Representing the best
Finnish authors abroad
Finnish authors abroad
Mur and the Star continues the charming and wonderfully philosophical MUR series.
In Mur and the Star, we find our little friend sitting with BIG and the other animals, quietly admiring the starlit sky. But looking up at something so vast fills Mur’s mind with important questions and she can’t stay quiet for long. But if the others keep telling her to “hush”, how will Mur ever find the answers she’s looking for?
Kaisa Happonen (b. 1982) produces inventive, high-quality content for children across many platforms including television, digital media and books. Kaisa’s lively spirit shines through in everything she does. Anne Vasko (b. 1969) is an award-winning author and illustrator whose work reflects her creativity, compassion and open-mindedness. Anne loves Nordic nature and she draws on her native Finland for inspiration.
A Bear Called Mur, 2016
Mur and the Blueberry, 2018
Mur and the Star, 2019
Mur and the Raindrop, 2020
Mur and the Wind, 2022
Hardcover
40 pp
Colour illustrated
Armenian (Paradigma Foundation)
German (Midas)
Polish (Widnokrąg)
Finnish PDF
English translation
“The newest instalment of the delightful MUR series ponders space and asks big questions. The book deals in a safe way with issues of cosmic proportions that can make a little creature feel small and powerless.” – Kirjava satama on Mur and the Star
“One of the most joyful discoveries I have made in recent years is A Bear Called Mur. Now featured in three books, Mur is a small bear whose stories are not overly simple, but rather allow young readers to explore life’s big questions. This time, Mur contemplates how far away the stars and the space are.
“When both the story and the artwork are delightful, a children’s book is pretty much complete. This is the case with the MUR series. I recommend picking up a copy – whether your paws are large or small.” – Kirjavinkit literary blog
“There are picture books and then there are PICTURE BOOKS. Kaisa Happonen and Anne Vasko’s MUR books belong to the latter category. Their apparent simplicity is a bluff: there is not much text and the pictures are extremely simplistic; familiar, even, from older tales.
Happonen’s stories and Vasko’s illustrations embrace both their adult and child readers into a warm hug. Anne Vasko has captured how the animal characters look as well as their big, important feelings and emotions… Mur and the Star… is a picture book with a sense of security and tranquillity. In this increasingly uncertain time, it is both a soothing and comforting read, regardless of age, background and life experience.
Recently I heard good feedback about the MUR books from a friend who works as a pre-school teacher in a group that includes both immigrants and children with special needs. Children who have moved to Finland have listened to the MUR books, in their mother tongues, through the Lukulumo picture book service. The books have been listened to and read time and time again and they’ve aroused discussion and interest.
Mur and the Star, as well as the two preceding MUR books, can be described as meditative children’s stories. Children’s book do not necessary have just one correct interpretation. At their best, you can read them again and again at different stages of your life. Every interpretation is correct. With great care, the book even contains an ecological dimension on its inside covers…” – Lastenkirjahylly blog
