Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Sad cheeks

Anna Härmälä 2016: Suruposki (Swedish original Burman)

Heimo is sad. His grandmother Kimmelstiina has died.  Grandmother's appartment is full of furniture and things, which she has collected during her life. But it has to be emptied for the new tenants. Heimo stores the most valuable items in his cheeks. Ther is a golden ball of wool, wooden fork, favourite shoes and a red rubber ball.

Heimo is really upset, he runs out side. Then he finds a circus. All the performers are frantically looking for things, the show is about to start. The clown has lost his nose, the ropedancer can't find her rope. The circus horse has lost its shoe and so on.


 Heimo would like to help, but he cannot talk, because of all the stuff in his mouth. He cannot let the memories of Grandma get lost. He is tired and lonely, his cheeks hurt. He thinks Grandma would not be happy to see him like this. He digs his cheeks and finds Grandma's shoe. He remembers the circus horse missing a shoe. He returns to the circus and gives  his Grandmother's items to the circus.

How to talk to kids about grieving? It is hard for adults, but sometimes the kids simple reasoning can be the answer. Most Finnish parents try to protect their children from any negative feelings, but it is part of life. I believe this book could be helpful to read in families dealing with death.



Thursday, May 14, 2015

Allan and Udo

Minna Lindeberg 2012: Allan och Udo
Illustrated by Linda Bondestam

 Allan and Udo have been a couple a long time now. But it is not always easy to be together, when you are totally different from the other.

On Christmas Eve Udo refuses to celebrate . He has had a long carreer in the military and now he is depressed. He is going to sit in the kitchen until Christmas is over. Allan is sad, he knows how hard it is to cheer up someone who is depressed.

Allan lures Udo to dream land In dreamland anything can happen. Old men can fly, cakes do not have bottoms and a mysterious baker is sneaking around and getting Udo to forget Allan.  Udo tries to get away, but cannot. Allan comes to the rescue and  Udo remembers all great memories with Allan.

When they wake up, they go for a walk and see the stars and everything around them is wonderful again.

The book deals with how difficult it sometimes is to play together, how sweet sorrow memories can be and how dreams have a logic of their own. The book tells us how it must feel like to grow old, when all your dreams are behind you. In best cases as memories. It reminds us not to take those who are the dearest for granted.

This book was selected as one of the most beautiful books of 2011 and the most refreshing thing is that the relationship of the two men isn't explained in anyways. I wish that was the case in modern Finland as well, where still being different is not welcomed.