Finnish Legends for English Children

A collection of retellings adapts the songs of the Finnish epic into a sequence of linked folk tales framed by an elder storyteller. It recounts cosmogony and the birth of the wise singer Wainamoinen, quests and rivalries among heroes and smiths, the forging and loss of the magical Sampo, the making of the kantele, episodes of love, vengeance, death and resurrection, and the theft and restoration of sun and moon. Landscapes, gods, spirits, and uncanny creatures populate the tales, which emphasize song, craft, and supernatural agency while presenting Finnish mythic motifs in a form suitable for young readers.