Kummalla kammella

The ship is loaded with lyrical poetry! The new poetry book by famous author Laura Ruohonen and illustrator Erika Kallasmaa takes the reader into the wildest waters.

Storm’s a brewing when Stingy Sandpiper, Cockatoo Datsoo and Ever Dishwasher sail to the open sea. Kvarken is getting hoarse, and the Big Wave is coming closer… But they stay at the surface, because they have the skilled little beans and the boat elf Kotterman with them.

Kummalla kammella narratively sails in the same spirit as Allakka pullakka, Yökyöpelit and Tippukivitapaus.

Jump on board, take to the hills,
The best journeys begin with jumping thrills
Hop!
Hop! Hop!

Publishing information

Year of publication

2022

Page count

Original title

Kummalla kammella

Original language

Finnish

Original publisher

Otava

Awards & nominations

Nominations

2023

The Most Beautiful Book of the Year (Children's category)

About the author

Laura Ruohonen (b. 1960) is one of the most prominent Finnish playwrights, a poet and director whose works have been translated into 27 different languages. She has been granted several awards, including Kordelin’s Literary Award and Pro Finlandia in 2010. Ruohonen has collaborated with awarded illustrators including Erika Kallasmaa and Linda Bondestam and published several highly praised and awarded illustrated poetry books.

Authors page

Erika Kallasmaa (b. 1969) is an award-winning artist, illustrator and graphic designer. She is a master of visual storytelling and her medium expands beyond the means of books and printed matters to theatre, television, architecture, performance arts and installations. Kallasmaa was awarded the Finnish State Prize of visual arts in 2013. She was awarded with an honorary mention at Mikkeli’s 12th Illustration Triennial in 2020.

Authors page

Reviews

"There is plenty of glee and surprises as we rhyme into the poems by pronunciation, which creates an abundance of absurd meanings and associations. ... Poems that play with pronunciation are best for reading aloud. It becomes fun to try out words through articulation and to enjoy their music. What is actually said in the poem sometimes becomes almost secondary."

Demokraatti

"The layout works visually very well, also because it encourages the readers to let the text carry them as they read aloud. ... Kummalla kammella feels like a cornerstone of a kid's bookshelf to which one can go back to again and again as the years roll by."

Maaseudun Tulevaisuus

“The publishing of the new lyrical book from author Laura Ruohonen and illustrator Erika Kallasmaa always means a celebration for the fans of children’s lyric poetry.”

Demokraatti magazine