SUMMARY
In her editorial, Kaisu Rättyä discusses the activities arranged during the Book Adventure 2001 in Finland and concludes that SNI has contributed with various seminars and public events.
Anja Hahto presents her survey, carried out in Tampere and the Pirkanmaa region, on children's relations with the library. The survey shows, for example, that girls and children at primary school level visit the library more often than boys and pupils at lower secondary school level. The library is primarily used for leisure activities. Boys and pupils at lower secondary school level were the most eager ones to read newspapers. For children, the library is also a place where you spend time and meet friends. Most children chose what to borrow on their own. The recommendation of a friend was the second most important criteria for choosing material. A diverse selection was considered the most important feature of all for a library. A very surprising result of the survey was how important the children felt peace and quiet to be within the library. The Internet is also an important reason for children to visit the library.
In her article, Sanna Kivimäki presents literary pedagogy for pre-schoolers and newly published teaching material for this target group.
Writer Tomi Kontio deals humorously with his own experiences after having won the Finlandia Junior award. Many articles declared that "Tomi Kontio was Finland's Harry Potter", a statement based on the similarities between his novel Keväällä isä sai siivet (My Father Grew Wings in Springtime) and the Harry Potter-books. Kontio responses: "I don't understand why I am being compared to a fictive character, as if my own existence wasn't uncertain enough already".
Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen writes about the establishing of the position of Finnish children's literature and young adult fiction and the research carried out within the field. Last year in December she defended her doctoral dissertation in Tampere. The thesis is called An interloper in charge of the house (Kuokkavieraasta oman talon haltijaksi) and deals with the canonisation and institutionalisation of Finnish children's literature. Her article in this issue of Onnimanni is the lectio praecursoria given at her defence, where she concludes that research on Finnish children's literature has, until lately, been primarily pedagogical. During the last decades, however, research in the field has been given space, as well as credit, also within comparative literature. At the same time, publishers, mass media and the reading public have begun to take a new kind of interest in children's literature and young adult fiction. This gradual change began in the 1940s and 1950s when a lot of changes took place in many literary institutions.
In her youth, the well-known researcher in aggression, professor Kirsti Lagerspetz who passed away in January, illustrated children's books written by herself and others. Päivi Heikkilä-Halttunen takes a look at Lagerspetz's (born Ahlman) works and their reception.
Kaisa Laaksonen gives us a report of the Nordic picture book seminar arranged in Bergen and Sanna Turunen tells us about the "Uudet jaot" seminar on the texts and uses of young adult fiction.
The news section reports several awards: Kari Hotakainen has won the Topelius award for his collection of stories for young adults, called Näytän hyvältä ilman paitaa (WSOY), and the Lydecken award was given to Tittamari Marttinen for her children's book Elsan ja Eetun erikoistapaukset (Tammi). Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen got the Rudolf Koivu award for their illustrations to Sinikka and Tiina Nopola's Risto Räppääjä ja nuudelipää (Tammi).
Translation:
Maria Lassén-Seger
