Lyyli and the horrible Paperwolf

Pipsa Pentti 2016: Lyyli ja Hurja Paperi-Hukka

Lyyli is a girl who is afraid of almost everything. Just in case she stays indoors. She enjoys drawing brave and fearless paper princesses. The kind she wishes to be herself.

Lyyli spends her days with the paper princesses and hears about their exciting day: coffee is dangerous, because a coffee stain is an eternal bruise. Candle light dinner gets most all covered in coal (hiiltyä in Finnish literally  means to be covered in coal, but figuratively loose your temper). Also the princesses need to look important otherwise they might go to the recycling bin.

Lyyli faces the terrible Paperwolf.

One day the Paperwolf (Hukka is poetic word for Wolf, but it also means something is wasted or lost). is threatening the princesses with a stapler. The Paper-Wolf used to live in the waste bin, but people were throwing trash to the ground, so he had no reason to stay in the bin. The Paperwolf kidnaped the princesses. Lyyli gets help from Mrs. Filterbag and together they start a rescue mission to save the princesses. They borrow a A4 from Mr. Paperknife of Parquet. They first glide with it and then Lyyli folds it into a boat.

After many events they reach Paperwolf and the princesses. Lyyli gets an idea and traps the Paperwolf to a stickerpaper trap. They pack him in an envelope and ship him to desert, where there is no paper. Lyyli is celebrated for saving the princesses. Soon Lyyli's room is empty: she is outside. You never know how brave you are, if you do not at least give adventure a chance.

I really enjoyed this book, it had many clever word plays. A4 in my mind is a direct reference to Audi A4 . Mr. Paperknife of Parquet refers to the Finnish term Razorknife of Parquet, which means some one is a really good danser. I believe we Finns have a special bond with paper, the heavy industry in Finland is basically built on paper. I mean the paper industry was a major influence on the economic growth of the Finland. Also the story emphasizes the importance of keeping our surroundings clean.