Mauri Kunnas

Photo by Sala Korpela, 2007

Mauri Kunnas is a famous Finish writer and ilustrator for children.

He was born in 1950, in a small town named Vammala, in the South West of Finland, near Tampere.

In 1978, he published his first book The Book of Finish Elves that is a tremendous sucess till now and is translated in many languages, as all of his literary and graphic work.

Kontio, (2003:1) says about Kunnas that:" (...) he has won the hearts across national borders. His stories have educated several generations on everything from the Finish national epic the Kalevala to the tales of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, and they continue to provide cross-cultural interaction in a way that is unprecedent. Kunnas has not only created a phenomenon, but become one himself: as a remarkable character of Finish literature and as an illustrator with a wild imagination."

In Portugal several books were published by Mauri Kunnas, in the eighties, and they probably need to be republished. At the same time Portuguese children should have the oportunity to read his latest stories and see his drawings full of immagination that atracts nowadays video generation.

Books published in Portuguese:
Ricky, Rocky and Ringo go to the Moon
Ricky, Rocky and Ringo on TV
Ricky, Rocky and Ringo's colourful Day

References
http://www.maurikunas.net
Kontio, Reija (2003) The importance to Finland of a One Man Phenomenon. Retrieved from http://www.uta.fi/, in 15/12/2009