At the fairy's garden

Laila Nevakivi 2018: Kati-keijun puutarhassa


Garden is waking up in the spring. Fairy Kati is eager to see the early flowers, snow bells, daffodils, tulips to start growing. She wakes up bumble bees and other bugs, it is time to work.

Later the apple trees are blossoming, and the queen bumble bee is building her nest. The book explains how pollination happens and lists the insects that does this important job. There is also instructions how to make an insect hotel.

Kati, the fairy, loves all flowers, but above all flowers, which she got from her Grandmother Wilhelmiina: bleeding heart, irises, peonies, martagon lilies and all old garden flowers.


In the shadows is a secret garden, where Kati loves to play her flute, many others enjoy it too: blackbirds, frogs and other animals.

Then it starts to rain and the snails attack! Uncle Jackdaw suggest to invite all his relatives to eat the snails, but Kati feels sorry for them and plays the fifer -trick and the snail go to some one else's garden.


The book has many stories about the mole's underground home, how a butterfly is born, fleet of ladybirds (when I was baby sitting an old american girl, we had a lengthy discussion if it is a ladybird or a ladybug, but I am old school, in my mind it is a ladybird).

Summer turns in to fall and the garden is ready for rest. In November the frost has covered the garden in powered ice. A new kind of beautiful. There is nothing more to do. Kati is ready for sleep and to wake up in the spring.

Lovely book, even though I do not agree in guiding the snails into the neighbors garden. I am a very eager gardener (maybe too eager, I have a tendency to smother to death) and I hope that my boys will enjoy garden as well. I am afraid that they take after their dad. Maybe I should get him interested and boys would follow?

Pixie dust

Petronella Grahn 2015: Keijun taikapölyä

Fairy Goldilocks runs on the flowers all day. She has time to play with the snails, bugs and birds. Time to chat with the wind and collect pixiedust.

One night when she returns home, she notices that her pixie-dust pouch has a hole, there is no more pixie dust. On her way home, she had sprinkled dust all over and wonderful things started to happen: the kids learned how to lace their shoes, other learned how to play peacefully and not to fight.

The pixie dust gave strength and courage.
Worries were gone and adults learned to appreciate the small things in life and see the world through kids eyes.

At the end of the book are questions about the story and what makes you, the reader happy. And what would happen, if you had this magical pixie-dust?



Ms. Grahn is currently developing a game for kids under 7. Can't wait for the release. It is released under name Pomenia. More about the wonderful world of Pomenia.


Ms. Grahn has also a line of fairytale clothing. I have bought two hats for me and my husband long before my boys were born. A picture of the hats below.( Mine is the cotton candy colored, naturally)

Warm Monster hats by Tinttu. These will keep you warm
even at -30 degrees  Celcius.

How the elk got its antlers

Sari Kanala: Kuinka hirvi sai sarvensa
photos by Hannu Ahonen
water color illustrations Iida Pihl

Story about elk, bear and a fairy.

Elk and bear are good friends. One day a fairy comes with large antlers and offers them to the elk and the bear. The bear wants them. He is the king of the forest after all. The elk doesn't mind.

Summer passes along and the antlers give bear a lot of trouble: he cannot eat berries or catch fish with them. He is almost starving and he calls for the elk and offers the antlers to him. The fairy takes the antlers off the bear and gives them to the elk.

The lesson of this story is that you don't have to have everything. Sometimes you are better off without gigantic antlers. Let the elk have them.

The book is illustrated by photographs and watercolors. The photos have be "photoshopped" so that the elk, the girl (ie the fairy) and the bear can all be peacefully side by side. This book also has the text both in Finnish and in English.