The editorial is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of H. C. Andersen, and acknowledges that Danish princess Aleksandra has announced our former president’s wife, Mrs Eeva Ahtisaari, honorary Andersen-ambassador and writers Sinikka and Tiina Nopola Andersen-ambassadors.

In two articles, Sisko Ylimartimo approaches Andersen from the point of view of visual arts. The first article presents H. C. Andersen as an artist. Andersen was not formally trained at art school, but his skill and imagination developed e.g. in connection to the puppet theatre. There are about 300 known drawings made by Andersen. He documented his experiences from various journeys - e.g. to Italy, Turkey and Greece – in pictures, which often reflect the artist’s loneliness. Andersen combined familiar subjects in a surreal manner. He also made collages and picture books. Ylimartimo concludes that Andersen’s collage technique, as well as his use of form and colour, anticipate the art movements of the 19th century.

In her second article, Ylimartimo takes a closer look at the Finnish Andersen-illustrators, the most prominent being Rudolf Koivu, Erkki Tanttu, Maija Karma, Björn Landström and Kaarina Kaila. The illustrations by Koivu, which were never completed, are uneven. Still, his best work, for example the monumental, Jugend-inspired Snow Queen, is full of movement and emotion. Tanttu’s illustrations are mainly one-coloured line drawings depicting elaborate, plump, funny-looking stereotypes of Danes or Finns. Maija Karma’s illustrations made in black and red crayon is experimental, at best vague and sensitive, but occasionally uninspired. Karma did prefer Topelius to Andersen. The work of Björn Landström combines an exact historio-cultural picture of the age with photographical details and even light. Kaarina Kaila’s illustrations have a dreamlike, sensitive feel to them. Her pictures are intimate and romantically old-fashioned with their soft colours.

Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen has interviewed illustrator Kristiina Louhi. She has studied Louhi’s original "working diary”, in which the artist has integrated her signature into the illustrations. The interview also deals with the schooling of illustrators, how to grow with your profession, how to combine family and work, the working conditions of illustrators and the status of illustrators today. Louhi lacks e.g. more expert picture book criticism.

Yrsa Rekola presents the motif of twins in fairy tales and picture books. She concludes that twins in picture books typically are animals, and that twin couples in picture books tend to consist of a girl and a boy, whereas they usually are brothers in fairy tales. Rekola would like to see more books about girl twins.

Riitta Kuivasmäki’s article deals with Heinrich Hoffmann’s book Prinz Grünewald und Perlenfein mit ihrem lieben Eselein in Veikko Pihlajamäki’s Finnish translation. Kuivasmäki concludes that the Finnish rhymes are faithful to the original, but that the translation also brings the reader closer to the present day.

Terhi Laitinen writes about a writing course on the Internet for young people. Texts were exchanged, read and commented only over the net. The new learning environment, which enabled anonymous participation, inspired the students, but criticising texts written by others turned out to be difficult. On the other hand, the participants shared in a lively debate about literature.

Finally, Emma Kaukiainen writes about Dan Brown’s The da Vinci Code, which has made especially young readers interested in culture, religion and mythology.

Translation: Maria Lassén-Seger