Overview

A thoughtful, imaginative child decides to make a scrapbook of last moments rather than first moments, then challenges readers to find their own in this charmingly drawn import from Finland! Some people collect pens, shells, or stamps. Others collect friends, trips, or world records. This picture book shares one girl’s unusual collection: a collection of lasts. With a feel for the poignant, the bittersweet, and the odd, an observant, emotionally astute child shares the whimsical, eccentric, and touching lasts she has collected, from the last day cold enough for a wool cap, to the last anxious breath before a high dive, to the last person in her class to lose a tooth, to the last piece of chocolate, to the last words of a whole life. Beautifully illustrated in pencil and watercolor, this is an exploration of lasts that might set something new in motion—or might bring finality. These involve feelings of fear, sadness, contentment, longing, and happiness, making for a wistful picture book in which a young girl’s collection of last moments is depicted with a warm touch. Odds and Ends is a collection of memories which invites open discussion of each reader’s personal lasts.

Full Product Details

9781592704798

Table of Contents

Reviews

STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Hurme’s skillfully rendered art and thoughtful text capture the range of emotions children experience, while helping them reflect on their feelings and observations in new ways... Children will open this one again and again, smiling, thinking, soaking in the beauty, feeling respected and understood.” * Kirkus Reviews * “The book follows a girl who collects different 'lasts.' ... The tone is heartwarming, funny, and thoughtful. Just the right kind of SEL book to prompt conversations between teachers/students parents/children on the lasts that they have had over their own lives. Think of it as an oddball memory book. This is about how kids look at the world and what they notice.” -- Librarian Betsy Bird * A Fuse #8 Production *

STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Hurme’s skillfully rendered art and thoughtful text capture the range of emotions children experience, while helping them reflect on their feelings and observations in new ways... Children will open this one again and again, smiling, thinking, soaking in the beauty, feeling respected and understood.” * Kirkus Reviews * STARRED REVIEW! ★ “[A] young narrator presents a literary volume of 'lasts' in Hurme’s affecting picture book… Evocative moments… include the mundane, the transformative, and the profound… The final collection offers a piercing portrait of the many ineffable moments that make up a life.” * Publishers Weekly * “The book follows a girl who collects different 'lasts.' ... The tone is heartwarming, funny, and thoughtful. Just the right kind of SEL book to prompt conversations between teachers/students parents/children on the lasts that they have had over their own lives. Think of it as an oddball memory book. This is about how kids look at the world and what they notice.” -- Librarian Betsy Bird * A Fuse #8 Production *

Author Information

Maija Hurme is an illustrator, writer, and graphic designer who spends half of her time working with children’s literature and illustrations. Hurme, who lives in Helsinki, Finland, has illustrated many books for children. Her books have been nominated for the Nordic Council’s Children’s Literature Prize, the Finlandia Junior Prize, and the Arvid Lydecken Prize. She likes to find inspiration for her stories in her own and others’ children; nature; small, strange objects; and the environment. Mia Spangenberg holds a PhD in Scandinavian studies from the University of Washington, with a focus on Finnish literature and cultural studies. She is a 2017 graduate of the Finnish to English literary translation mentorship program organized by FILI, Finland’s literary organization. Spangenberg is passionate about championing international children’s literature and writes articles for WorldKidLit about picture books from around the world.

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