Mauri Kunnas

One of the best kept secrets in Finland is Mauri Kunnas whose illustrated books for children are absolutely captivating. I bought a copy of the Canine Kalevala for my niece in March as it is a delightfully illustrated version of the Finnish national legend for kids. Sadly, many of his books are out of print and they're virtually impossible to find in online new or used bookstores. They're even difficult to find in Helsinki since it would seem they print only a small number of the books. If you run across a copy or two of his books somewhere, buy them as they are both delightful and rare. His next book is reportedly going to be about Vikings.

Kunnas' work also appears in the Finnish parts of A Europe of Tales, a very nicely done website about the legends of Europe, Mr. Clutterbuck's House and the Vammala City website.