Foxy, Finnish Folk Tales for Children

This book, which I translated into English and illustrated, was published in 2002 by Aspasia Books of Beaverton, Ontario. I created this book in order to bring these traditional tales to American and Canadian children of Finnish heritage. And since material on Finland is quite scarce in schools, this book can be a resource for students doing a unit on folk tales or comparative literature.

The shenanigans of Foxy will seem familiar to many readers, confirming the fact that folk tales have traveled the world over and were absorbed into the oral storytelling tradition of each country they reached. I selected these 16 tales from Suomen Kansan Satuja 1 (1954) edited by K. Merikoski who, in turn, chose them from volumes he found in the Archives of Finnish Literature. The stories have been modified to make them appropriate for today's children.

The covers are sticky-finger proof and the stories are one or two pages long, just right for a primary child, or for reading to a preschooler. Finnish words are sprinkled throughout the book (with a glossary at the back) while the illustrations add a “Finnish’ed” touch.

Some of the original pencil drawings (with matte, unframed) may be ordered via e-mail
for $50.00 Can., or $40.00 US (including postage and handling). Each mailing will also contain a complimentary copy of the book.