Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Atheneum (1996), Edition: 1st ed, 40 pages
Description
An incident from the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala, in which two friends become rivals for the hand of the maiden of Northland.
Local notes
School Library Journal, 03/31/1996
Gr 3-7 A retelling from the Finnish myth cycle, the Kalevala, in which the aging hero Vainamoinen and the great smith Ilmarinen compete for the hand of Aila, the maiden of Northland. Aila has no intention of marrying either of them, but her mother decides to take advantage of the situation and sets the suitors a task. When Louhi asks each of them to bring her "...something never seen before," Vainamoinen returns with a kantele, a lap harp, that the woman is unable to play. Ilmarinen's sampo, a mill that grinds flour by itself, pleases her, but Aila refuses to marry the smith. The spurned men escape with their gifts, but lose them in the ocean.
Gr 3-7 A retelling from the Finnish myth cycle, the Kalevala, in which the aging hero Vainamoinen and the great smith Ilmarinen compete for the hand of Aila, the maiden of Northland. Aila has no intention of marrying either of them, but her mother decides to take advantage of the situation and sets the suitors a task. When Louhi asks each of them to bring her "...something never seen before," Vainamoinen returns with a kantele, a lap harp, that the woman is unable to play. Ilmarinen's sampo, a mill that grinds flour by itself, pleases her, but Aila refuses to marry the smith. The spurned men escape with their gifts, but lose them in the ocean.
Awards
Aesop Prize (Accolade — 1996)