Poika ullakolla, poika kellarissa / Salla Simukka, JP Ahonen, Satu Leisko

 

Poika ullakolla, poika kellarissa / Salla Simukka, JP Ahonen, Satu Leisko

STORY:10 year old Aleksis (Lex) moves to a new house and Lex gets a bedroom in the attic. 10 year old Max also moves to a new house and gets a bedroom in the basement. Then strange things begin happening and the boys solve a mystery together.

LANGUAGE: The language in this book is around a B1, but readers with a lower Finnish level can enjoy reading a chapter to try it out and see how much they understand. The story is great and featurings magical realism and each chapter draws the reader to read just one more chapter. The book is written in dual perspective, the boys taking turn to tell their version of events.

CHARACTERS: Lex likes to play music on his violin and Max likes rocks and stars and wants to learn how to juggle. 

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: The original version of this book was a nominee for the Finlandia prize in 2024. It is always great, when Finnish books gets "translations" into selko versions, so everyone can read "the same book" as the original, albeit somewhat modified. The illustrations are wonderful and although it's a bit over 150 pages, it does not feel long while reading it. Children as well as adults will enjoy this fantastic tale. 

Saunahetkiä : suomalaisia saunatarinoita / Katri Savola, Johanna Veistinen

 

Saunahetkiä : suomalaisia saunatarinoita / Katri Savola, Johanna Veistinen

STORY: This short story collection includes 8 different stories by two different authors, all revolving around the Finnish sauna. 

LANGUAGE:  I suggest at least a B1 level to read through the whole book. Unlike a beginner book, it does not contain a lot of repeating words or basic vocabulary, rather it contains some puhekieli and standard everyday vocabulary. 

CHARACTERS: One story is about an adult couple, where neither has used the sauna in ages because the narrator has been storing her art pieces there.  In another story a group of adult women converse in a sauna on the last day of a hiking trip. In a third story, a 13 year old girl doesn't want to visit the family sauna when her younger sister is there due to her changing body.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: This is a great book for adults. Upper grade students can also read it for school or fun and may identify with some of the characters in some of the stories but the stories featuring adults may be less interesting. Definitely a fun perspective on the Finnish sauna and what goes on inside!

Ilo elää : Selkonovelleja / Opike ja Selkokeskus

Ilo elää : Selkonovelleja

STORY: This compact book features 13 short stories by various authors. Each story embraces joy or happiness - finding joy, experiencing joy, sharing joy. According to the back cover, Opike and Selkokeskus held a writing competition in 2022, where stories showed joy. This book contains the competition's best selections. One story, "Kaikki on niin iloisia," (Everything is so joyful) by Kari Tapaninen won the top prize.

LANGUAGE: Each story is short, around 2 -5 pages in length. The book features the page layout similar to other selkokirja novels, with white spaces on each side of the page. Each short story is finished with a color illustration or full page color page. The short stories are set in present day, in shopping centers, outdoors, in homes, on the job. The book is less than 100 pages (82 to be exact), making it as easy read to pick up and put down and finish in a short time. The paperback and square format makes it easy to pack along in a bag. Based on the language, I would classify this as a B1 - B2 level book. Because the stories are short, there is not a not of repetitive vocabulary, so the reader would need a good base vocabulary or be prepared to learn new words for each story. 

CHARACTERS: The characters in the collection are very diverse, from teenagers to mothers, a patient in the hospital to a city tunnel painter. 

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK:  This is a great book for teens or adults. Some stories, where the main characters come across as younger, would appeal to teens, around yläkoulu age (grades 7-9). The main characters in other stories are adults, but are still appropriate for teens. Adults of any age would enjoy all of the stories, remembering a first job or being a new resident as well as identifying with the adults in their stories. Some of the stories are about joy and happiness in general, others are directly linked to mental health, such as anxiety and panic attacks. I believe this will appeal to many readers and it is positive to see this in a selkokirja collection.