The most anarchic illustrated work to emerge in this jubilee year of Finnish independence, Tatu and Patu's guide contains hard facts couched in hilarious form.
Those wacky Oddville brothers Tatu and Patu do not leave a stone, a sauna, or even a Santa unturned in their quest to get to the bottom of Finland, its history, its wild natural landscape, or even its quirky inhabitants.
The boys travel the country from the capital to the far north of Lapland and explore what ingredients go into producing the strange nation known as Suomi. The result is a handy recipe to make a Finland all your own!
This is Finland is published simultaneously in Finnish, English and Swedish.
The screwball humour in these hugely popular illustrated books by Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen appeals to children and adults alike. The pairing have won the Rudolf Koivu Prize (2001), the Kaarina Helakisa Prize (2006), and their Tatu and Patu in Helsinki was short-listed for the Finlandia Junior Prize in 2003. Other books in the series are Tatu and Patu at the Kindergarten, Tatu and Patu's Mad Machines and Tatu and Patu go to Work. The curious Oddville boys also feature in Havukainen and Toivonen's four Veera books.
This is Finland was awarded the Finlandia Junior Prize in 2007.
