“Kids, cats, and dogs unite! It’s time to join forces!”
Author: Leena Krohn
Finnish original: Vihreä vallankumous
Publisher: Tammi, 1970 | 2020
Genre: children’s picture books, children’s literature classics
Number of pages: 32 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English translation
Rights sold: Sweden, Rabén & Sjögren
The city of Riioraa has a park at its heart. But this oasis of green is surrounded by walls and guarded by the police. The locals don’t even know it exists–and if the city council has its way, the park will soon be replaced by a parking garage and a car factory!
But one day, a boy named Mortti finds himself at the park’s gates with his dog, and the following night he sets out on a nocturnal expedition to explore his discovery. Before long, he is leading the city’s children, dogs, cats, and grownups to the park in defiance of the authorities. Thanks to their protest, the park is saved from being paved over, and even the city’s bureaucrats head there to nap in the shade of the maples.
Written by Leena Krohn and illustrated by her sister Inari Krohn, The Green Revolution is the first Finnish children’s book to encourage activism and environmental awareness. It originally appeared in 1970, at a time when public debates over pollution and nature conservation were gaining prominence. Over half a century after its publication, this
classic of Finnish children’s literature is timelier than ever.
Also available:
Things I Never Learned (2021)
Perdition (2018)
A Letter to Buddha (2016)
Mistake (2015)
Hotel Sapiens (2013)
Children of the Sun (2011)
False Window (2009)
My Home is Riioraa (2008)
The Bee Pavilion (2006)
Datura (2001)
Mathematical Creatures, or Shared Dreams (1992)
Umbra (1990)
Gold of Ophir (1988)
Tainaron (2006 | 1985)
Doña Quixote and Other Citizens (1983)
The Pelican’s New Clothes (1976)
About the author:
Leena Krohn