SUMMARY

In this issue, the editorial has been replaced by Z. Topelius's poem Joululaulu (A Christmas Carol). With this poem, SNI and Onnimanni want to thank all their friends and wish them a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2001. On the opening spread we begin by presenting new Finnish and translated books around the theme of Christmas.

Kaisa Laaksonen has studied the criticism of children's literature during 1978-1998 in Onnimanni and in two major daily papers. She concludes that during these twenty years the criticism has become more regular and professional. Bunching together many books in one single review has become less frequent over the years. Whereas children's books in the 70s were mainly treated as pedagogical tools, criticism in the 90s usually analyse them as literature. The majority of the books criticised are Finnish, but the selection of titles varies greatly from paper to paper. As a rule, award-winning books are reviewed in most papers. Compared to the criticism of adult literature, children's book reviews are more descriptive and less analytical. Moreover, they usually discuss the potential audience of the book. It seems as if critics, in particular, are fascinated by books, which also have something to offer adults.

Leena Laakso presents Helga Nuorpuu (1901-1953), who in her time was a popular author of girl's books. The author was orphaned at an early age and had to take responsibility for supporting a family of three. Leena Laakso says that cold and hunger made her a writer. Nuorpuu's girl's books, of which the most well-known belong to the Ruusula-series, are romantic, but they are also characterised by humour, good friendship and a faith in the future. The girl characters dream of love, as well as a successful career, and are on the whole modern and urban; they live in cities, travel by car, go to the movies and follow the fashion. Apart from girl's books, Nuorpuu also wrote fairy tales, picturebooks, travel books and popular novels for adults.

Karo Hämäläinen has explored the Finnish reception of Enid Blyton's series of adventure books. She concludes that the reactions have varied radically over the years according to the general opinion of series books and popular literature at the time. The first books by Blyton appeared in Finland in the 1950s and were on the whole positively received. Critics objecting to the books, were only those who automatically condemned all popular literature as bad. Already in the 60s, Blyton's books began to be criticised for their stereotypical pattern, their mechanical repetition of certain themes, and their poor language. In the 70s, when popular literature began to be generally regarded as bad for children, opinions became even more heated and suggestions that libraries ought not to stock Blyton at all, were heard. In the 80s and 90s the reception became ones more favourable: series books were appreciated for their ability to entice children into reading and Blyton's 100th anniversary in 1997 released a flood of nostalgic articles in the daily papers. The criticism of Blyton's books in Finland has followed a few years behind the international opinion. But the issues of racism and a conservative world-view, which Blyton's books have been accused of in Britain, has not been raised in Finland.

In the bookshelf section, Kaisu Rättyä presents David Rudd's Enid Blyton and the Mystery of Children's Literature (2000), as well as a Nordic collection of articles on young adult fiction called Forankring og fornying - Nordiske ungdomsromaner fram mot år 2000 (1999). Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen reviews Juhani Tolvanen's book Muumisisarukset Tove ja Lars Jansson - Muumisarjakuvan tarina (Tove and Lars Jansson: Moomin-siblings - The Story of the Moomin comics) (2000).  In the news section, we learn that Tomi Kontio has won the Finlandia Junior-award for his fantasy novel, sometimes called the Finnish Harry Potter, Keväällä isä sai siivet (My Father Grew Wings in Springtime) (2000). The Tietopöllö-award for non-fiction for children and young adults has been given to Marjatta Levanto for her outstanding books on art. SNI's Onnimanni-award goes to the reading project "Kirja kantaa, tarina tukee" carried out by libraries in Western Finland.
 

Translation: Maria Lassén-Seger
 

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