A LEGEND FROM FINLAND COMES TO SPAIN

As part of our Comenius project school from Finland sent us a book about a finnish legend. The title is “The canine Kalevala” and it is written for children.

We told the story to the pupils of Gloria Fuertes school in Gijón and they have learned a little bit more about how to solve the problems without fighting and the importance of other values. As the main character VAINAMONEN is very clever our pupils have looked for the answers of some questions and they have found the same as Vainamonen. Above all they are having fun.

During the second meeting in Spain, the pupils will watch a film about the book that the finnish pupils has made for them.

More about the legend

The first edition of the Kalevala appeared in 1835,
This poetic song tradition, sung in an unusual, archaic trochaic tetrametre, had been part of the oral tradition among speakers of Balto-Finnic languages for two thousand years.
When the Kalevala appeared in print for the first time, Finland had been an Autonomous Grand Duchy for a quarter of a century. Prior to this, until 1809, Finland had been a part of the Swedish empire.
The Kalevala marked an important turning-point for Finnish-language culture and caused a stir abroad as well. It brought a small, unknown people to the attention of other Europeans, and bolstered the Finns' self-confidence and faith in the possibilities of a Finnish language and culture. The Kalevala began to be called the Finnish national epic.
The Kalevala has been translated into more languages than any other work of Finnish literature. It has been translated into 60 languages, not all of which have yet been published

More about our book

At present Mauri Kunnas is undoubtedly one of Finland's most successful authors of children's books. To date, forty books of his have been published, in twenty-two languages in twenty-four countries with an aggregate print-run of over 5 million copies.
His books for children have aroused enormous interest around the world. The best-known internationally is Santa Claus. It has already been translated into eighteen languages, and it has sold more than a million copies.
He offers the little reader an unparalleled joy of discovery: his brilliantly coloured illustrations are filled with delightful and humorous details. And his books always give off an atmosphere which is contagiously warm and happy.

How the story starts

Long, long ago, when the world was still young, there dwelt in the far-off land of Kalevala a tribe of wild and woolly dogs. Their neighbor in the gloomy north was a pack of mean and wicked wolves. Between them lived a small but tough clan of cats. The dogs and wolves vied for sovereignty of the forests, and this often gave rise to some pretty fierce squabbles.