Rosemary and the magic of Christmas

Sirkka Knuutila 2007: Rosmariini ja joulun taika
illustrated by Taru Castrén

Rosemary is a small elf girl living at Korvatunturi. One Christmas morning all the children are ordered to stay indoors, because the Witch Anelma Alviina is in the village. Rosemary opens the door to the witch  and she takes Rosemary and one of her sisters with her promising to return them home. When they arrive to the witch's cabin, they realize she has no intention of returning them home.


The girls escape and continue preparing for Christmas. They spy on children and collect wish lists.  Rosemary is really tired and accidently falls asleep on Jaakko's pillow. The children are surprised and Rosemary asks them to hide her for the day.  In the evening Rosemary catches up with the other elves.

Rosemary feels tired at Anelma Alviina's
cabin.

On the 19th day the elves discover that the magic of Christmas is missing. They find out that it was Witch Anelma Alviina has taken it.  Rosemary decides to get the magic powder back by herself. Rosemary gets help from Anelma Alviina's cat and head back to the witch's cabin. She promises Anelma that if she gives the magic powder back, she too can enjoy the magic of Christmas.

Lovely story about elves and witches. And the illustrations are delicate and cute.

What a Christmas!

Marjatta Kureniemi 1972: Olipa Virtasilla joulu previously published in book "Kaukana täältä"
illustrated by Virpi Pekkala

A small witch lives peacefully in a cone in a forest. Just before Christmas her tree is cut down as a Christmas tree and she and her tiny cat in her tiny cone home are taken to the Virtanen's. Usually she flys on a needle with the cat as her motor, but now the cat's motor is not purring.

She sees all lovely Christmas decorations and creates magical moments, when she turns the electric candles into live candles and makes the Christmas bird fly.

This of course makes a very special Christmas for the Virtanen's.

Star singers

illustrated by Päivi Arenius 2015

This is actually a German tradition that  came to Finland a long time ago. This is popular especially in Oulu region.  In this book you can hear the 13 songs  of the Star Boy singers play by pressing the button. I t also has a small starboy vocabulary, poems and the second chapter from the gospel of Matthew.

Elf Tojanteri and the strange Christmas guest

Annukka Kiuru 2017: Tonttu Toljanteri ja outo jouluvieras
illustrated by Sirkku Linnea

Elf Toljanteri is bitten by Grum-bee and it makes him act strangely. He snaps at everybody and refuses to do his chores. Naturally he tries to hide his condition so Santa will give him presents.

Luckily Elf Niilo, who looks just like Toljanteri comes and agrees to play Toljanteri's double. This creates all kinds of silly situations.

The Treat department is busy before
Christmas

I have been reading this to the boys and now I can see that they are listening. Every time a grown-up snaps or shows temper they say he (notice it usually is a he) is bitten by a grump-bee.  I also like the colorful language that is used. We also learn about tuhmaikä (a version of uhmaikä which children get in the age between 1-5, when they learn independence and defy all orders given to them.)

Grump-bee aka Äkäampiainen

Finnish mythical creatures

Eero Ojanen 2017: Suomalaiset taruolennot
illustrated by Sirkku Linnea

The Finnish folklore has a sprite for everything in nature. Through these creatures people explained, how the world was created and why the different phenomena appeared.

This book is divided into sections of different creature types. First come the giants, then the dwarfs (such as gnomes, elves, fairies and leprechauns).

 One section is given to the creatures from Kalevala, one for Forest folks, one for the protectors of plants. There are creatures that live underwater, those who help and care for people and animals. Then there are those, who are plain weird and those whose only purpose is to make life difficult.  The last section is describes different mythical animals in the stories.

Hiisi, a kind of devil likes to build from stones

Some of the names of these creatures live in the Finnish language: hitto is used like a swearword "damn", just like "hiisi vieköön" (may the devil take...).  To this day, children play "Hippa" (tag), which was a creature that chased animals in the forest so the hunters could catch them.

Some of the locations got its name from a creature like Kouvola. Kouvo is a messenger of death and was widely feared.

Some of the less known creatures are:
Ägräs, the god of agriculture
Kiputyttö, the maid of underworld, reliever of pain
Rahko, the painter of moon
Madderakka, the saami protecor of women
Liekkiö, dead child that haunts people
Aarni, the protector of hidden treasures
Para, secure the milk production, later on protect sheep and grains
Nyrkes, the force that makes things happen

The gnomes like to live in peace in the forest

Wikipedia gives a great list of Finnish mythology. Godchecker also lists some of Finnish gods. Even though, joulupukki is never written with a Y.

Princess Daredevil's winter magic

Elina Hirvonen 2017: Prinsessa Rämäpään talvitaika
illustrated by Mervi Lindman

Princess Daredevil has many crowns: the golden is for Important Thoughts, yellow is for Fun Thoughts, Pink is for Great Adventures and the silver is for Calm Sleep. She wears her crowns when the need calls for them.  But her most important treasure is her Great-Grandmother's ring and it is magical.

Right now Mom is calling Princess Daredevil to get dressed and go outside.  Princess Daredevil is still looking for her pearls: the amber pearls are for superpower and the white are for occasions when you want to cry but you absolutely do not want to. Princess Daredevil decides to put on princess gown, golden crown, turquoise ring and the fairy wings. You never know, you may want to fly when sledding.

I can so relate to the mother's mood.

 Mom's really getting angry and already counting down.  Princess Daredevil rushes to the door. Mom asks, who is going sledding in a princess dress?  Princess Daredevil tells her that something might happen. Mom orders her to take off the glitter and dress and put on overalls. Her brother is already dressed and getting hot.

 Mom is not always angry, she can be fun, too. In Princess Daredevil's opinion she just doesn't understand the Princess Daredevil has something important going on, which can't be dropped just because it's bed time or time to go out.

Besides Mom is wrong: princess dress can be under the overalls. The dress gets caught between the zipper. Mom  gets angrier and then Daredevil's brother poops so that it comes out of the neckline of his overalls. Mom tells Daredevil to be ready when they get back from the clean up.

Instead of getting dresses, Princess Daredevil puts on the crown of Important Thoughts. She makes the living room a sunny beach and creates ice cream portions for her and her mom.

At first Mom gets really mad. Then she sees the ice cream. She realizes that Daredevil only wanted to make her glad. She also sees the magic and together they spend a day on the beach instead of going sledding.  Mom apologizes for yelling at her and together they dance on the warm beach.

Sometimes parents and children do not understand each other at all. Grown-ups think its all about schedules and order. Kids on the other hand see things adults do no. Some times it is good to stop and put on the Imagination Crown.

Emotional skills in a fun way

Anna-Maria Kuusela: Sisu Kettu ei anna periksi, Räyhä-Ravun kiukunpuuska, Kiva Kirahvin kannustus
illustraded by Matias Teittinen
expert: Maija Nuorteva

New concept for teaching kids to understand their feelings. Three books about Rounders, animals drawn in round shapes. Similar to Angry Birds. Very important lessons to be learned even for adults. The books include questions, which you can ask your kids. Such as "How does it feel to get a compliment?" "Why was Piggy so upset, when Crab yelled at her?" Again I am making up the gender specific pronouns, since the Finnish language does not recognize genders. The books are suitable for boys and girls.

Giraffe's pep talk.
The Rounders do not know what to do. They came up with creating a show. Everyone performs with the skills they have. Shy Penguin does not know what to do. Giraffe helps them all.

Look at those round flamingos!

The skills learned here are the power of positive words, overcoming fear and finding own strengths.








Brawling Crabs anger burst
Crab is almost always in crappy mood. He snaps (In my mind, it's a he, it could be as well a she) at everyone and makes the gentler animals cry. Then he feels bad. Luckily Smart Elephant gives him advice so he still has friends.

Skills learned here: empathy, considering other's feelings, apologizing and forgiving.

Crab makes Puspus the Fish cry.

Sisu, the Fox, does not give up

Sisu (The Finnish word for guts, resilience and toughness) finds a treasure map and all the Rounders want to go and find it. On the way, there are many set back, but toghether they continue. At one point most get tired and want to give up, but not Sisu. 

The skills learned here: helping others, sharing and recilience

Sisu does not let the blizzard stop him.

How to create games

Elina Lappalainen 2017: Nyt pelittää! Miten pelejä tehdään
illustrated by Jussi Kaakinen

Sofia and Oliver go to work with Sofia's programmer mother to see how games are made.  The meet a game designer, programmer, music composer and graphic designer and learn step by step how games are made.

The book has great illustrations about how different sound effects are made, what kind of storyboards are needed and much more. At least my boys were facinated about this book and all its details. And it also showed that you do not need to be a programmer in order to work in the gaming industry.

The book also has tasks: help the frog to get all the bugs.
At the bottom: basics of programming, true or false and loop.

A, said Agricola

Tytti Issakainen, Katja Häkkinen & Maisa Tonteri 2017: A, sanoi Agricola
illustrations Pekka Rahkonen

Mikael Agricola was the first to write down Finnish language. This book is about him telling his son, what it was like to learn to read, when there were no books written in Finnish.

This book is about Mikael Agricola's life, studies and work.  He was truly a  remarkable person. He made religion more reachable for the ordinary Finns, who from then on could follow church events easier.

This book was written with humor and in a style that is easy for the kids to understand and relate.

The royal Swedes  wanted the talented boys to study in Sweden.
Agricola wanted them to stay in Finland.

Agricola studied in Wittemberg under
Martin Luther.

Maltti & Valtti in Trafic

Jerry Mikkelinen & Jussi Ollila 2017: Maltti & Valtti liikenteessä
Illustrations by Teemu Åke

My favourite traffic park police officers are back! This time they fumble in traffic. Their old pal Riku Rikesakko ( Rikesakko = traffic fee) is riding his bike on the sidewalk. That is not allowed and the traffic park policeofficers are on his case. Can Maltti and Valtti teach him the traffic rules in time, before any accidents happen.

This book has small tasks, problems for the reader to solve: how many traffic signs can you recognise, how to sit in a car. And my favourite: the dangers of using a phone in the traffic. Even all the adults do not know these. You can try yourself  by enlarging the image below.

Find out all the possible accidents about to happen,
because of the use of mobile phones.

 In my mind the Finnish police has a good reputation, people trust the police and rely on them.

The other Maltti & Valtti books published so far are:

Maltti & Valtti misson at Grandma's
Maltti  & Valtti on an almost deserted island

The saunaflamingo

Lauri Hirvonen 2016: Inka ja saunaflamingo

Inka is a small girl and now she is vacationing at the summer house. Grandma and Grandpa come also to the summer house and together with Grandma Inka explores the nature and hears stories about Grandma's parents and childhood. Inka questions some information she hears: for example that the waterstriders can  run on water, because of the hair in their feet. Inka has seen the hair in her father's legs and he has to swim like the rest of us.

The title was intriguing: I could not imagine, what a saunaflamingo is (for information that is also the same in Finnish).  Spoiler, stop reading if you do not want to know what it is.  Inka and Grandma are in sauna and are planning what to play next day. Grandma is looking kind of pink and she decides to be a saunaflamingo.

I like the illustrations of this book. Well I guess you knew that because I only choose books, which illustrations are pleasing.  But also the text was smart and kind. Cutest was refering dad's leg hairs to those of waterstriders'. And again the book emphasized the importance of Grandmothers.

The island of lost animals

Pasi Pitkänen 2017: Kadonneiden eläinten saari

Matias and his sister Jenni are in circus. All of a sudden a lion cub and Jenni are snatched.

Matias and Dad lion start looking for them and find an island full of odd creatures.

Spoiler alert!
They are all extinct animals: Megatherium, Glyptodon, Dodo, Megaladapis and the almost extinct Barbary lion.

The illustrations are comic style and very cute. And the lesson to be learned is to save the animals from extinction. For some it is too late. But how? And all these hairy animals are very cute (well most of them), what about the insects and fish that are not so cute? Some how some animals are more worth saving then others.

Spikeball outside

Tuula Nyström 2017: Piikkipallo ihan pihalla
Illustrations by Laila Nevakivi

Very educational book about hedgehogs. The book shows how to build a winterhouse for hedgehogs, what to feed them.

Hedgehogs are rare to bee seen, mostly because they move after sunset. The only time I have seen a hedgehog, is when they have been hit by a car. I wonder, if I make a a winter house, will the hedgehogs come? And even if I follow instructions, will the houses be safe for them? Will my eagerness to help hedgehogs some way harm hedgehogs, because I cannot think of all scenarios, what could happen?

Different types of spiked animals and
also hedgehogs without spikes

Hedgehogs can swim, eat snakes and lots of other things.

Folksong book with sound

edited by Maija Karhinen-Ilo, Leena Järvenpää and Katariina Heilala: Soiva kansanlaulukirja
played by Freija
illustrated by Päivi Arenius

Can a six-year old be nostalgic? That is the feel I get, when my youngest son listens to this book. I remember that I used sing these songs to him, when he was a baby. The songs a are traditional songs.  I guess they are hard coded to all Finns and most of them have a melancholy tones. Except those originating from Sweden.

The song in the picture "Ololonkos" is about asking, if the other has kittens in a bag. I have always thought that as a horrible thing, but now I see that they meant the willow flowers that are called "pajunkissa", a willow cat.  They are the kittens in a bag. What a relief!

Kittens in bags.  The willow's flowers are so soft
that they are called cats, pajunkissa

Long way home

Hanna Karoliina 2016: Pitkä matka kotiin
illustrated by Pirita Tolvanen

A small Kemp's Ridley Turtle, the smallest turtle of all is trying to way his way home.

On his way he meets many animals: polar bears, monkeys and pelicans. At the end there is information about the rare animals we met in the book.



I like the pastel colors of this book. Of course the coloring follows he different environments: polar bear and th mole live in darker places and the monkey in lovely green environment. The turtules home is very turqoise.  The book has very little text, so children can read it themselves.

Hike destination

edited by Antti Huttunen and Touko Kauppinen: Retkipaikka 2015

Destinations collected from the website Retkipaikka.fi.  Fantastic photographs about the miraculous wonders of nature.  Many of the destinations are quite near Helsinki.
The website has the exact locations of these destinations.

I guess all the places listed in this book and on the website are remarkable. The one closest to my heart is Rokokallio, in Vihti. My mother was born near it and we used to walk to the top of the "rock" often.

Now is good time to plan the hinking destination for the summer. This is a good guide and the boys are motivated to walk to see these "exotic" sites, when they know before hand what kind of scenery is waiting for them. And some of these places look like they came from a fairytale book.

Rock maze at Rokokallio, Vihti

Pea soup fog

Tapani Bage 2010: Tahvo ja Bella hernerokkasumussa
illustrated by Salla Savolainen

Tahvo is a cat, who thinks he is a siberian tiger, Bella is a dog, who live on an island. One autumn day the fog is so thick, we Finns would call it pea soup fog. Tahvo and Bella collect drift wood from the shore.  The fog is cold and Tahvo wants to catch it and taste it. Does it taste like pea soup?

Suddenly they catch a penguin! He is Pablo and he wants to go back home to the Antarctic. Tahvo and Bella help him to find a vessel to get there.

The weather is always a good toppic to talk about. Usually the weather is too cold or rainy. On some rare occation we complain about the heat. The peasoup fog is where I live quite rare.  What I like about this book, is the cat who thinks he is something he is not and everyone else is ok with it and the mystique the fog brings and finally the helping others.

Tahvo is trying to get some of that pea suop.

Little Darling and Star Bear

Inkeri Karvonen: Pikku-kulta ja Tähtikarhu
illustrated by Kati Vuorento

Story for every month. In January Little Darling wakes up in the middle of hibernation and meets another little bear from the stars, Star Bear.  Little Darling admires the beauty of winter and then falls back to sleep. In February the forest elf meets freezing fox and gives him a job in keeping the paths in the forest clear from snow. In return the elf gives him warm socks, mittens and scarf.

March is the time for the Blue Cat calls Kitty Lavender for dinner. They fish up gold fish from the frozen pond. They have a magical night as cats in March do.  In April the Moss- men are cleaning up their apple tree house.  In May vole Höntynen is waiting for the meadow elf to wake up the meadow. Mrs. Mouse knows that meadow elf has been frozen in and he cannot get out. Höntynen helps him out and soon the meadow is in bloom.

The bugs will rest with  flower bulbs. 

In June the elf of water plays her flute all through the night and in July the cloud plays with a small boy for many days. In August we learn about the secrets of the river.  In September the catebillar is exhausted about getting ready for winter.  He has found a sleeping place from a fence pole, which guards its sleep.

In October the sleepwhisperer has been fluffing the dirt and ironing the poppy petals for the flower bulbs. Soon the small bugs are welcome to spend the winter. In Novermber the snow lilies decorate the ponds. The book ends with December and the elfs serving animals with food.


Stories about animals and elves and the illustrations are as delicate as the wings of fairies.  I must say Kati Vuorento is one of my favourite illustrators.

Nepi the corgi

Tittamari Marttinen: Nepi ja paras koiravahti 2009
and  Nepi onnenkoira 2010
illustrated by Christel Rönns



Nepi and the best dog sitter ever
Nepi is a corgi, whose owner is very busy.  When the owner goes to work, Nepi is taken to the neighbors. One is too lazy, just eats junk. The other is too active, Nepi is exhausted.  The third one dresses Nepi up, so that he feels the other dogs are laughing at him. Finally there is  Alma, the girl upstairs. Together they go to the dog park, take naps and have fun. The best dog sitter ever!

Nepi meets Alma.

Nepi, the lucky dog
Alma is taking Nepi to a field trip to a summer camp for schoolchildren. There they meet other kids and their dog, a Saint Bernard named Pyry. The Saint Bernard is a hero, it used to live in Lapland and it saved people from the avalanches. And he is huge. Nepi feels himself a little small. He had never saved any lives. Everyone loves Pyry. Nepi wants someone to tell that they love him, too.

Nepi the lucky dog

The next day Alma takes Nepi to the beach. There they meet Enska, a  pug. His owner says he is a champion and Nepi feels jealous. He picks on Enska, who gets really sad.  Nepi feels awful and appologizes.  They find a common note and start playing with each other.  At home Nepi tells his owner that he wants to be something special. His owner keeps telling him, he is special. In any case, Nepi decides he can do heroic acts himself.  He helps the old lady next door to open the trash and a young mother to catch her toddler.  Later he saves Alma, or he thinks so, Alma is only doing somersaults in the water.  Alma says that Nepi saved her from boredom and loneliness.

Cute stories about a dog. Which could easily be identified as a child. I do not know, how children relate to these stories, but as an adult I see the great lessons in both of these books.  And corgis are cute too

Nepi and Alma at the camp with Pyry

Mystical Birds of Finland

Eero Ojanen 2015: Suomen myyttiset linnut
illustraded by Daga Ulv


Spring is definetly here, when people brag about seeing larks, starlings,  wagtails and fiches. As the old Finnish saying says. The summer comes here with the swallows.

This book is divided into different sections. The first section is about creation of earth. In Kalevala is a story where the land and the sea came from a wild ducks egg. Other birds in this section are crane, tit, eagle and hazel hen. The crane is respected, even the ridgepole is called a "kurkihirsi". The crane was also considered as an all mighty sorcerer.

The next section is titled as between two worlds. The birds here are swan, loon, red-throated diver and nurmilintu, which isn't a real bird, but the bird of Underworld. It is strange that a children's lulluby is about this bird. The singer wished the children would sleep as peacefully as the dead. As I have mentioned before, we are not a cheerful folk.

Siberian Jay is a curious bird.
Here with kuksa, a wooden cup and a knife.

The third section is about holy creatures: osprey, swallow, starling and dove. 17 lakes are named after opsrey (Sääksjärvi), because the bird was seen there.Other places are Sääskmäki, Sääksniemi.

Then come the helpers of witches and the devil: the capercallie,black grouse, crow and the raven. No wonder Hitchcock hit a nerve with his film. Some people fear birds to death.  The capercallie was the king of the forest and it carried the forest folk in him. When an capercallie came to the yard, it meant something bad was to happen.

The fifth section is about bird that bring luck or bad luck. They are cocoo, jay, wagtail, dipper, bunting and corncrake.  The wagtail brings good mood where ever it comes. My mom still thinks the wagtail that nest in their home birch greets her, when he arrives. The wagtail is also very eager to tease the cat.

Starling as a jewellery

Then come the restless souls: jackdaw, Siberian jay, willow grouse, black woodpecker and snipe. The Siberian jay is curious and often comes to the fireplace to see what the humans are up to. It may even be the soul of a wise man. The hunters usually leave this bird alone.

The eight section is for the unpleasant guests: sparrow, magpie and redstart. In the old days the sparrows were considered bad news. They brought bad luck. As do the magpies, which steal all shiny objects they can find. If the magpie laughs, when you are going to take a trip, you should cancel.

And the last section informs us about the scary prophets: woodpecker, horned owl, owl and hawk. The story tells that on fall 1939 the horned owl cried so hard that the people knew it meant war, which then happened.  Even before that seeing the horned owl meant death


It's amazing that people had time to observe and make stories, but then again they did not have social media. Today nobody makes up stories about birds, when they read about all the silly things people do. But I do know that the belief die hard, I remember counting the first cuckoos of the summer, because it meant how many years before I would get married. I stopped counting after ten.