FILI Book Picks – Children & YA Literature

The protagonist Aleksi is a nerd whose ambitious goal is to make it to the local e-sport championship games with his friend Roope. After a session not-gone-well he ends up in an ice-cream parlor and meets Nora, a fabulous Gothic girl who turns out to be a 132 years old vampire. Nora is hungry and lures Aleksi in an isolated bunker but her evil little brother Kaspar gets involved and ruins her plans. Nora promises not to harm Aleksi if he in turn should teach her how to play videogames.

This bloodthirsty fantasy thriller, glowing with the immortal enchantment of vampires, holds its grip until the last page.

Original title: Kenties tapa(a)n sinut vielä.
Karisto 2022, 132 pp.
Foreign rights: Ferly, ferlyco.com

A spectacular novel about a world where literacy has been decimated and a boy who does not believe in stories.

Thirteen-year-old orphaned Oboi has run away to find his former homestead. He ends up in a peculiar and disaster-stricken mountain city where no one knows how to read. People are led by the mysterious Wanda, who, via devices hooked up to one’s palm, says what everyone should know or do. At a flea market, Oboi meets a woman who gives him a book. According to her, this book can change everything and help find what Oboi thought was lost forever. Suddenly the story-averse Oboi notices that he has become the hero deemed to save the whole world. The story avoid being preachy and is a multi-layered, finely constructed fantasy novel and a fantastic tale of adventure.

Original title: Oboin kirja. Otava 2022, 304 pp.
Foreign rights: Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, ahlbackagency.com

Nominated for the 2022 Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize and for the August Prize 2021 in the category Best Swedish Children’s Book.

Many of us have attended scout camp, wandered in the berry forest or been on an excursion and feared of bumping into a bear. In this book filled with offbeat humor, authors Malin Kivelä and Martin Glaz Serup advise a child who actually encounters one. When faced with such a challenge, good advice is precious. This both funny and informative story is brought to life by awarded illustrator Linda Bondestam’s expressive artwork that captures the contrast between the dangers of the dark forest and exuberant storytelling.

Original title: Om du möter en björn. Förlaget 2021, 32 pp.
Foreign rights: Rights & Brands, rightsandbrands.com

A wonderfully informative book on how interests and hobbies that are fostered at a young age can help people find their place as professional researchers later in life.

South American Kat used to examine the starry skies with her father and now her job is to search for new planets. Marjane loved hunting for treasures, and she became an archeologist who solves the mysteries of ancient cultures. Eduardo loved playing video games; he did not become a professional gamer, but now he creates climate models and ponders what our world will be like in a hundred years. This book shows that anyone can become a researcher by following their passion.

Original title: Maailman tutkijat. Ursa 2021, 53 pp.
Foreign rights: Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, ahlbackagency.com

The Mur series continues!

Ten brand new bedtime stories in a beautiful forest setting offer a joyous and meaningful exploration of human emotions and responses. This book tells the reader about different woodland animals whose important and wise stories are contemplated through Mur’s gentle philosophy.

Original title: Mur ja metsän ilta. Tammi 2021, 176 pp.
Foreign rights: Bonnier Rights Finland, bonnierrights.fi

A profound story with plenty of tips for living closer to nature in a fun way.

Three friends become urban farmers after discovering a secret place hidden behind a rickety fence. Secret Gardeners is a fact book for children that tells them all about seeds, microbes, compost and bokashi, carbon sequestration in soil, harvesting and beekeeping.

Original title: Plats på jorden.
Schildts & Söderströms 2021, 48 pp.
Foreign rights: Helsinki Literary Agency, helsinkiagency.fi

A thrilling story about the adventures of thirteen-year-old Pete who discovers a dense web of darkness around the most iconic of the Northern myths – the Santa Claus. In this book we learn about the world’s most guarded secret as Santa Claus and his elves are revealed to be something very different from what we imagined.

Original title: Varjot 1. Helähdys. Tammi 2021, 184 pp.
Foreign rights: Bonnier Rights Finland, bonnierrights.fi

Tales of the Quarterlands is an epic adventure set in an original fantasy land where children are needed to save the day. Meet a group of brave kids standing up against the warmongers of their land in this story that reads like Game of Thrones for children. Glorious, fast-paced fantasy for young readers with truly original artwork.

Original titles: Valkeantuoja. Nelimaan tarinat 1.
Minerva 2021, 136 pp.
Foreign rights: Ferly, ferlyco.com

Here’s the ultimate construction book series for all young construction site fans!
Grab your helmet and gloves and dive deep into the world of the construction site. Site manager Koistinen and the rest of the busy crew take the reader through all steps of building a road, the narrative is peppered with lots of details and spreads include additional fact boxes to keep even the biggest enthusiasts interested.

Original title: Asfalttia! WSOY 2021, 48 pp.
Foreign rights: Rights & Brands, rightsandbrands.com

If your love can only be a secret, will it last?
A touching and beautiful novel about great emotions in the summer. Each side of the book tells one girl’s story, which effortlessly melts together into a summer of love, insecurities, and exploration of two young people.

Original title: Matalapaine/Korkeapaine.
Tammi 2021, 138 pp.
Foreign rights: Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, ahlbackagency.com

The Flashlight Adventures exemplify a totally new picture book concept, which invites the reader to search and explore the dark and distant places where most of us will never get a chance to go for real. Light up its pages with a phone’s flashlight and the book’s hidden images will mysteriously appear.

Original titles: 1. Meren syvyyksiin. WSOY 2018, 40 pp.
2. Maan uumeniin. WSOY 2019 40 pp.
3. Ylös avaruuteen. WSOY 2021 40 pp.
Foreign rights: Bonnier Rights Finland, bonnierrights.fi

2020 August Prize nominee!

Linda Bondestam’s happy, ecological, and existential book about life on earth – the fragile, but at the same time robust. An enchanting, surprising and touching story about climate change told by the voice of an astonishing and rare axolotl, how the environment is affected, and changed. Beautifully detailed illustrations depict the wonders of the underworld.

Original title: Mitt bottenliv. Förlaget M 2020, 40 pp.
Foreign rights: Rights & Brands, rightsandbrands.com

Finlandia Junior Prize winner Siiri Enoranta has woven a story that is unputdownable. Her language breathes, and the unusual world of young people comes alive. The atmospheric setting of Enoranta’s novel is a technically more advanced version of the historical England during the golden years between the wars.

Original title: Kesämyrsky. WSOY 2020, 285 pp.
Foreign rights: Bonnier Rights Finland, bonnierrights.fi

All aboard a magical express train heading towards Christmas!

Dania’s Granny lives in an old station building next to a disused railway. Every year Dania’s family moves to Granny’s for December in the run-up for Christmas. One evening Granny disappears from her room. The same night Dania hears something and sneaks out to see it with her own eyes: an express train is pulling up at the station. Dania manages to stop the night train and the adventure begins.

Original title: Nattexpressen.
Schildts & Söderströms 2020, 223 pp.
Foreign rights: Helsinki Literary Agency, helsinkiagency.fi

Charming books about a field-mouse who reads stories about great adventures and fearless knights but who in reality is a bit scared of everything.

Universal themes of courage and self-belief with an unexpected but relatable main character are brought to life in the seemingly classic but quirky illustrations.

Original titles: Peloton peltohiiri. Otava 2019, 48 pp.
Peloton peltohiiri – kaksintaistelu. Otava 2020, 32 pp.
Foreign rights: Rights & Brands, rightsandbrands.com

Fast and wacky middle-grade series with stories that draw inspiration from the world of Roald Dahl and adorable, quirky black-and-white illustrations by Teemu Juhani.

Nick and Lilly’s visits to their rule-loving, child-hating uncle turn into adventures as the children get to know their exciting, eccentric neighbor: Mabel Merryweather.

Original titles: Salamanterin Terttu ja minimerirosvot.
Otava 2019, 140 pp.
Salamanterin Terttu ja huijareiden kuningas.
Otava 2020, 140 pp.
Foreign rights: Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, ahlbackagency.com

The novel begins when a 9-year-old Alfred the Forgotten, virtually abandoned by his father, meets Amanda, a paperwoman and one of the Sharp Ears. After finding an old radio transmitter designed by a Russian physicist, A. S. Popov, Alfred starts making a secret, nightly radio broadcast for all the other forgotten children in the city.

Winner of the Finlandia Junior Prize 2020!

Original title: Radio Popov. Kustantamo S&S 2020, 250 pp.
Foreign rights: Helsinki Literary Agency, helsinkiagency.fi

Gary is a happy and inventive gorilla child. A bit too inventive, perhaps. Gary thinks that food can be used for other things than just eating. He must be told many times during the meal: Gary, no! When reading the book, the child can take the parent’s role and feel much more skillful than playful Gary. You mustn’t dip the sausage in the milk! Nor paint your hair with mashed potatoes! No, Gary!

Original title: Ei, Rane, ei! Etana editions 2020, 32 pp.
Foreign rights: Koja Agency, kojagency.com

The utterly enchanting first book in a new series about the adventures of 10-year-old Penny Peanutheart, a spirited fairy the size of a tiny thumb.

Penny Peanutheart and the Wretched Banishment Cake is a tender, warm, and humorous story that reminds us that it usually takes a bit longer to make friends, and how first impressions are not always the most accurate. Penny of course finds this out the hard way.

Original title: Penni Pähkinäsydän ja kauhea kadotuskakku. Tammi 2020, 192 pp.
Foreign rights: Bonnier Rights Finland, bonnierrights.fi

A new middle-grade mystery series by Tuutikki Tolonen, author of Monster Nanny series – sold to 24 territories.

Everything began on that one summer day when Agnes enters through the cemetery gate. She had just moved to a boring new town and left behind her old home and friends. She finds a tombstone that has the name Agnes on it – and the same birthday as hers! Starting from that day Agnes keeps having dreams of a girl who hides a key in a beautiful garden. And when Agnes stumbles upon the same garden, she knows she must find the key. But what will it open?

Original title: Agnes ja unien avain. WSOY 2020, 200 pp.
Foreign rights: Elina Ahlbäck Literary Agency, ahlbackagency.com