Children’s authors may not be rare as such, but once in a blue moon along comes somebody who appeals to toddler and grandpa as well as the teenage daughter. Mauri Kunnas has done this – and not only in his own country, Finland; he has won hearts across national borders. His stories have educated several generations on everything from the Finnish national epic The Kalevala to the tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and they continue to provide cross-cultural interaction in a way that is unprecedented. Kunnas has not only created a phenomenon, but become one himself: as a remarkable character of Finnish literature and as an illustrator with a wild imagination. What is the secret of this boundary-breaking man who is revolutionizing cultural values?

Some Biography

Mauri Kunnas was born in the small town of Vammala in 1950 (CV). Now, half a century later, this little town in south-central Finland has proudly and rightfully – developed itself quite a pompous ego when it comes to the great illustrator who was once pushed around its streets in a baby pram.

Kunnas arrived into a family and era of great artistic talent: his father was a carpenter who owned a workshop where he made wooden toys, among other things; both his sister and brother were masters with the pencil and colors – and comics were making a major breakthrough in Finnish culture at the time. The first Finnish Donald Duck (Aku Ankka) magazine was published in 1951; some people may conceive this character to be of an unsophisticated nature, but nevertheless Donald taught a future artist to read and write (Kunnas, Leluverstaalta).

Those who remember the times before portable playstations and DVD versions of Disney’s The Lion King may recall a time when children’s entertainment was mostly up to a great big pile of cardboard boxes or just their own imaginations. Though conditions were probably not entirely this primitive, children in Vammala were quite active in coming up with their own sorts of pastimes. Kunnas and some school friends would compete in creating comics and wild west stories of their own, or make ”finger movies”: drawing a series of pictures on long paper rolls and then watching them with homemade projectors, like proper little future animators. Still, Kunnas remained the only one to make a profession of his artistic aptitude (Kunnas, Leluverstaalta).

Always getting top grades for his drawings in school, Kunnas went on to study in The University of Art and Design Helsinki. Though he describes his university years as ”boring”, that was when he started his public artist’s career: first, with comic strips and then with political cartoons. In 1974 Kunnas drew a daily comic strip for a little magazine called Iltaset. He made a fine salary, but the magazine did not last (Kunnas, Leluverstaalta). The comic strip however, titled Kotlant jaarti (the name is a jest on Britain’s famous Scotland Yard), is regarded a great deal more highly nowadays, as is some of Kunnas’ other early-career comic work.

Having met a nice girl from Turku, in south-western Finland, Kunnas packed his things and moved to Turku as well. There he had his one and only full-time job in an advertising agency – though he did that only for a year. Living in Turku, Kunnas spent ten years drawing political cartoons and advertisements, as well as his own comic, Nyrok City, a rock comic for young people, which Kunnas regards as one of his most “fun” works. But, even in the midst of all this, he had time to pursue his new interest: Finnish folklore. Getting more and more excited about the topic, he decided to try out making a children’s book on the mystic elf characters the Finnish associate with Christmas and Santa Claus– just to see what it would turn out like (Ikävalko, Kunnas, Leluverstaalta). Little did he know that it was time for his career to kick off.

Works and Their Value

The Book of Finnish Elves (Suomalainen tonttukirja) was published in 1979 (Mauri Kunnas: teokset) and was an immediate success. Apparently, elves were just what Finland needed then, and the face of Mauri Kunnas was printed in countless newspapers. Since then, Kunnas has basically published one book every year: one brand-new success following another, with an occasional collection of earlier production here and there. Kunnas’ characters are mostly dogs (though Kunnas considers himself more of a cat person) (Kunnas, Leluverstaalta), who walk, talk and reason quite like humans. Kunnas’ books on Doghill (Koiramäki) have become quite a popular series, and some of his minor characters – as will be dealt with more closely later – that were probably created just for fun little details, have become major attractions.

One almost never can tell in advance that there is something educational hidden in all Kunnas’ books. They might tell you about the Finnish peasant culture, shed light on old traditions or just deal out interesting facts about what goes on in the world. Then, suddenly, it hits you: there is nothing “hidden” about the education pouring from every page. His books are like an illustrated encyclopedia of “Finnish culture now and before” (among other things).

The Canine Kalevala (Koirien Kalevala), published in 1992, was the first of his works based on an actual book – and he picked none other than the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. He has continued with a triumphant series of works of this kind including The Tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Kuningas Artturin ritarit), Seitsemän koiraveljestä (The Seven Dog Brothers – undergoing translation during the writing of this paper). Kunnas’ national importance lies in the fact that his books are not only fun and well-drawn, but also educational – in a fun and well-drawn manner. That is a tough combination to manage.

The Seven Dog Brothers, which is a version of Seitsemän veljestä (Seven Brothers) by one of the most prestigious Finnish authors through the ages, Aleksis Kivi, sold a smashing 127, 000 copies in less than four months (Jälkikirjoitus). In a small country like Finland, 127, 000 people form a considerable part of the population. The current thinking among Finnish youngsters being that old prose like Kivi’s works ”stinks”, and not only because the paper is rotting, gives you an idea of how important an influence like this can be. In King Arthur Kunnas has brought a summary, in a way, of an important part of British folklore into Finnish homes in a scope that is usually achieved only by the public school system (and in such a case as this, usually only after the children are a bit older).

Even forgetting all the jubilee over there being someone capable of honoring the sort of classics mentioned above, another essential point to make is that these new versions are also of intrinsic value as works of art.

Even more importantly, from the point of view of Finland as a part of the rest of the world, Kunnas has done an outstanding job of introducing this small country and its culture abroad.

Early Days

Some of Kunnas’ early works have become more popular now than at the time of their initial publishing.

The rock comic Nyrok City was published in the years 1975-1986 in the magazines Intro, Helppi and Suosikki (Nyrok City), the audience being mainly teenagers. A few years ago, these strips were compiled into one volume, The best and the wörst of Nyrok City, which became a serious collector’s item for fans of Finnish comics. It is also a fine mirror of all Kunnas’ early passions and influences: his love for the south-central dialect of his birth place; political cartoons; Donald Duck; Santa Claus, and so on, and so on.

His Contribution to Society

Even with his worldwide success, Mauri Kunnas is a man with roots deep in the Finnish soil of his home city of Vammala. His latest project is a series of books that are situated in a town not entirely unlike his birthplace. The idea is to document the old Vammala, with its fabulous old buildings and help to preserve this place of great nostalgia and cultural value (Kallio-Leino, Ikävalko). Previously, Finnish history had been preserved by transferring it to younger generations orally and in gigantic literary volumes, but nobody ever before has managed something so concrete in such a “popular culture” manner.

“The Legendary Santa Man”

Christmas is one of Kunnas’ favorite topics. If it was elves that made Kunnas famous, he has paid his debt by making elves more popular than ever. Through his stories, people can see and feel everything that Christmas means to them at heart: the pretty-colored wrappings, thousands of golden lights illuminating the long dark northern winter – you can almost smell the cookies. Due to his three works titled Santa Claus (Joulupukki), Twelve Gifts for Santa Claus (12 lahjaa joulupukille) and Santa and the Magic Drum (Joulupukki ja taikarumpu), it is no wonder he gets referred to as “the legendary Santa man”.

The Spider

For an audience of children, the fun lurks in little details: the spider at the bottom of page five wrapping a tiny little spider Christmas present, the same spider again in the upper corner of page six (this time wearing a top hat). Ask any Finn who read a book by Kunnas when they were little and they can tell you they spent hours searching for that spider. The pictures lacking a spider are immensely less interesting. After the top hat they just feel empty. Even if the little readers are not fond of the storyline or the other characters are not to their liking, the ”spider pages” are sure to grow thin with being scrutinized.

In the book Santa and the Magic Drum, this spider, one of Finland’s best-loved but least acclaimed animated characters was finally credited with its own spot in a gallery which introduced essential characters.

The spider. (Source: www.mauri.kunnas.net. © Mauri Kunnas. Used by permission.)

Projects New and Old

Books are not all the inspired artist has managed. As with any phenomenon as popular as this, by-products are bound to step into the picture.

In 1996, a 50-minute animated movie version of Santa and the Magic Drum premiered. Even today a ”full-length” animated movie has not been done in Finland, so productions like this are rare. The movie has been sold to over 50 countries (Kunnas, Leluverstaalta).

Keeping busy all year in 1996, Kunnas also designed a set of three Christmas-stamps for Finland’s postal service. Even non-collectors were bitten by the stamp-bug that year, and besides sticking them on Christmas cards, most people kept one of each kind just to have a look at them every now and then. Kunnas has worked for the postal service on several occasions, designing stamps and even illustrating letters from Santa that could be ordered from the postal service for delivery.

The latest attraction on the Kunnas-frontier is The House of Mister Clutterbuck, an amusement center for children in the center of Vammala. Mr. Clutterbuck is a sleep-walking goat who has a tendency to wake up with his hooves all dirty but never knowing why – one of those minor characters who turned out to be quite major after all. The House exhibits the themes of The Canine Kalevala and The Tales of King Arthur through galleries, games and, of course, the entire production of the man behind it all.

Besides all of the above, the web with Mr. Kunnas’ personal site is bringing the beloved author/illustrator closer to his audience than ever before, always providing entertainment, the latest news and even such confidential material as an interview of the sleepy goat Mr. Clutterbuck (Herra Hakkarainen) (Herra Hakkaraisen haastattelu).

Conclusion

Kunnas preserves Finnish cultural history. But perhaps more importantly, over the course of time, he has become a part of it himself. His contribution to the education and upbringing of generations of young Finns is unrivaled. Still, in the midst of all this serious global action, he has never lost that one characteristic which makes him the favorite of any child who ever laid eyes on his work: the ability to bring joy to his readers.

Perhaps the strongest force which has established a perpetual Kunnas-boom in Finland is the familiar characters. Kunnas uses his favorites over and over again, and the ever-enticed audience learns to know them like family members. His gift is to be able, even without thinking or meaning to, to give such a powerful spark, a vivid personality, to a character that the dog, cat, goat or spider in question starts to lead its own life. His characters have gained actual life in the minds of countless readers, and that is why they last and last and last…

A class of schoolchildren at an exhibition sit earnestly in front of a city Christmas scene by Mauri Kunnas. Amazing! Every single one of them recognizes his style, all enjoy his countless visual jokes and make comments like: "He always draws horses like that." (Laukka)

“ -- horses like that.” (Source: www.herrahakkaraisentalo.net. © Mauri Kunnas. Used by permission.)

Works Cited

• CV. Otava. Last viewed 5 November 2003.

• Herra Hakkaraisen haastattelu. Otava. Last viewed 6 November.

• Herra Hakkaraisen Talo. Last viewed 4 December 2002.

• Ikävalko, Reijo. Valitut Palat. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. Last viewed 6 November 2003.

• Jälkikirjoitus. Otava. Last viewed 6 November 2003.

• Kallio-Leino, Leena. Lalli -- WWW. Viikkosanomalehti Lalli. Last viewed 6 November 2003.

• Kunnas, Mauri. Leluverstaalta kirjailijaksi. Otava. Last viewed 5 November 2003.

• - - - . Koirien Kalevala. Keuruu: Otava, 2003.

• - - - . Yökirja eli mitä kaikkea tapahtuukaan yöllä. Keuruu: Otava, 1984.

• Lakoma, Kimmo. Nyrok City/Mauri Kunnas. 28 September 2000 Update. City of Helsinki.

• Laukka, Maria. Mauri Kunnas. Last update: 9 November 1999. Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Department for Press and Culture. Last viewed: 6 November 2003.

• Loivamaa, Ismo, ed. Suomalaisia lasten- ja nuortenkirjailijoita. Jyväskylä: Kirjastopalvelu Oy, 1995.

• Mauri Kunnas. Otava. Last viewed 5 November 2003.

• Mauri Kunnas: teokset. Otava. Last viewed 5 November 2003.

• Mielikuvia: suomalaisia lastenkirjankuvittajia. Porvoo: Suomen nuorisokirjallisuuden instituutti, 1989.

• Otava. Otava. Last viewed 5 November 2003.

• Presencer, Alain, trans. The Great Big Night-Time Book. By Mauri Kunnas. London: Methuen Children’s Books Ltd., 1985.

• Pulkkinen, Kalervo. SarjisMedia: Albumiarvioinnit 15.11.2000. Laaki-Sarjat Oy. Last viewed: 4 November 2003.

• Stamps by Mauri Kunnas. Suomen Posti Oyj. Last viewed 3 November 2003.

• Steffa, Tim, trans. The Canine Kalevala. By Mauri Kunnas. Finland: Otava Publishing Company Ltd., 1992.

• Viitala, Raimo, ed. Sydän-Sastamalan kuvataiteilijat. Vammalan kirjapaino, 1979.

• Vuori, Jyrki. 10 taiteesta. Turku: Cultura Oy, 1996.