Kaunon Nuoruusvuodet - Jasu Rinneoja

Kaunon Nuoruusvuodet - Jasu Rinneoja - 2019

Young Adult. Historical Fiction. Village Life.

STORY: This book contains two stories about a boy named Kauno, the first when he is still a small child and the second when he is an older child and teenager.

The author has also written a second selkokirja featuring Kauno as an adult, Kauno ja Sutki.


LANGUAGE: The language in this book is around a B1 - B2 level, and also contains dialect that might be slightly challenging to understand for a reader unfamiliar. The first story is around 60 pages and the second story around 50 pages. The whole book is split into chapters. the text is large with lots of white space and there are also nice black and white illustrations throughout the stories. The story is told through multiple perspectives - Kauno's, his mother's, father's and occasionally even various villagers' perspectives.

I recommend this to readers of level B1 and up.


CHARACTERS: Kauno is the protagonist of the story, and as the title suggest, tells the story of his childhood and youth. Kauno is a very sensitive child, though the book does not go into more medical information than that. His sensitivity is shown through the way he responds or fails to respond to various situations, and in the way his parents raise him and communicate with him.

The illustrations on the cover and in the book are very expressive and the reader truly gets to know Kauno through his adventures.


WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: This is a great book for young readers, especially middle grade through young adult. I believe that adults will also appreciate reading the book and appreciating the parents' roles and personalities.