- Onnimanni 1/2000
SUMMARY
In her editorial, Kaisu Rättyä discusses, among other things, the memoranda from the "Literacy in the information society committee", as well as the committee's report on the book business. The committee suggests, for instance, the launching of a campaign to promote literacy, the removal of value-added tax on books, as well as added support to school libraries and teacher training. Furthermore, the report on the book business supports the necessity of funding for SNI.
Tuula Korolainen writes about the list of "super-books" for children and young adults that the editorial staff at Onnimanni has put together with the aid of a questionnaire answered by Finnish leading experts in the field. The choice of books considered most significant is hardly surprising, featuring well established classics such as: Robinson Crusoe, Tarzan, Montgomery's Anne-books and Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. The selection focuses on Anglo-Saxon and Nordic literature, but also Finnish classics hold a prominent position. Newcomers on the list are books by Roald Dahl and Eduard Uspenski. The most prominent author, according to an overwhelming majority of the experts, is Astrid Lindgren (Sweden), followed by Tove Jansson (Finland) in second place. Third place goes to the Finnish poet Kirsi Kunnas, who is followed by A. A. Milne and L. M. Montgomery.
Experts Juhani Niemi and Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen, who have commented on the list, find the selection rather conservative. Niemi notes that "the books you have once come to like tend to stay with you". Niemi is amazed at the great number of Finnish books on the list, and both experts emphasise the small amount of young adult fiction compared to the number of children's books. "Young adult fiction is always more fixed in time to when it has been written", supposes Heikkilä-Halttunen.
Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen writes about the exceptional success of the Harry Potter-series and its author J.K. Rowlings. She presents us with the author and with the progress of the series, and she looks for connections with the literary heritage: the Harry Potter books have forerunners in, for instance, British fantasy and boarding school fiction.
Iiris Pakarinen has read first books together with one- to three-year-old children. The interest of the young readers was awakened by, for instance, an unexceptional shape of the book, illustrations in bright colours, and a familiar subject. Peep-holes and funny rhymes were other popular characteristics of the books most in favour. Pure realism, however, did not inspire the young readers, who seem to need something out of the ordinary. At its best, the shape, the illustrations, and the language of a book work together in creating a memorable experience.
Leena Laakso takes a look at Finnish fiction about the Scout movement. Scout activities in Finland began in 1910 and since then the subject has found its way into literature. The majority of books about the Scout movement were published in the 1920s and 1930s. The novels have reflected idealised, as well as suspicious attitudes towards scouting, but surprisingly few books have been written about the Girl Scout movement. Laakso expresses her surprise that no author today is interested in writing novels about the Scout movement, although scouting is concerned with modern themes, such as environmental protection, internationalism, and social work. - Sirpa Kivilaakso has, together with researcher M. A. Jing Zhao, compared the Chinese story about Mulan with the Disney version.
Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen presents the Swedish campaign "Läs 2000". A similar literacy project, called "Lukuseikkailu 2001", will be launched next year in Finland. Marja-Leena Mäkelä presents her experiments with the fifteen-minutes-a-day reading method, and reading projects in, for example, the city of Porvoo and Swedish-language schools in Helsinki are presented.
In the news section, we learn that Marja-Leena Tiainen's young adult novel " Rakas Mikael" has won the Topelius award, Jukka Itkonen's children's novel "Kirpun matka maailman ääriin" the Lydecken award, and Pekka Vuori's "Joulupukki" the Finnish picture book award. The Plättä award, representing the readers' choice, went to Tuija Lehtinen's young adult novel "Sara@carzymail.com".
Translation: Maria
Lassén-Seger
