The Magic Flower

Aspen and Spruce find a strange plant in the corner of the greenhouse. The children water the plant and re-pot it. They do everything they can to make the tender seedling grow. They read poems to it, take it for a bike ride and a trip to the seaside. Regardless of their efforts, the plant remains small. But in the garden, a different kind of sprout begins to grow. What is this plant’s secret? 

Illustrated with the most delicious gouache paintings by the ALMA-nominated Marika Maijala, The Magic Flower is a gentle philosophical story that ponders how important it is to let everyone grow in their own way. 

Marika Maijala is a celebrated creator who has been awarded various awards, most recently the Illustrator of the Year 2024. She has illustrated several picture books and written three of her own including The Magic Flower (Taikurin kukka) which was among the Most Beautiful Books of Finland (2023), 100 Outstanding Picture Books (2023) and one of the winners of the 58th Illustrators Exhibition.

Publishing information

Year of publication

2022

Page count

40

Original title

Taikurinkukka

Original language

Finnish

Original publisher

Etana Editions

Rights sold

  • France
  • Italy
  • China
  • The Republic of Korea
  • English Worldwide

Awards & nominations

Awards

2024

The 58th Illustrators Exhibition

2023

100 Outstanding Picture Books

2022

The Most Beautiful Books of Finland

Nominations

2022

The Most Beautiful Books of Finland