Six books are nominated for the Finlandia prize for children’s and youth literature

Thursday Six candidates are vying for the Finlandia Prize for Children’s and Youth Literature, which will be awarded on November 27. They are:

• Maija Hurme: Var kommer alla dagar ifrån? / Where do all the days come from? (Schildts & Söderströms / S&S)

• Syri Kolu: Under the wave. Dual Worlds 1 (Tammi)

• Tomi Kontio, illustration by Elina War: A dog named Cat says goodbye to a friend (Teos)

• Heidi Nummi: She petted (WSOY)

• Stefanie Turna: Easy (Otava / Schildts & Söderströms) Ruotsinnos Kaj Korkea-aho

• Elina Warsta & Jukka Laajarinne: Gone with the wind – that is, how the wanderers of the clouds got lost underground and encountered something very strange there (Big Dipper)

He made the choices Eero Rämön led by the jury, which included the head of HS Lasten news Fanny Frömaneducationist, professor Arniika Kuusistoa musician Joel Melasniemiwinner of Little Finland 2024 Senja Ollikainen and store manager The only Torttila.

The winner is chosen by the athlete Mustafa Moses.

Maija Hurmeen the picture book tells about a grandmother and her grandchildren’s unhurried day by the sea. Children ask grandma all sorts of things: What do birds dream about? Why can you sometimes be sad even though you are in a nice place?

“The questions illustrate on the one hand the child’s thirst for knowledge and on the other the unrestrained power of the imagination. Hurme’s watercolor illustration places the curious children as part of the landscape,” writes the critic Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen in HS.

The jury reasons: “A beautiful illustration and a text with a flavor of life form a worthy dialogue, where being present in the moment and meeting the other invite you to stop and think about the basic questions of living together and existence.”

Your Siri Arm Under the wave starts a trilogy of novels in which young people live at the same time in two different times. 12-year-old El(ektra) from Helsinki starts to walk in his sleep. In the city of Atlantis, Elektra, on the other hand, has strange dreams at night about tall stone towers and flying machines.

“Growing pains and the difficulty of social relationships are the same across time and seas, but the initiative and resourceful teamwork of young people, even through dreams, becomes central,” explains the jury.

”Under the wave is an engaging adventure novel for pre-teens and teens,” he writes Pauliina Grönholm in Helsingin Sanomat.

Tomi Kontion written by and Elina Warstan illustrated by A dog named Cat says goodbye to a friend concludes the beloved and award-winning series, the third part of which A dog named Cat meets a cat (2019) was nominated for the Finlandia Junior award.

In a recent picture book, Näätä asks his friends to accompany him on a trip with a different destination than before.

According to Raadi, it is “an exceptionally beautifully written work that deals with big, ancient themes: sadness, longing, love and friendship. Even though the themes are heavy, the book manages to deal with them in a way that creates hope with the help of the story.”

Heidi Nummen young adult novel She petted takes a stand on poaching and animal hatred. The main character of the novel, 17-year-old Laika, lives in the future, where the wave of extinction continues. The lynx is the only large carnivore left in Finland, and Laika wants to protect it.

Paula Sankelo writes in HS’s review: “Nummi asks a serious question in his excellent book for young people: doesn’t a human-centered world view give the beast even the slightest rightful place?”

“The approach is both ruthlessly realistic and utopianly hopeful at the same time. The work’s description of the world is engaging, but at the same time it also shakes the reader to examine their own relationship with nature critically,” the jury praises.

Stefanie Turner first work Easy is a verse novel aimed at young people, the strength of which is found in the stuttering of the main character. Bullied at school, 16-year-old Akira clears up his thoughts while cycling and at the same time records his feelings in a kind of digital and transcribed diary.

”Easy speaks especially beautifully about how important it is for each of us to be seen, heard and appreciated as ourselves,” writes HS critic Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen.

The jury thanks: “The text is a beautiful flow, where the main character’s ironic to moving words take the reader along with them with a frenzy.”

Second the work for which illustrator Elina Warsta is nominated is together Jukka Laajarinten done with Gone with the wind, i.e. how the cloud wanderers got lost underground and encountered something very strange there. The work is based on characters created by Warsta for the second story. The project was left unfinished, but Laajarinne saw the figures in Warsta’s social media publication and suggested cooperation.

In the picture book, the artist Laule-Lii travels by airship. A storm forces the adventurer to land, and he ends up on a rescue mission on earth.

The jury reasons: “Through the minutely detailed pictures and landscapes bursting with details, the story deepens continuously and you can find new dimensions in the pages even after several readings.”

“Warsta’s meticulous, rhythmic illustration style of thin lines creates stunning landscapes,” he writes Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen at HS.

Publishers since 1997, the joint Finnish Book Foundation has awarded the Finlandia Prize for children’s and youth literature, worth 30,000 euros.

Last year, the recognition was won Päivi Lukkarilan young adult novel Skutsiwhere the forest hike of four young people grows into a chilling suspense story.

On November 27, the other Finlandia prizes will also be awarded.