Books from Finland - A literary journal of writing from and about Finland.

Maukka, Väykkä ja Karhu Murhinen
[Meowser, Barker and Killington Bear]
Kuvitus [Ill. by]: Virpi Talvitie
Helsinki: Tammi, 2012. 127 pp.
ISBN 978-951-31-6167-5
€20.90, hardback

This novel in the Maukka ja Väykkä series tells about friendship among a cat, a dog and a shrew. There is a need for more children’s books for the whole family that can be read aloud. The award-winning duo behind this title have created a book with brief chapters and an engaging setting. Maukka is an attention-seeking cat with a quick temper, while Väykkä is a laid-back, worldly-wise dog. Their life together seems to be a constant squabble over which one of them is right. The latest arrival in the animal community is a little shrew, who has a heart of pure gold despite his fearsome name. He manages to teach the cat-and-dog duo a few things about life. The shrew’s life span is much shorter than that of the cat and dog; Murhinen himself has a sanguine attitude to the matter and teaches Maukka, Väykkä and the reader a number of important things about life and death.
Translated by Ruth Urbom