Timo Parvela
Encyclopedia
Timo Parvela is a Finnish
author of juvenile fiction
.
Parvela matriculated from secondary school in 1983 and graduated from Jyväskylä Teacher Training College in 1988. He worked at a series of elementary school
teaching posts for six years — first in Petäjävesi
in the Jyväskylä
sub-region and later in Espoo
— until the mid-1990s. Since 1996 he has been a freelance writer.
In addition to numerous children's books he has written television screenplay
s both for children's audiences and for adults, as well as script
s for Finnish radio.
Keinulauta ("Seesaw", 2006) portrays Pii, a lonely girl meditatively seeking a second person to sit on the empty end of her seesaw.
into German and Polish. Two of the German translations have been recorded as audiobooks as well. In Ella luokkaretkellä ("Ella's class trip", 1997), for example, a solicitous teacher, concerned that each schoolchild's day pack is aboard the bus, forgets his own bag in the schoolyard; travelling without money, the class's adventures during the outing to the city are humorously narrated by seven-year-old Ella.
Producer Juha Wuolijoki is also planning a film, based on some of the books in the Ella series, to be directed by Taneli Mustonen. Wuolijoki expects filming to begin in the summer of 2011.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
author of juvenile fiction
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
.
Parvela matriculated from secondary school in 1983 and graduated from Jyväskylä Teacher Training College in 1988. He worked at a series of elementary school
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
teaching posts for six years — first in Petäjävesi
Petäjävesi
Petäjävesi is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland, next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
in the Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...
sub-region and later in Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
— until the mid-1990s. Since 1996 he has been a freelance writer.
In addition to numerous children's books he has written television screenplay
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
s both for children's audiences and for adults, as well as script
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
s for Finnish radio.
Brief story summaries
In Poika (1989) an uncertain Everyboy, who communicates more easily with his grandfather and with his dog than with his parents, meets Everygirl.Keinulauta ("Seesaw", 2006) portrays Pii, a lonely girl meditatively seeking a second person to sit on the empty end of her seesaw.
Recurring-character series
One of Parvela's series relates the adventures of the twins Anna and Antti, but he is perhaps most popular for his series of Ella books, which are prescribed as school readers in his native Finland. The focus of the latter series is Ella, a primary-school student who tells of her daily life and schooling. In the series are at least 18 books, a few of which have been translated from FinnishFinnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
into German and Polish. Two of the German translations have been recorded as audiobooks as well. In Ella luokkaretkellä ("Ella's class trip", 1997), for example, a solicitous teacher, concerned that each schoolchild's day pack is aboard the bus, forgets his own bag in the schoolyard; travelling without money, the class's adventures during the outing to the city are humorously narrated by seven-year-old Ella.
Producer Juha Wuolijoki is also planning a film, based on some of the books in the Ella series, to be directed by Taneli Mustonen. Wuolijoki expects filming to begin in the summer of 2011.
Books in Finnish
- 1989: Poika ("A boy"). ISBN 978-951-31-2133-4.
- 1990: Puhuva koira ("The talking dog"). ISBN 978-951-30-9519-2
- 1992: Pelkotiloja ("Anxiety")
- 1993: Pikkuveljet ja taika-avain ("Little brothers and the magic key")
- 1994: Ohutta yläpilveä ("Cirrus clouds")
- 1995: Hilma ja Pingviini ("Hilma and the penguin")
- 1996: Isäni on supermies ("My dad the superman")
- 1997: Ella luokkaretkellä ("Ella's class trip") ISBN 951-31-1063-X
- 1999: Ansa ja Oiva ("Ansa and Oiva")
- 2000: Outo juttu ("A strange tale")
- 2000: Ansa ja Oiva suurkaupungissa ("Ansa and Oiva in the city"). ISBN 978-951-02-4894-2
- 2001: Sanoo isä ("Dad says")
- 2002: Mitä siihen sanot, isä? ("What do you say, dad?")
- 2004: Hilma ja täydellinen lemmikkieläin ("Hilma and her perfect pet")
- 2005: Hilma ja hyvä harrastus ("Hilma and her fine hobby")
- 2006: Keinulauta ("Seesaw"). ISBN 978-951031901-7
School texts
- 2002: Tammen Kultainen aapinen ("Golden oak primer")
- 2003: Tammen Kultainen lukukirja ("Golden oak reader")
Published German translations
- 2007: Ella in der Schule ("Ella at school"), Carl Hanser-Verlag, 144 pp., ISBN 978-3-446-20893-3
- 2008: Ella in der zweiten Klasse ("Ella in second grade"), Carl Hanser-Verlag, 160 pp., ISBN 978-3-446-23110-8
- 2009: Ella auf Klassenfahrt (originally Ella luokkaretkellä (1997), "Ella's class trip"), Carl Hanser-Verlag, 160 pp., ISBN 978-3-446-23385-0; also available as an audio CD read by Friedheim Ptok. Igel Records, ISBN 978-3893532841
- 2010: Ella und der Superstar, Carl Hanser-Verlag, 160 pp., ISBN 978-3-446-23590-8; also available as an audio CD read by Friedheim Ptok. Igel Records, ISBN 978-3893533305
Awards
- 1991: Central FinlandCentral FinlandCentral Finland is a region in Finland. It borders to the regions Päijänne Tavastia, Pirkanmaa, Southern Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia....
Regional Arts Award - 1992: One of the IBBY Honour ListInternational Board on Books for Young PeopleThe International Board on Books for Young People is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland committed to bringing books and children together.-History:...
awardees for his 1989 book Poika ("A boy"), of which the judging committee wrote, "The author shows an extraordinary command of modern Finnish, and he conveys his protagonist's thoughts in fresh and authentic language not often found in books for young people." - 2000: One of the IBBY Honour ListInternational Board on Books for Young PeopleThe International Board on Books for Young People is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland committed to bringing books and children together.-History:...
awardees for his 1997 book Ella luokkaretkellä ("Ella's class trip"). - 2006: Finlandia Junior Award (€26,000) for children’s and youth literature, for Keinulauta ("Seesaw"), a prize shared equally by his illustrator Virpi Talvitie, who helped develop the idea for the book. Contest judge Jukka Virtanen praised Keinulauta as "exciting, funny, wise and beautiful."