Jake’s life is turned upside down when his father gets caught up in the Socialist fervor washing over their Finnish mining community in Minnesota. His father decides to move their family to a new, Finnish state inside the Soviet Union, a change that fills Jake with dread. Where his father dreams of creating a worker’s paradise, Jake and his family find disappointment and hardship. The story culminates with a thrilling escape–on skis–from Russia to Finland.
A novel of mothers lost and found. Grainne’s Mom disappeared years ago when her parents were divorced, and Mom moved to the U.S. Now, bafflingly, she’s reappeared and wants to meet. To get out of the way of this mysterious reunion, Grainne’s half-brothers, Johnny and Tom, go with their mother, Sandra, on an “adventure holiday” in Finland. But before they’re more than a few days into the snowy north, the boys are separated from Sandra, taking impossible risks to save her life.
The three little Swedish brothers spend their vacation in Lapland where they ski, visit a village of Laplanders, and almost get lost in the snow. They meet a family with a reindeer and play with him in the snow.
This book provides comprehensive information on the geogrpahy, history, wildlife, governmental structure, economy, cultural diversity, peoples, religion, and culture of Finland.
Before he had a family, before he met Moominmamma, Moominpappa led a life of adventure and intrigue. But he’s never told his story until now.Now Moominpappa has a bad cold, and it’s the perfect time to remember his youthful endeavors and to ponder the Experiences which have made him the remarkable Moomin he is. As he reads each chapter aloud to Moomintroll, Snufkin, and Sniff, they, and we, learn of his triumphs and tribulations, and his momentous meetings with the Joxter, the Muddler, and a cast of other characters too incredible (especially Edward the Booble) to list here.”Moominpappa’s Memoirs” has never before been translated into English, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux is proud to be able to add this title to its other Moomin books.
When the Soviet Union invades its tiny neighbor Finland in November 1939, Marko volunteers to help the war effort. Even though his leg was weakened by polio, he can ski well, and he becomes a messenger on the front line, skiing in white camouflage through the forests at night. The dark forest is terrifying, and so are the odds against the Finns: the Russians have 4 times as many soldiers and 30 times as many planes. They have 3000 tanks, while the Finns have 30. But a tank is no help in the snowy forest–a boy on skis is. And the Russians don’t know winter the way the Finns do, or what tough guerrilla warriors the Finns are. Marko teams up with another messenger, Karl. Gradually Marko learns that Karl’s whole family was killed by the Russians. And Karl has a secret–he’s really Kaari, a girl who joined up to get revenge for her family’s deaths.
This book shows the daily lives of children in five areas settled by the Vikings.
Winter’s approach brings six friends together in Moominvalley where, in the Moomins’ absence, they must visit with each other.