölä village had a thriving field of wheat. Among the wheat was a lot of blue cornflowers. And as the wind blew, the field looked like a glossy gold and blue lake. Seven Hölmölä women were waking by and thought the field was a lake. They had become sweaty waking in the straight sun light and they wanted to swim and cool down. It did not matter that they did not know how to swim; they did not need to go deep. Their hands would reach the bottom if they stayed in the shallow water. The Women took off theur clothes and walked into the lake. The others saw that it was not deep at all. It would be a great place to roll around and swim. They swam for a while and got dressed again. One of them began wondering if anyone had drowned while they were swimming. One of the women started counting but counted only six women. Then the woman counting noticed that she had not counted herself. So she started again: I, one, two, three, four, five, and six. Still only six. She counted again. Six. The women started crying and wondering who drowned. Matti was walking by and asked what was wrong. The women told him. Matti suggested that they put their noses to the ground and count the holes. The women did that and luckily there were seven holes. No one had drowned and the women were happy.

There are many similar stories of the Hölmölä people. In one they are are running out of salt and decide to cultivate salt in the field. In one story a dog is running in the field and the hölmöläinens want to chase it away so it will not trample the wheat. But a man running in the field would trample the wheat even more, so they deside to have four men carrying the one man chasing the dog.

 These stories were very popular when I was a child. Today I think the kids hear the modern people doing stupid stuff, so they do not have to read about fictional goofs.

Nunnu

Oili Tanninen, 1965

Nunnu could be described as Sandman's sister. She makes children fall asleep.
"Nunnu nukuttaa, Hoppu herättää, Möksö mököttää."

Her friends Hoppu wakes people up and Möksö sulks and niggles. All these charachters are needed, even Möksö. (Everyone has a right to sulk every now and then.)

This book has all three stories about Nunnu and her friends.

Nunnu

Nunnu has lost her sleeping whisk and she is supposed to get Professor Prilli to take his nap. Luckily Hoppu has a new method to falling asleep: a sleeping fly. Nunnu, Möksö and Hoppu rush to the Professor’s house. The Professor can’t sleep, because he has lost the tip of his beard. Nunnu and her friends look for the tip and find it. Happily Professor can take his nap.

Möksö gets angry, because he/she can't get in.

Nunnu flies

Hoppu is supposed to have a race with Neiti Aika (Miss Time), but she does not answer the phone. Nunnu, Hoppu and Möksö start looking for her and find out that she has a tooth ache and is a afraid of the dentist. Finally Nunnu gets Neiti Aika to let the dentist fix her tooth and the race can begin.

Möksö is angry again, because a hepsunkepsu has made a
nest in his/hers hat

Nunnu falls off the tree.

Möksö has lost his hat (Actually Möksö could also be a girl, Nunnu is definitely a girl and Hoppu is a boy, but Möksö could be either.) and a Hepsunkepsu (Funny bird) has made it as its nest. Möksö is very upset and wants to get rid of all Hepsunkepsu.  Hoppu and Nunnu get the bird out and Möksö gets his hat back.

Möksö sulks and niggles, but he is the only one to giggle and laugh in the books.

 The colors of the book are still fresh after almost 50 years. It still seems very modern. The illustration is made of torn paper. Oddly enough, this book has been translated into English.

Nunnu was made to an animation in 1967. It is in black and white, so you have to use your imagination to see the vivid colors.

Canine Kalevala

Mauri Kunnas 1992

Finland celebrates Kalevala  day on February 28th. Many versions have been made of Kalevala, but my favourite is the Canine Kalevala. The pictures are funny and the story is not so dead serious as the original. Some of the images are versions of the national treasures made by Akseli Gallen-Kallela.

In short, Kalevala is an adventure epic of Väinämöinen. He has a little bit of woman trouble and he bumps heads with many younger men.


This book has also been published in English.

Väinämöinen meets Antero Vipunen, a giant

More pictures of the book.  The book's background by Finnish Literature Society. There is also a synopsis of the story.

 If you are in real rush, watch this video made by Scott Sandwich about the Kalevala, sounds a little like the Game of Thrones.

Pictures from Finnish Children's lives

Rudlof Waldemar Åkerblom 1983: Kuvia suomen lasten elämästä
first edition printed in 1882
rhymes Juhani H. (=P.J. Hannikainen)



Ten drawings about the children's lives in Finland in 19th century. This book was the first picture book written in Finnish and printed in four colors. P.J Hannikainen (1854-1924) was a famous finnish music educator and composer. At the same time this book was published in Swedish by the name Finsk bilderbook.


 

The pictures are delicate and it amazes me that even today the children ride their hobby horses and sled during the winter. The equipment for playing have changed. In the book is also a drawing of a child in Lappland. He takes care of the reindeer. In another picture the children are fishing with a trident in a near by river. You can see the white water. To me it looked scary.

Finnish picturebook

Venny SoldanBrofeldt and Juhani Aho 1983,
first edition 1894

Artist couple writer Juhani Aho and his painter wife Venny Soldan-Brofeldt made this book over hundred years ago. The drawings portray the lives of ordinary people. Every drawing has a kalevala type of rhyme.

This book was an accomplishment in time when picture books were not yet set as a type of literature.

This book was printed again in 2009 to celebrate WSOY's 125 anniversery.

The images are very delicate. Needless to say that my boys  were not interested in this book at all. The title says this was meant for children and youths. I cannot imagine any teenager reading this book today, exept for studying the drawing style or rhymes. Did they read it in the late 1890s? What did they get out of it?

Onneli and Anneli

Marjatta Kurenniemi 1966

Marjatta Kurenniemi wrote four books about Onneli and Anneli. The first book was published in 1966. In 2003 a book that had all four stories was published.

The first book, the House of Onneli and Anneli (Onnelin ja Annelin talo), tells a story of two girls, best friends tha find a sum of money and buy a house. Anneli lives part time with her mother, part time with her dad. Onneli is the middle child of nine children. No one notices that they are not there anymore.

The house that they buy is made for little girls. Mrs. Ruusupuu (Rosetree), who sells the house, cannot live there herself. The neighbours are two ladies Tingelstiina and Tangelstiina, who have chickens that lay easter eggs and have balloons growing in their garden. The other neighbour is a widow, who has a cupboard full of piggy banks and is a bit grumpy. (Luckily Onneli and Anneli fix that).

Onneli and Anneli find a house

Second book tells about the first winter the girls stay in their house "Winter with Onneli and Anneli" (Onnelin ja Annelin talvi). They receive guest, the tiny family of Vaaksanheimo (Vaaksa is the distance between the thumb and the middle finger, heimo means tribe or family). The family moves into Onneli's and Anneli's doll house. All kinds of adventure awaits.

The third book, Onneli, Anneli and the orphans (Onneli, Anneli ja orpolapset) start with an orphanage moving across the street from Onneli and Anneli. The director of the orphanage is an old acquaintance of the girls. Happy ending, the girls and the adults in the street fix the orphanage to be a happy place.

The fourth book about Onneli and Anneli (Onneli, Anneli ja nukutuskello) tells about Tingelstiina's and Tangelstiina's brother. He is an inventor and invented a sleeping clock. It is like an alarmclock but reverse: everyone falls a sleep when the clock rings. A factory owner wants to make a high way near Onneli's and Anneli's house. He also wants the clock. Needless to say there is a happy ending.

Family Vaaksanheimo moves in.

The drawings in the book are made by Maija Karma (She also illustrated Adalmina's pearl.)The drawings fit the book very well.

In January 2014 was made a movie of the first book. Even a house was built according to the story.

The stories are very optimistic with some sad nuances: the fact that no one misses the girls, the sad orphanage, homeless tiny people and gready business man. Despite all of these the tone is very optimistic and every story has a happy ending. Real good mood books.

Mimmit

Three books from Mimmit:
Pakkasherra ja Kylmänhuokuja 2012,
Mimmit ja ketunpoikanen 2013 and
Mimmit ja luolan salaisuus 2013

All written by Pauliina Lerche and illustratred by Meri Mort.

Mimmit is an animation that is part of Mimmikoto children’s program. In the show, Mimmit creat all kinds of crafts, cook and play traditional games. In every episode there is an animated short story. Actually they could be seen as music videos. The stories in the animations are based on Finnish mythology. The music is influenced by the Karelian traditional folksongs. What I like about them is that the animation is so clear. The colors used are bright, the music resembles old folk songs.

Mimmit and Ketunpoikanen

The first book published was Pakkaherra and Kylmänhuokuja. Mimmit (the girls in Finnish) are waiting for winter, but it is not coming. Mimmit travel way up north and meet all kinds of creatures. Finally the find Pakkasherra (Mr. Frost) fighting with Kylmänhuokuja (Coldbreath,). In mythology Pakkasherra froze the land and brought snow and Kylmänhuokuja chilled the air and froze the lakes. Mimmit get the two to reconcile and finally there is snow.

Mimmit fly to find out, what happend to winter in Pakkasherra 

...

Second book, Mimmit ja ketunpoikanen, is a story about a fox cub, which hurts his leg in glass. It is spring and underneath the snow, all kinds of trash show up. Mimmit take care of the fox and the old tree in the yard rewards them and turns them into foxes. The girls run in the forest with the fox and they meet all kinds of creatures.

The third book, Mimmit ja luolansalaisuus, takes place in the fall. Mimmit are harvesting the crop and then they hear a strange sound from the forest. It comes out of a cave. What is in the cave? The book is filled with mythological creatures like maahinen (=gnome, but the Finnish gnomes aren't cute garden gnomes). In all the books the colors are bright and clear cut.

Adalmina's pearl

Illustration by Lena Frölander-Ulf 2012

Adalminas pärla, Finnish: Adalmiinan helmi 1853
Another fairytale from Topelius. Written in 1878-1896

When Princess Adalmina is born, two fairy godmothers give her gifts. The first gift is a pearl that makes Adalmina wise, rich and beautiful. The other godmother gives her a humble heart if the Princess ever loses the pearl. The King makes a diadem for the pearl and Adalmina wears it all the time. Adalmina grows up, but instead of her beauty and wisdom, she is very arrogant. She is forbidden to leave the palace garden and she is furious.

Adalmina loses the diadem

She leaves the castle and walks to the nearby forest. There she sees a pond and she stops to admire herself. The diadem and the pearl with it falls into the pond. All at once Adalmina forgets who she is. She is poor, dumb and ugly. She wonders around the forest and finds a small cottage, where an old woman lives. She is happy there.

Meanwhile the king and queen are devastated: they look for Adalmina all over. They even promise to give her hand in marriage if someone finds her. One day a prince rides in the forest. First he finds the diadem at the pond and then the cottage and meets Adalmina. He wonders why the girl is so endearing and moves his heart even though she is ugly. He asks if the ladies have seen Adalmina. They say no.

The prince takes the diadem to the King. The diadem fits only Adalmina and the King as he still remembers the second fairy godmother’s gift, orders all the girls of 18 to come and try the diadem on. At the end of the day they look at the road if there still were someone coming.

Finally Adalmina comes and tries on the diadem. It fits and then she remembers everything. She also remembers how arrogant and gruel she was before. But now she also remembers what it was like living in the cottage. She has learned a lesson and now she can live happily ever after with her prince.

Adalmina's pearl by Albert Edelfelt, 1903 Cover of Läsning för barn -illustrerad ac finska och svenska konstnär. (Lukemisia lapsille,  translated in Finnish  1906-1907)

Illustration by Alf Danning

Rudolf Koivu's Adalmina's pearl

Adalmina by Maija Karma

Illustration by Maija Karma

Illustration by Maija Karma