The Magic Mill: A Finnish Folk Tale Adapted from the Kalevala [Library Binding]

Joanna Troughton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-- This powerful Finnish folktale from the epic Kalevala is done a great disservice by this inferior picture-book version. The story is of the Sampo, a magic mill capable of grinding not only grain and salt but also gold. When the Sampo is stolen by the evil Louhi, Ilma, the finest smith in Finland, along with a minstrel and a Wanderer, set out for North Farm and recover the precious Sampo. Louhi pursues them; when her warship crashes on the rocks, she uses her magic to make a pair of wings and set of claws and continues her pursuit. She grabs the Sampo off Ilma's ship, but accidentally drops it into the ocean, whereupon she curses the land of the Finns and returns to North Farm. The three recover the pieces of the Sampo and bury them in Finland, where the Sampo's magic even now saves their country from Louhi's curse. The writing is so stilted and awkward that the story never comes alive, and the ink-wash illustrations do little to save the writing. The colors appear garish, and the flattened perspective merely looks like a lack of artistic ability. The page design is also poorly conceived, with the cramped typeface squeezed randomly into the illustrations. While there is a dearth of children's books on Finnish folklore, this is not the one to fill that gap. --Denise Anton Wright, Library Book Selection Service, Inc., Bloomington, IL
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Peter Bedrick Books (May 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087226405X
• ISBN-13: 978-0872264052
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,843,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in London, and have lived there ever since. When I was 17 years old I went to Hornsey College of Art for five years, leaving with a first class degree. I then became a freelance illustrator, and had my first picture book published in 1971 when I was 22 - THE LITTLE MOHEE, an American folk song. I love traditional stories of all kinds and from any country throughout the world. Ideas for my picture books have come from myths, legends, folk tales, fairy stories, folk songs and oral poetry.
Over the past 40 years I have worked on my own series of picture books - FOLK TALES OF THE WORLD, which I wrote and illustrated. The BBC and Channel 4 have made three of these books into short animated films for Children's TV- WHAT MADE TIDDALIK LAUGH, TORTOISES' DREAM and THE TIGER CHILD. I have illustrated books for many other authors: Kevin Crossley-Holland, Geoffrey Trease, James Reeves, Adel Geras, Jamila Gavin, and Robert Nye. I also worked for BBC TV, illustrating for JACKANORY and. JACKANORY PLAYHOUSE.

I taught illustration at Harrow, Barnet, West Herts and Croydon Colleges of Art. I have visited schools and libraries all over Britain, to give talks about my work, as well as being a writer in residence for a few of those schools. For the last three years I worked as a part time teaching assistant, helping children who are new to English.
www.joannatroughton.blogspot.com