HIPPU

HIPPU

By Oili Tanninen
Published by Tate Publishing

 

 

HIPPU was first published in 1967, and feels as fresh and current alongside anything in today's book market. Oili Tanninen is one of Finland's most cherished author/illustrators and has illustrated over twenty children's books, winning her several major awards including the Hans Christen Andersen Cerificate of Honour.

Published by Tate Publishing, this is the first time HIPPU has become available in English, and is undoubtably destined to become a classic worldwide. This lovely edition is a minature 15cm squared hardback which is ideal for tiny hands to hold.  

 

 HIPPU tells the story of a mouse called Hippu, and one day he sees a homeless dog (called Heppu) outside his house and decides to invite him in. They eat their favourite things, play dress up and go for a walk together. The moral being that its good to share with people less fortunate than us and that friendship (whether it be with animals or people) is rewarding in itself. 

 

 

Created using a limited colour palette of red, black and white and simple paper cut out shapes, the imagery is bold and striking and especially appealing to young children. The contrasting colours favor our main characters, with them being the main focal point as they sit on white or red backgrounds. You can see that illustrators around today like Chris Haughton have been inspired by Tanninen with the her unique simplity to paper cut-out illustration and bold colour choices. Here's hoping she'll influence many more illustrators to come...   

HIPPU is available to buy now from the Tate bookshop and from their online store.